Wilson Sporting Goods recently was part of one of the bigger sports finance deals this year to date, acquiring iconic brand Louisville Slugger for $70M. But Wilson is not stopping there, as the brand rolls into the ’15 MLB campaign with new technology in its equipment and customization offerings -- all part of a ramped-up marketing campaign for the season. New efforts this season include colorful new glove offerings promoted by the likes of Mariners 2B Robinson Cano, Red Sox LF Hanley Ramirez and Rangers SS Elvis Andrus. Wilson, the official glove of MLB, limited customization in the past to basic embroidering. But now, complete customization is possible, all the way from color to material to laces. The Wilson Custom Glove Shop website is the same vehicle MLBers use to customize their personal gloves. Wilson Marketing Manager Jennette Rauch said customization has been one of the ways players put a “little of themselves in their equipment.” Rauch noted that even though 20 leather colors are available, brown and black remain the most common among players. Rauch: “They love loud colors on their bat, but on their gloves, there are still a lot of guys who keep it really traditional because they view defense as the team aspect of the sport.”
THE SKIN I’M IN: SuperSkin, a leather alternative material originally developed for basketball, weighs half as much as leather and is twice as durable. Rauch said as player customization has taken off, so have orders of SuperSkin gloves, which currently remain available only in black. Rauch: “More and more guys are willing to give it a shot and when they do they really like it.” Wilson also uses player-driven insight to tailor product and marketing efforts. Ramirez this season will test a red SuperSkin and Andrus will test one in royal blue. Rauch: “Based on their feedback and even the feedback we get from our fans on social media who see pictures of these gloves, it already sounds like something that people are pretty excited about, which then we would put on our custom website.” Cano has been the face of the SuperSkin campaign since approaching Wilson during Spring Training last season. The brand has plans to utilize him in more of their in-store signage and marketing campaigns, and also plans a Game Model product line in ’16 that will be in the Mariners’ green color.
SPRING IN THEIR STEP: The majority of the work for Wilson’s marketing campaign came during Spring Training when behind-the-scenes videos were filmed. This was Wilson’s fifth year shooting glove-day videos, when brand reps visit five to six MLB teams to present players with their gloves for the season. Wilson also interviews players that use the gloves available on the Game Model product line, as well as those who use customized or SuperSkin gloves. The brand uses the video content throughout the season, tailoring it for particular mediums. The target audience is elite players between the ages of 12-18. Rauch noted the intent of the videos is to show the "personal connection that players have with their gloves,” while also leveraging “the amount of value they place on their equipment.” The videos have helped boost Wilson’s social media efforts .The brand boasts over 500,000 followers across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The brand fares well compared to Louisville Slugger, Rawlings and Mizuno, but is well below leader Nike Baseball, which has over 1.5 million combined followers -- including more than 1 million on Facebook alone.
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SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS AMONG BASEBALL GEAR BRANDS
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BRAND
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TWITTER
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FACEBOOK
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INSTAGRAM
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TOTAL
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Nike Baseball
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167,400+
|
1,002,300+
|
345,000+
|
1,514,700+
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Wilson
|
44,800+
|
315,400+
|
142,000+
|
502,200+
|
|
Louisville Slugger
|
85,300+
|
275,800+
|
105,000+
|
466,100+
|
|
Rawlings
|
39,400+
|
168,700+
|
12,800+
|
220,900+
|
|
Mizuno
|
31,300+
|
173,100+
|
16,300+
|
220,700+
|
|
|
|
|
|
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THE FUTURE OF LOUISVILLE SLUGGER: Wilson views its three brands -- Wilson, DeMarini and now Louisville Slugger -- as having separate identities and product assortments that will continue as long as there continues to be a place in the market. However, innovation across the three brands is where Wilson views the most potential for synergy. Rauch said Wilson hopes to “be able to use our metal bat expertise, and Louisville’s wood bat expertise, as well as stuff that we do in gloves and they do in gloves, to continue to make better products on both sides.” Rauch also said Louisville Slugger does a good job “leveraging their MLB assets,” which include bigger names such as Orioles CF Adam Jones, Rays 3B Evan Longoria, Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia, Giants C Buster Posey and Mets 3B David Wright. Rauch: "That’s going to be really good learning for us, primarily for Wilson -- how to develop products for that audience and how to reach that audience.”
