MLB Home Run Derby X, The Cage’ aka ‘HRDX The Cage

Client: Major League Baseball

To engage a younger and more diverse audience MLB wanted to bring baseball into the city. But the dimensions of a ballpark field make that almost impossible. Enter Home Run Derby X, The Cage - a dimension-defying baseball game that seamlessly blended reality and virtual gameplay. Using the latest ball-tracking technology, players smashed physical baseballs that were then digitally visualised soaring over Nelson’s Column and London’s skyline, all within an epic cage structure in the middle of the festival.

Distances hit were converted into a points-based scoring system, with bonus points for target strikes and hat-tricks. We strategically placed opposition ‘catch zones’ within the environment to keep the tension high, with points deducted if hits landed in those areas. The cage provided the perfect stage set for a live streamed head-to-head battle, with two teams duking it out, in what turned out to be the most-watched content of this year’s London Series weekend. The physical design of HRDX: The Cage also made it striking and shareable, with LEDs that synced up to big moments in the gameplay, adding to the drama. The Cage delivered a new format, on new channels, engaging and activating new fans to the brand all around the world. We successfully achieved the objective of taking all of the most compelling parts of the HRDX format - and found a way to execute them in a central city location, streamed to thousands of people. 64 matchups 574 Home Runs 36,000 watching IRL 512,000 unique live stream viewers