Showing that the sponsorship market is beginning to thaw, a series of announcements heading into the 2011 are being made. With the Red Sox being one of MLB's most recognizable brands, this news should come as no surprise.
JetBlue Airways Corporation (Nasdaq: JBLU), Boston’s largest airline, announced yesterday that they have entered into a landmark eight-year extension as the Official Airline of the Boston Red Sox and the Official Airline of Fenway Park. Additionally, the airline will sponsor JetBlue Park, the new Spring Training ballpark for the Boston Red Sox in Lee County, Florida. Red Sox Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sam Kennedy and JetBlue’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Commercial Strategy Marty St. George celebrated the announcement with JetBlue crewmembers at the JetBlue Airways Ticket Counter at the Southwest Florida International Airport. The ballpark and adjoining Player Development Complex are scheduled to open for the 2012 Spring Training season.
“From the outset, our relationship with JetBlue Airways has been a true partnership based on our shared commitment to the highest levels of customer service,” said Sam Kennedy, Red Sox Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “The foundation of our work together continues to be in Boston and Fenway Park, but we’re thrilled that with today’s announcement it now officially extends not only to our new Spring Training home in Lee County, Florida, but also to our work in the Dominican Republic. This is a great day for Red Sox Nation.”
“As the largest carrier in Boston, we are proud to be the official airline of the Red Sox, and especially proud to renew our partnership today,” said Mr. St. George.
The centerpiece of JetBlue’s partnership with the Red Sox in Lee County, FL, is the team’s new Spring Training ballpark, and at today’s event the airline announced it will make an annual contribution during the term of the agreement to the capital improvement fund already established by the Red Sox and Lee County to support ongoing maintenance and improvements to the facility. JetBlue also announced the creation of a new program that, beginning in 2012, will provide Spring Training game tickets to Lee County, FL non-profit groups.
As part of the extension, JetBlue also becomes a Fenway Park Preservation Partner, making it one of a select group of organizations that will play a key role in helping the Club celebrate the 100th anniversary of its Boston home next year. JetBlue will also continue as a sponsor of Lindos Suenos, the Red Sox’ youth volunteer exchange program in the Dominican Republic.
“Whether it’s taking part in the Fenway Park Centennial celebration in 2012 or volunteering side by side with Lindos Suenos, JetBlue is committed to being an involved member of the Boston Community,” said Mr. St. George.
Additional extension terms include JetBlue signage throughout Fenway Park, naming rights to the Red Sox Dominican Academy, continued sponsorship of the annual Spring Training “Truck Day” and preferred partner status of the Red Sox Destinations fan travel program.
Derek Jeter is ranked as MLB's most marketable player, according to Nielsen
We’re just one week away from the start of MLB’s 2011 season, and with it, gauging value across the league is being published. Whether it was the Forbes valuations, or who sold the most jerseys last year, baseball is seeing some robust numbers.
Today, The Nielsen Company published data showing who is the most marketable players in MLB. According to to Nielsen and E-Poll’s N-Score system, two New York Yankees— Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera—are ranked as the two most marketable players in baseball, ranking. The N-Score measures name and image awareness, appeal and personality attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence, both at the national and local levels. The Top 10 Most Marketable Players in Baseball ranks the endorsement potential of MLB’s current players, with Texas Ranger Josh Hamilton, Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria and Yankee Alex Rodriquez also making the list. Minnesota’s Joe Mauer, 8th on the list nationally, hit it out of the park as the top-scoring local favorite.
As the rankings show, it’s not all about market size in determining marketability. While the top two, and three out of 10, hail from baseball’s biggest market and largest brand (New York Yankees), Evan Longoria (Rays and Tampa/St. Pete), Ichiro Suzuki (Seattle), and Albert Pujols (St. Louis), show that star power drives marketability over the market size.
N-Scores for the Top 10 Most Marketable Active Baseball Players
As noted by Nielsen, advertisers are spending more than a billion dollars on endorsements each year so a player’s ability to be pitchmen for products is important, as well.
“Derek Jeter is on a tremendous run, with each new endorsement raising his profile with consumers. With a score more than three times his nearest competitor, it’s no wonder he’s been the face for Nike, Gatorade, Fleet Bank, Ford, VISA and more,” said Stephen Master, VP, Nielsen Sports[1]. “While many of the players may not have national visibility, locally their brands resonate at a very strong level, with some having local N-Scores almost 10 times that of their national one.”
