Minor League Baseball has signed a multiyear sponsorship agreement with Crayola, a rare entry into sports for the children’s creativity brand.
The agreement, recently signed after several months of negotiation and slated to begin with the 2017 season, includes placement of the MiLB logo on Crayola packaging for several products sold at retail, particularly ones designed for outdoor use such as sidewalk chalks and paints and colored bubbles. The two entities also will collaborate on a sweepstakes, called the “Crayola All-Star Experience Sweepstakes,” in which winners will receive a trip to a marquee MiLB event with behind-the-scenes access.
Easton, Pa.-based Crayola, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards and a dominant brand in the youth market, has worked with a small collection of sports entities over the past two decades such as the Harlem Globetrotters, Southern Methodist University, the LPGA and former NASCAR driver Robert Pressley. But it has not held broad, property-level rights in the sports industry combining retail, media and in-venue activation. A formal announcement is expected this week.
“This was a natural in that there is so much commonality from … what each of our brands represent, which in both instances is all about fun,” said David Wright, MiLB chief marketing and commercial officer. “There were also a lot of things that really lined up here in terms of the audiences we’re each seeking and the seasonality of our calendars.”
Financial terms were not disclosed, but there will be a media commitment for Crayola, and the company will be a preferred partner for MiLB and several individual teams. For MiLB, the deal continues a series of new sponsorship deals for the property since Wright’s arrival in January that also includes pacts with Esurance, John Deere, Uncle Ray’s Potato Chips and residential solar company Sunrun.
Crayola’s negotiations on the deal were led by Mimi Dixon, customer development activation lead for the company and a former executive with Campbell’s.
