With the MLB season a few weeks underway there are a variety of new sponsorship deals taking place. The MLB has 24 official sponsors in a variety of different categories. This year the MLB looks to top their sponsorship spending from the 2015 season, which totaled $778 Million. Listed below are some of the more recent sponsorship deals including T-Mobile, Papa John’s, Starwood, Falken Tires, and New Relic.
T-Mobile:
In March the MLB announced three more years of their partnership deal with T-Mobile. The Un-Carrier is giving customers a full, free year’s subscription to MLB.TV Premium. T-Mobile will be the sponsor of both the T-Mobile Home Run Derby and the T-Mobile Junior Home Run Derby in July. The T-Mobile Junior Home Run Derby will include local home run competitions in age divisions 12 & under and 14 & under. T-Mobile is also a sponsor of PLAY BALL, MLB’s program to encourage widespread participation in both formal and informal baseball activities especially focused on youth.
Papa John’s:
Papa John’s agreed to a deal with the MLB earlier this month which includes activations across MLB’s media platforms, signature events, and the Play Ball Initiative. For every Papa Slam hit, fans receive 40 percent off any pizza at regular menu price the next day. Papa John’s is already an Official Pizza of 21 teams, making this partnership a natural fit for the MLB. Papa John’s is also a founding sponsor of the Papa John’s Youth Baseball Invitational. This invitational consists of youth baseball teams from the Miami area competing for an all-expenses paid trip to Dyersville, Iowa to compete in a baseball tournament and skills competition at the Field of Dreams movie sight.
Starwood:
In March Starwood announced an enhanced partnership with the MLB for their Starwood Preferred Guests. Starwood launched an interactive online game called “Get in the Game with SPG” that gives SPG members a chance to win a Grand Prize of two tickets to game 1 of the 2016 World Series. Members can use Starpoints to bid on exclusive SPG MLB Moments such as watching batting practice from the field or delivering the lineup card to the umpire at home plate. Other experiences include throwing out the ceremonial First Pitch at a game.
New Relic:
New Relic is a software analytics leader that launched a partnership with the MLB last week highlighting the role of data and analytics in improving performance both in sports and in business. MLB’s media properties are showcasing the power of New Relic’s software monitoring and analytics capabilities by delivering code-level data and analytics. A weekly MLB Now segment is called “Digging into the Data” on MLB Network. Throughout the course of the season there also will be unique collaborative technology-focused events co-hosted by New Relic and the MLB.
Falken Tires:
At the end of the 2015 season the MLB agreed on a deal with Falken Tires to become the Official Tire of Major League Baseball. During the 2015 Postseason Falken Tire had global marketing rights. This deal was Falken Tires first deal with a professional sports league. This season Falken Tires has virtual signage behind home plate and branded in-game enhancements for nationally broadcasted games including the All-Star Game, Postseason, and the World Series.