For all of baseball, including current and former players, commentators and owners, a few all-time greats lead the pack. Yogi Berra holds the top spot, with an N-Score of 257, followed by Willie Mays (236) and Cal Ripken, Jr. (228). One noteworthy surprise? Joe Torre beat out his former players—Jeter and Rodriguez—with a score of 207, making him baseball’s fourth most marketable personality.
Methodology How are the rankings derived? According to Nielsen, using the combined research expertise of Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research, N-Score is an in-depth look at a sports figure’s overall endorsement potential, factoring in the attributes and demographic measures that align brands with endorsers. N-Score Local provides this information for athletes within their team’s local market as well as nationwide. Players are defined as Hall of Fame (receiving an N-Score of 200+), Superstar (100 to 199), MVP (50 to 99), All Star (30 to 49) and Starter (less than 30).
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Amazing what winning the AL MVP and going to the World Series will do for your endorsements resume.
Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton is featured in the New MLB Authentic Collection Batting Practice Jersey television ads running nationally by Majestic Athletic and Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP).
The humorous ad, featuring Hamilton and an overmatched fan taking swings together in the batting cage, is the centerpiece of Majestic’s largest product launch ever. The ad will appear during game broadcasts on FOX, ESPN, TBS, MLB Network, regional sports networks, as well as additional programming on those and other networks.
See the ad below:
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As recent as 10 years ago, the concept of women’s fan wear really consisted of wearing what the guys had – tee-shirts that were form-fitting, and if you want to call it an “accessory” a team cap.
But, in recent years, through the likes of Alyssa Milano’s Touch line, sports leagues have figured out that women are into sports, want to show their allegiance, and, oh yeah, look good in it.
So, when it was announced in May of last year that MLB was partnering with Victoria Secret on a new line of clothing called PINK, it shouldn’t be surprising that the interest was high (since last year, the story is one of the most trafficked on The Biz of Baseball).
Today, the women’s line with MLB Properties expanded further – nearly doubling the offerings from last year to 23 teams in 2011, and all 30 clubs represented by 2012. Products range from hoodies, tees, sweats, tanks, and more.
According to MLBP and Victoria Secret the Spring 2011 line launched throughout March will feature the AZ Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, and the Washington Nationals. Those teams are added to the Red Sox, Cubs, White Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Twins, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Padres, and Cardinals that were introduced last year.
The co-branded products will be available in over 360 Victoria Secret stores, team stores for each team that are represented, and online at www.vspink.com and MLB.com
According to MLB, in the last two years alone, women’s apparel sales have more than doubled for the league.
Remember guys... Chicks dig the long ball.
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Major League Baseball Properties and Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE:UA) announced today that the Baltimore-based athletic performance brand will become the official performance footwear supplier of Major League Baseball, effective for the upcoming 2011 season. The multi-year agreement gives Under Armour the worldwide rights to produce and distribute the official “silhouetted batter” MLB logo on its MLB Authentic Collection baseball cleats.
As part of this new licensing agreement, Under Armour will have the rights to include the MLB logo and MLB Club marks on the Brand’s in-store, digital, and print advertising for baseball footwear and will have a feature attraction at MLB All-Star FanFest beginning this summer in Phoenix and throughout the term of the contract.
“Under Armour brings a unique attitude and energy to everything they do, and we’re excited to officially welcome them into the MLB family,” said Howard Smith, Senior Vice President, Licensing, Major League Baseball. “Their commitment to performance is respected throughout the industry, and we have no doubt our players and fans will be excited about their baseball footwear.”
“We are excited to take our efforts in baseball to the next level, as this further demonstrates Under Armour’s commitment to aligning elite championship athletes with the most innovative performance footwear in the marketplace,” said Matt Mirchin, Senior Vice President, Sports Marketing, Under Armour. “This relationship provides an opportunity to outfit an increasing number of the game’s biggest stars, as well as the ability to showcase the Brand’s dedication to the sport of baseball.”
This deal is an expansion of Under Armour’s current activation within the sport of baseball. Some of the game’s top young talent, including World Series Champion and 2010 National League Rookie of the Year Buster Posey, Jonathon Papelbon, Ryan Zimmerman, Matt Wieters, Jose Reyes, and Nick Markakis, have been wearing the Brand’s signature performance apparel, footwear, and accessories both on- and off-the-field.
