Heading into the second-half of the season, MLB is in
"its best shape on and off the field in years, possibly
indicative of the business turnaround the league has long
sought," according to Terry Lefton of BRANDWEEK. Among its
corporate partners, Lefton writes that MLB "will be looking
for a sponsor with a little more juice" after MCI's telecom
deal expires at season's end. MLB VP/Sponsorship Tom
Worcester: "We want to be a lot more active in that category
and obviously the NFL and Sprint have set the standard
there." Lefton reports that "likely re-ups" for next season
include A-B, Gillette, True Value and Hershey's Twizzler.
Meanwhile, MLB Int'l has inked a three-year, $925,000
sponsorship deal with Mexican beer company Cerveceria
Cuauhtemoctezuma, that gives the company exclusive alcoholic
beverage promotional rights for Tecate and other brands.
Support includes a TV spot later this season, a "premium"
promo during the World Series and title rights to a
traveling fan fest in Mexico (BRANDWEEK, 7/13 issue).
MLB NOTES: From the All-Star Game, Lefton reports that
MLB's "expanded thrust" into player-identified All-Star caps
and jerseys yielded "around" $2M in incremental licensing
sales in the pre-All-Star promo period. MLBP President Bob
Gamgort said that overall, "licensing is exceeding its
double-digit growth projections."....MLB is in the "early
stages" of planning what it hopes will be a season-long
celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron breaking
Babe Ruth's career HR record in '99. Lefton: "One problem:
the actual anniversary is in early April"....MLB Int'l and
the MLBPA are jointly selling promo rights to the All-Star
team that will play eight games in Japan, November 5-15.
Exposure will be offered via sponsor ID patches on players'
sleeves and batting helmets, which will go for around
$400,000 and $350,000, respectively (BRANDWEEK, 7/13).
