Minor League Baseball has signed a multiyear agreement with Florida-based financial services technology company FIS, a deal that will pave the way for creating a fan loyalty program for the affiliated minors.
Unlike many of MiLB’s recent corporate agreements with brands such as ServiceMaster, Bush’s beans and Esurance, the FIS agreement will not have a direct, consumer branding component. Rather, FIS will help provide the technology infrastructure for the fan loyalty program, along with MiLB digital partner MLB Advanced Media.
FIS will also supply other back-end business services to MiLB clubs, including software solutions to track purchasing, expenses, food and beverage operations, fan data analytics, and payment services such as processing per-diems for players. The back-end business services will be provided under the collective moniker of “Ballparks Of The Future.”
The agreement and the creation of the rewards program tie in part into a broader MiLB “It’s Fun To Be A Fan” marketing campaign, and the organization’s goal of reaching 50 million in annual attendance by 2026 (see story, Page 21). The Class AA Jacksonville (Fla.) Jumbo Shrimp, located in FIS’s home market, will serve as a flagship franchise for the rollout of the loyalty program and back-end business services.
“The core idea with our work with FIS is to connect every single consumer touch point at the ballpark into a single platform, and when you combine that across 160 clubs, the potential of that from a learning and fan engagement standpoint is going to be huge,” said David Wright, MiLB chief marketing and commercial officer.
Financial terms were not disclosed. FIS will receive designation as the official business-driving solutions provider for MiLB. FIS, which generated more than $9 billion in revenue last year, is targeting sports as a key avenue for corporate growth.
“A large portion of our business is already community-based, so extending that to work with a property like Minor League Baseball is a very logical step for us,” said Bob Legters, FIS senior vice president of product.
