MiLB has signed a multiyear sponsorship deal with Allegiant Air, with the airline slated to become the naming rights partner of the new digital advertising network created between MiLB and ISM Connect. Allegiant will become the official airline of MiLB and also gains rights as a presenting partner of the upcoming ’18 Winter Meetings this December in Las Vegas. MiLB had been targeting the airline category for the past two years, prior to the establishment of the ISM Connect deal, and found a strong match with Allegiant, which serves many smaller markets populated with affiliated minor league teams. In fact, 115 of the 118 markets Allegiant flies to are also served by a minor league club. “The overlap between our markets was really off the chart, and this is an airline that really wants to own the leisure travel market and work with us to do that,” MiLB CMO & Chief Commercial Officer David Wright said. “Once we struck upon the opportunity to bring them into the digital network, it took this to a whole other level.” The deal was developed internally, though Allegiant said it will likely retain an outside agency to aid with local-level activations. Allegiant has struck several prior sponsorship deals within sports, most notably an alignment with NASCAR. But the company said the new tie to MiLB is its most expansive to date, both in the scope of activation and financial commitments. “We are really going after the same fan,” Allegiant CMO Scott DeAngelo said. “Their markets are our markets and their fans are our customers.”
