How MLB Made an Urgent Pitch to Fans for the 2026 Playoffs

Heading into the 2026 postseason, Major League Baseball set out to give America's favorite pastime some urgency, also making some headlines along the way. In various postseason baseball markets in late September, MLB took out full-page ads in major publications such as The New York Times and the LA Times, declaring that "October Starts Today." It was a stunt meant to build excitement around the month known for playoff baseball, but it's also an eye-catching example of how the league is looking to approach this year's postseason campaign differently. MLB's new postseason campaign, along with its tagline of "No Time Like October," is positioned to disrupt everyday routines and showcase how fans can't miss any moment. And though the playoffs are still ongoing, the campaign is already looking like a home run, with media partners Fox and TNT Sports reporting year-over-year ratings boosts for the playoffs. "October baseball is like nothing else," Uzma Rawn Dowler, Major League Baseball's chief marketing officer and senior vice president of global corporate partnerships, told ADWEEK. "And I think after a 185-day regular season, one month of nonstop stakes where a team's fate can be decided on any pitch is a marketer's dream." MLB created the "No Time Like October" campaign in collaboration with agency partners The Team. According to Dowler, creating the urgency around the messaging started internally, with this year's postseason campaign becoming more of an MLB initiative overall rather than a marketing exercise. Ultimately, the league was able to activate its resources across everything from creators and social to sponsorships and rights holders to get partners bought in and involved early. MLB also made a concerted effort to get ahead of its own internal marketing timelines in 2026, ensuring it locked in themes and had concepts to share with broadcast and marketing partners who could plug and play and participate alongside the league. As an example of the league's haste, Dowler noted that MLB set its postseason tagline in early May, allowing it to coordinate with marketing partners and have the "No Time Like October" line appear on the field for the playoffs. "This is the first year we were able to coordinate with Nike and Fanatics, where that tagline lives in all the gear that our players and managers will wear in the dugouts and on field, which is exciting," Dowler said. A game plan beyond the TV screen The campaign has hero TV spots airing across linear and digital, which change round by round to add relevance. But the league has moved well beyond the TV screen to reach fans in playoff markets through social, creators, out-of-home, live experiences, and more. Out-of-home signage in postseason markets featured countdown clocks to the start of the games on everything from bars and restaurants to subway stations and city streets. Meanwhile, broadcast partners NBC and Fox hosted experiential activations, with NBC bringing the Wild Card to life in New York through a giant playing card display and Fox giving fans a nostalgic '90s living room setup in New York and Los Angeles. Dowler said another surprise activation will appear in New York ahead of the World Series to create buzz in a high-traffic location, but details are still being finalized. "That speaks to the flywheel that we're really creating around 'No Time Like October.' It's not just the TV creative and the TV asset," Dowler said. No Time Like October gear. As part of MLB's robust social push, the league has teamed with creators for watch parties in New York and L.A. Creators will also spread out across every postseason stadium to help extend the playoff reach, with MLB assisting along the way. "We're definitely leaning in heavier with our creator activations, working collaboratively. We license the music that you have heard in our postseason TV creative to allow creators to actually be able to create hype reels and leverage that soundtrack," Dowler said. In spreading that reach, MLB is also focusing on bringing Hispanic fans into the game, creating a custom spot with tattoo artist Mister Cartoon that highlights star Latino players, according to the league. Swinging for the fences with partners When it comes to collaborators, Dowler said there's no one-size-fits-all plan. And any partnership would have to work for the brand and the league. After all, baseball is a team sport. "What we define as success is when we're delivering for our partners, helping them tell their story, and they're also delivering for us and helping amplify the baseball message," Dowler said. Among this year's big partners, AbbVie was a first-time partner for the Wild Card round, bringing its "Striking Out Cancer" campaign to the playoffs. Meanwhile, Booking.com returned as the presenting partner for the Divisional Series, and Capital One is back as the World Series presenting partner, its fifth year in the role. Expect more bespoke activations with major brands as the playoffs continue. For instance, the MLB Postseason Bracket Challenge returned with Zillow as a sponsor. Meanwhile, Dowler noted that the Mastercard Stand Up to Cancer moment will return to the World Series. "That's an example of a moment where we help increase Mastercard's share of heart in the community and how they're really contributing to cancer research," Dowler said. "Examples like that are ones that I think hit the sweet spot and where magic happens with us and our partners." For Dowler, all the executions in the campaign, whether it's corporate partnerships or full-page ads, are designed to work together to capture the urgency, drama, and emotion of the postseason. "That's what we really try to do with the campaign," Dowler said, "Convey that October baseball is unmissable." CTV is crowded—want to learn how brand fundamentals cut through the noise? Enroll in The ADWEEK MiniMBA in Marketing and build a strategy designed to last. Sign up here.

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How MLB Made an Urgent Pitch to Fans for the 2026 Playoffs

The MLB playoffs are seeing a ratings boost, and some of the credit likely goes to the league's 'No Time Like October' campaign

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