MLB has begun "setting in motion an October
merchandising and marketing blitz" in an effort to establish
October as "baseball's month" and increase its presence in
sports licensing retail, according to Richard Wilner of the
N.Y. POST. The strategy includes a "first-of-its-kind
inter-sport co-branding effort" with NASCAR and Budweiser;
the launch of a new line of "hipper" team jackets during the
postseason; a more "Gen-X look" to locker room T-shirts; and
a "coordinated effort" between MLB and its corporate
sponsors to make the sport a "dominant theme" in TV and
print ad campaigns. MLB Group Licensing Dir Steve Armus, on
the new apparel items: "In the past, we haven't done a good
job communicating with the fans that they could buy the
exact same items worn on the field by the players." The
redesign of MLB's apparel line will also include an
"updated" cap with a design similar to that of "Abercrombie
& Fitch or the Gap." NASCAR driver Wally Dallenbach will
drive four races this month with the MLB World Series logo
on his car (See THE DAILY, 10/1), a "dramatic stab" by the
league to increase its adult viewership (N.Y. POST, 10/11).
