The effect of Jumbotron advertising on the experience of attending major league baseball games
Abstract
This study explores the dynamics of jumbotron advertising at Major League Baseball games and the effect it has on fans at those games. In order to execute the study, the researcher traveled to 12 different Major League Baseball stadiums. Two methods were employed in the pursuit of this study: ethnographic interviews and particpant-observer observation. For the most part, the two methods revealed similar data. Although the breadth of the study was not large enough to make sweeping conclusions, the data indicate that jumbotron advertising, outside of a few features that appear, does not have a dramatic effect on the experience of attending games. For example, it does not increase attendance at Major League Baseball games. However, when certain, less frequent advertisements features are displayed, they have the effect of making fans more educated about the game through replays and statistics and more apt to cheer. Additionally, the researcher observed that jumbotron advertisements appear almost exclusively between innings, when play is not taking place.
Degree
M.A.