Tenured MLB sponsors enjoyed high levels of recognition among the league’s fans this year, according to the results of the ninth annual MLB sponsor loyalty survey conducted for SportsBusiness Journal/Daily by Turnkey Sports & Entertainment.
For example, MasterCard (a league sponsor since 1997) and T-Mobile (since 2013) each posted an increase in its overall recognition level of nearly six percentage points compared with the results of last year’s study. The scores were the best-ever results the two companies have had in the survey.
 |
MasterCard’s Stand Up To Cancer and Priceless Surprises efforts grabbed attention.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
|
For MasterCard, 24 percent of the 400 MLB fans surveyed correctly identified the company as the league’s official credit card (24.5 percent among avid fans, 23.5 percent among casual fans). With another year of its Priceless Surprises campaign and its baseball-related partnerships with Stand Up To Cancer and Apple Pay, MasterCard could be seen throughout the MLB season with national television spots and on-site activation. During Fox’s Game 3 broadcast of last month’s World Series, MasterCard presented a $4.25 million check to SU2C at Citi Field. It also was the seventh consecutive year the partnership has
handed out placards to fans at the gates to jewel events, including during All-Star Week and at the World Series, and then invited everyone to stand in tribute to those affected by cancer.
In the wireless communications category, T-Mobile wrapped up its third season as an MLB sponsor with a 21 percent awareness level among all fans, up from last year. Its scores of 21.5 percent among avids and 21 percent among casual fans were also up from 2014. T-Mobile was the presenting sponsor of this year’s MLB All-Star Game, a first for the league. T-Mobile also created #TheBig7th to create additional buzz during the seventh-inning stretch of games throughout the postseason. The handle drew 561,000 followers, with fans being invited to post pictures and videos proclaiming their fandom.
Two other tenured partners posted near-record results.
Bank of America drew its best score among all fans since 2012. More than one-third of casual fans specifically correctly identified BoA as the league’s official bank, the highest awareness level the bank has ever generated from that fan segment. The bank has been a league partner since 2004.
Chevrolet, a league sponsor since 2005, saw its year-over-year awareness level increase by more than 11 percentage points from last year, the biggest movement of any of the 67 brands tracked in the survey. More than one-third of the survey’s avid fans recognized the brand’s partnership, trailing its previous best among that fan segment (in 2012) by one percentage point. Chevy again sponsored the All-Star and World Series MVP awards but increased its emphasis in youth baseball this year. Chevy was the exclusive sponsor of the Largest Game of Catch, an All-Star Week event in which more than 1,000 Cincinnati-area children played catch in pairs simultaneously in a successful attempt to secure a new Guinness World Records title.
While each of these four tenured companies saw gains in their scores this year, there is work ahead. MasterCard, T-Mobile, Bank of America and Chevrolet are all among the MLB sponsors for which renewals are due this offseason.
The only MLB sponsors tracked in this year’s survey that did not earn the highest fan-recognition scores in their respective categories were the newest sponsors for MLB among the companies tracked. For Esurance, The Hartford and Falken Tires, 2015 was their first year of activating their new MLB sponsorships.
Among other findings from the sponsor loyalty survey:
■ Pepsi has averaged an overall recognition rate of 34 percentage points over the past five surveys, six percentage points higher than its average in the first four years of the survey. Pepsi has been MLB’s official soda since 1997.
■ Despite a three percentage point year-over-year decline in its score, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s four-year average is up nearly three points compared with the previous four surveys.
Methodology
For this project, Turnkey Sports & Entertainment, through its Turnkey Intelligence operation, conducted national consumer research surveys among a sample of 400 members of the Toluna online panel who were at least 18 years old.
The 2015 survey was conducted Oct. 21-26, just ahead of the World Series. The 2013 survey, similarly, was fielded during championship series play. Last year’s survey was fielded Oct. 20-26, a period that coincided with the World Series.
Respondents were analyzed based on their avidity levels. Fans categorized as “avid” were those who responded “4” or “5” to the question “How big a fan are you of MLB?” and claimed to “look up news, scores and standings several times a week or more often,” “watch/listen/attend at least 11 games per season,” and “have a favorite team.” Fans categorized as “casual” responded “3” to the same initial question, then claimed to “look up news, scores and standings several times a month or more often,” “watch/listen/attend at least 3 games per season,” and “have a favorite team.”
When asked to identify official sponsors, respondents selected from a field of companies and brands that was provided to them for each business sector. Only the top-scoring companies and brands are listed in the results published here. The percentage responses listed have been rounded. The margin of error for each survey is +/- 4.9 percentage points.
Turnkey Intelligence performs research work for more than 70 North American major league teams, league offices and brands. MLB and several of its teams are among the company’s clients.
