MLB yesterday broke its new #NoOffseason campaign on MLB Network and the league’s social media platforms. Tigers DH Miguel Cabrera, P Justin Verlander, Padres RF Wil Myers, Cubs RF Jason Heyward and Marlins P AJ Ramos are among those featured in a new 60-second spot, and individual spots will soon break for Ramos, Cabrera and Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson. Creative on the spots was done internally (
THE DAILY). MEN’S HEALTH’s Andrew Daniels noted in the 60-second spot, MLB decided the players would “showcase their hard work, preparation, and training.” The spot shows Cabrera boxing, Myers “ripping goblet squats,” Verlander pushing a weight sled, Heyward waving battle ropes, and Ramos “hurling a medicine ball against the wall” (
MENSHEALTH.com, 2/7).
FINDING THEIR MARK: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Sara Castellanos examined the Patriots-owned Kraft Analytics Group, which uses a proprietary, cloud-based platform that has "become central" to its operations. Patriots ownership founded KAGR in '16 after it oversaw the online team store's launch in '14 of a "line of mugs, sweatshirts, hats and other gear branded with the words 'Do your job.'" Predictive analytics algorithms "helped search through the database to identify existing customers that were likely to purchase the gear." KAGR CEO Jessica Gelman said that since then, over 500,000 customers generated through that marketing campaign have "made purchases, exceeding expectations based on other marketing campaigns." The resulting customer information was "added to the database and used to market other Patriots products, including tickets" (WSJ.com, 2/3).
THE ESQUIRE MAN: In Cleveland, Joey Morona notes Cavaliers F Kevin Love's latest ad campaign for Banana Republic is "hitting in-store displays, billboards and direct mail this week." Love also recently "launched a new collection of boxer briefs for Saxx Underwear." Love said that the designs, which feature camouflage and patriotic patterns, were "inspired by the Pacific Northwest and Americana." Love has had an endorsement deal with Saxx since '15. This is his "second year as Banana Republic's brand ambassador" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 2/8).