This upcoming season the Brand will unveil the latest in cleated footwear with the UA Heater and UA Natural cleats featuring Rotational Traction™ cleat configuration, a technology allowing for maximum acceleration and power.
Anheuser-Busch and Major League Baseball today announced that the two sides have reached a multi-year sponsorship renewal ending a dispute between the longtime partners. A-B was suing MLB for what they had claimed was an attempt to jack-up the price on the longstanding sponsorship renewal, while MLB had claimed that in reaching a far more lucrative deal with the NFL it did not make MLB A-B’s number one sports property in the U.S. The deal with the NFL is reportedly worth $1.2 billion over six years.
The agreement was reached one day before the expiration of the current agreement between MLB and the brewing giant.
Both parties agreed to drop their pending litigation. Financial terms were not released regarding the sponsorship extension between A-B and MLB.
The agreement designates Budweiser as Official Beer Sponsor of Major League Baseball.
“Major League Baseball has always been a top priority for our Budweiser brand and is important to our plans,” said Mark Wright, vice president of media, sports and entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “We value our long-term relationship with the league and are happy to have resolved this issue. We look forward to continuing the successful relationship we’ve had with MLB for more than 30 years.”
“Anheuser-Busch has been a major supporter of Major League Baseball for decades, so we are all pleased that we were able to work through our differences to reach an agreement which will continue our relationship,” said Tim Brosnan, Major League Baseball Executive Vice President, Business. “We have made significant progress with Anheuser-Busch and look forward to working together on planning for the 2011 season.”
Anheuser-Busch will continue to promote its Budweiser brand through Major League Baseball-themed promotions, in-store point-of-purchase displays, television and print advertisements, and on its products. Budweiser is a sponsor of 26 of 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Want to have your kid show his undying support for his favorite MLB team at the school lunch table? You a Giants fan that is looking to rub it in when you invite friends that are Dodger backers at the next Holiday party? Here's a sweet way to pull it off.
In its first-ever sports league licensing partnership, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, LLC has joined Major League Baseball Properties by offering individually wrapped Mrs. Fields cookies outfitted with MLB Club logos as well as cookie tins decorated with MLB Club logos filled with Mrs. Fields cookies.
Cookie tins and logoed cookies are now available for the 2010 World Series Champions San Francisco Giants; each of the 2010 playoff teams, which include the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers; as well as the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Fear not, Royals, Dodgers, or Pirates fans, a full 30 team roll-out is set for 2011 Opening Day.
In a cool bit of trivia, 40 years ago In the early 1970s, Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields, was a ball girl for the Oakland Athletics. No doubt, the MLB logoed cookies would be something Charlie Finley would have wish he'd dreamt up. Both the MLB themed tins and cookies are available at www.mrsfields.com by clicking on the Major League Baseball banner.
With the World Series beginning tomorrow, one of the things that many attending (or watching from home) love to collect will be the game programs. This year, MLB is doing something a bit different, which will have collectors likely shelling out more to get in on the action.
In addition to the standard cover featuring the World Series trophy and images of both teams, there will be a special cover sold in San Francisco featuring Tim Lincecum along with images of teammates Buster Posey and Brian Wilson, and another sold in Texas featuring Josh Hamilton along with images of teammates Cliff Lee and Nelson Cruz. All three covers are pictured.
All three versions are available for $15 through MLB.com and will be at both ballparks and in local retailers beginning Tuesday.
The Official World Series Program features more than 300 pages of content, including exclusive feature stories from many of the best writers in the country, such as Jayson Stark (ESPN), George Will (syndicated columnist), Jeff Passan (Yahoo! Sports) and Bob Klapisch (The Record, ESPN.com). Features include:
An in-depth look at the 1960 World Series.
The greatest World Series games of all-time.
A look back at the “Year of the Pitcher.”
Exclusive Q&A with FOX News’ Shepard Smith
The special covers for the Official World Series Program are the latest example of Major League Baseball customizing merchandise on short notice to better serve fans with unique items. Earlier this month, the t-shirts commemorating division and wild card clinches were customized to include club-specific imagery in addition to the customary logos, with the same planned for the World Series championship gear. MLB has also worked with multiple clubs in recent weeks to create special products to satisfy fan demand.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Maury Brown will be reporting from Game 1 of the World Series all day on Weds. Check BizofBaseball.com for continued details
John Popper will be at tonight's Astros game where, as part of a promotion, the club will attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records benchmark for the “Largest Harmonica Ensemble”
When the Marlins gave away vuvuzelas, those noisy horns that made it sound like a swarm of mad hornets during the World Cup, many asked, how could it get worse?
