Bank of America, an MLB corporate sponsor since ‘04, is adopting a decidedly grassroots approach to the early season activation of its baseball rights. BofA Senior VP/Global Sponsorship Marketing Charles Greenstein said the bank is using MLB-themed marketing to thank the bank’s customers. Beginning on Opening Day and continuing over the first half of the season in Boston, Chicago, L.A., N.Y. and S.F., five markets where BofA has large MLB team deals, the bank has assembled players from the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers and Giants who will distribute free tickets and autographed items. Street teams in high-traffic areas in those cities will also offer a month of free text alerts from MLB.com. Outside MLB venues, staffers at BofA temporary kiosks will give away snacks and coupons good for discounts on concessions or game tickets. More than 250 local activations in five major markets are planned over the next three months. Octagon is BofA’s sponsorship agency. Greenstein said the marketing campaign for the "Official Bank of MLB" is under the aegis of a companywide emphasis on being big and local simultaneously. "We’re big, and part of this is to make us more local, relevant and meaningful, and reconnect with Main Street by doing something they wouldn’t expect," he said. "That’s something we are trying to do with our entire sponsorship portfolio." The campaign will be supported by print, radio, out-of-home ads, stadium signage and POS advertising at banks. Greenstein said BofA will continue to buy airtime with MLB rightsholders; though the ads will not be baseball-themed, they will be tagged.
