Minor League Baseball has signed a multiyear sponsorship with ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc., a deal that will see brands such as American Home Shield and Terminix promoted in the affiliated minors.
The deal extends a run of corporate dealmaking for MiLB that in the past 14 months has also included agreements with John Deere, Uncle Ray’s Potato Chips, Sunrun, Esurance, Crayola and Bush’s Beans.
This spring and summer, ServiceMaster will send to various MiLB ballparks a 53-foot expandable trailer that contains an interactive showcase for its portfolio of home and property services, which in addition to home warranties and pest control includes furniture restoration, commercial and residential cleaning, disaster restoration, and property inspection.
ServiceMaster also has sports partnerships with the ATP Memphis Open, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Memphis RedBirds. Minor League Baseball’s other sponsors include: Esurance, Bush’s Beans, Crayola, E. & J. Gallo Winery, John Deere, Sunrun and Uncle Ray’s Potato Chips.
The ServiceMaster Experience trailer, developed with specialty trailer design firm Kentucky Trailer, was created last year for internal employee use and trade shows. The MiLB partnership will represent its first use with the public.
Other planned components include social media-based activations, and the creation of a joint “Welcome Home” logo.
“Even though we have national and international brands, our service provider network is really locally based,” said Pete Tosches, senior vice president for Memphis-based ServiceMaster. “That lines up really well with Minor League Baseball as a local and community driven property.”
Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal is set to be formally announced this week at a spring training game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Fla.
ServiceMaster brands such as American Home Shield, Terminix, AmeriSpec and Furniture Medic will each receive designation as an official partner of Minor League Baseball.
The deal, in development since last summer, was initiated in part by the Class AAA Memphis RedBirds, which have had a relationship with ServiceMaster for the past decade. Team president and general manager Craig Unger helped arrange the introduction to MiLB executives to discuss a national marketing program.
“We’re getting a great brand that is heavily invested in our sport long term, and another partner that is using our ballparks as a key part of their marketing strategy,” said David Wright, MiLB chief marketing and commercial officer.
ServiceMaster is also being aided in the MiLB partnership by public relations, social media and experiential marketing firm Olson Engage.