The Astos may answer that question tonight.
That's because the club teamed up with the producers of the independent film, “Pocket Full of Soul: The Harmonica Documentary,” in an attempt to break the Guinness Book of World Records benchmark for the “Largest Harmonica Ensemble” following tonight’s 7:05 p.m. Astros game vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park.
Harmonicas will be distributed to 10,000 fans in attendance. Imagine the majority of fans trying to be the next John Popper during the game. At least with the vuvuzelas you were stuck with just one note.
After the game, several celebrated harmonica players will teach the crowd to play a song on the harmonica in a series of video tutorials.
The current record is held by a group from Hong Kong, who set the record of 6,131 in 2009. An official adjudicator representing the Guinness Book of World Records will be in attendance to certify the feat.
“Pocket Full of Soul” is an independent film that features performers, including Clint Black, Huey Lewis, John Popper (Blues Traveler), Taylor Hicks (American Idol), James Cotton, Magic Dick (J. Geils Band), comedian Robert Klein, Lee Oskar (War), and Kim Wilson (Fabulous Thunderbirds). The film takes viewers on a journey through the unique and entertaining world of the harmonica.
For tickets to tonight’s game, fans can visit www.astros.com/harmonica. We're assuming ear plugs are not included.
The Milwaukee Brewers Executive Vice President Rick Schlesinger today announced an expanded five-year relationship with PNC Bank. Financial terms were not released. As part of PNC’s expanded sponsorship, the bank will become the naming rights partner for the “PNC Club Level” at Miller Park.
To celebrate the PNC brand’s June entry into the Milwaukee market, and the bank’s announced $50 million capital investment in Southeastern Wisconsin, the Brewers will host PNC Bank Day at Miller Park on August 27, which will conclude with a postgame fireworks show sponsored by the bank. This will be the first sponsored full fireworks show at Miller Park since 2003.
“The Brewers are proud to continue working with PNC Bank through this sponsorship,” Schlesinger said. “The new PNC Club Level is part of an expanded relationship between the Brewers and PNC, and we are excited to be taking this to a new level.”
Additionally, PNC will continue its support of “Major League Moment,” a program in which children ages 6-13 join Brewers players on the field during the National Anthem of Sunday afternoon home games.
This sponsorship marks the first time in Miller Park history that the Brewers have had naming rights for the Club Level. Signage for the PNC Club Level and PNC Bank will be represented throughout the Miller Park Club Level concourse and inside the seating bowl. The signage will be in place by the August 20th homestand when the Brewers take on the Padres.
“Building on our hometown relationship with the Brewers is important as we grow our business and increase our investment in Southeastern Wisconsin,” said Beth Wnuk, PNC Bank’s Regional President for Wisconsin. “Our sponsorship with the Brewers organization is a perfect opportunity to demonstrate PNC’s commitment to our community in a significant way for many years.”
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As recent as 10 years ago, the concept of women’s fan wear really consisted of wearing what the guys had – tee-shirts that were form-fitting, and if you want to call it an “accessory” a team cap.
Want to have your kid show his undying support for his favorite MLB team at the school lunch table? You a Giants fan that is looking to rub it in when you invite friends that are Dodger backers at the next Holiday party? Here's a sweet way to pull it off.
Fear not, Royals, Dodgers, or Pirates fans, a full 30 team roll-out is set for 2011 Opening Day.
With the World Series beginning tomorrow, one of the things that many attending (or watching from home) love to collect will be the game programs. This year, MLB is doing something a bit different, which will have collectors likely shelling out more to get in on the action.
All three versions are available for $15 through MLB.com and will be at both ballparks and in local retailers beginning Tuesday.
The special covers for the Official World Series Program are the latest example of Major League Baseball customizing merchandise on short notice to better serve fans with unique items. Earlier this month, the t-shirts commemorating division and wild card clinches were customized to include club-specific imagery in addition to the customary logos, with the same planned for the World Series championship gear. MLB has also worked with multiple clubs in recent weeks to create special products to satisfy fan demand.
The Milwaukee Brewers Executive Vice President Rick Schlesinger today announced an expanded five-year relationship with PNC Bank. Financial terms were not released. As part of PNC’s expanded sponsorship, the bank will become the naming rights partner for the “PNC Club Level” at Miller Park.
