Major League Baseball’s new two-year deal with Snapple is part of a broader push by the league to find new categories in its sponsorship business and eliminate dormant rights.
The agreement with the Dr Pepper Snapple Group brand, making Snapple the league’s official tea and juice drink, adds to an existing MLB portfolio that includes Coca-Cola in the soft drink category and PepsiCo’s Gatorade in the sports fuel category.
Both Cola-Cola and PepsiCo have their own tea and juice brands. But baseball’s alignment with Dr Pepper Snapple Group gives the league relationships with each of the top three U.S. soft drink companies.
Noah Garden, MLB executive vice president of commerce, said the deal also marks a continuation of league efforts over the past two years to ensure there are no inactive sponsorship categories.
“Snapple had been spending within baseball from a media standpoint, but hadn’t had an official [league partnership],” Garden said. “But this is something that lines up very well with our fans, and our season and where we are on the calendar.”
Financial terms of the MLB-Snapple agreement were not disclosed. But Snapple will gain marketing and activation rights across MLB’s slate of jewel events, including All-Star Week and the postseason, and the league’s silhouetted batter logo will appear on Snapple packaging. The two parties are developing an undisclosed baseball-themed beverage that will be produced for limited release this summer.
Snapple additionally will print dozens of “Snapple Facts” about baseball underneath bottle caps. And select Snapple products will contain MLB merchandise offers in participation with league partner Fanatics, which powers the league’s official online store. Other retail-level activations are being developed.
Regan Ebert, Snapple senior vice president of marketing, cited MLB’s track record in “producing some very innovative collaborations,” as an influence toward the deal.
The sponsorship also arrives as Keurig Green Mountain Inc., best known for its single-serve coffee products, is seeking to acquire Dr Pepper Snapple Group in an $18.7 billion deal.
Snapple in recent years has held several team-level partnerships within baseball, including ones with the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. Additional club deals are expected during the term of the league agreement.
