Playoff baseball riles up fan bases from coast to coast with questionable strike zones and infuriating manager decisions. Yet nothing has brought out the anger quite like MLB’s batting helmet decal sponsorship with Strauss.
Three weeks ago, MLB announced that it agreed to a four-year partnership with the German workwear company, not only making it the league’s “official workwear partner” but also choosing it as the first brand to take advantage of a 2022 CBA carveout that lets the league sell helmet sponsorships in the postseason. Strauss will also be the helmet sponsor for the minor leagues starting in 2025.
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MLB’s Wild-Card round, which concludes Thursday evening when the Milwaukee Brewers host the New York Mets, brought out the ire of fans seeing the helmet decals for the first time. Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, the most traditional team of all, are gearing up to start their playoffs on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals with the sponsorship in place.
Fans unsettled by the change should get used to the new look partnership, which runs through 2027. But it doesn’t mean they like it. “It’s a company that most people have never heard of, and it kind of came out of nowhere,” marketing consultant Bob Dorfman said in a phone interview. “It was a deal that was made a month ago. The same thing that happened with the first patch on a jersey, the first stadium naming deal, everybody gets up in arms about it, and then you give it six months, and it’s like it was there all the time.”
Anjali Bal, an associate professor of marketing at Babson College, said that Strauss may not have fully understood the nuances of the U.S. sports audience. “I think from a Strauss’ standpoint, they’re really following a playbook that they’ve had with other sports entities in the in Europe because it’s, of course, a German company,” Bal said in a phone interview. “And in many ways, I think it was a misjudgment of the American market. I saw lots of comments like, you know, we’re not soccer, right? Because soccer is known as having many sponsors on the jerseys.”
Bal also said that the logo’s prominence on a traditionally uncluttered part of the uniform played a significant role in both fan outrage and, as intended by Strauss, brand awareness.
“When we talk about sponsorships, the number one thing we want to think about is where it’s going to be viewed,” Bal said. “We’re talking about the helmet that is going to be viewed in every close up and every time somebody’s at bat. That’s why in the NHL, Bauer is in very strategic parts because Bauer wants to be associated with the success of the play. From that standpoint, this was a great choice for (Strauss), it obviously stands out.
Even if MLB and Strauss decide to make changes to the helmet decal, it’s unlikely to happen this year. In the four-round postseason, Strauss might be featured in up to 47 national telecasts. Strauss logos will also be featured on the batting helmets of 120 Minor League Baseball teams starting next year, creating exposure in more than 8,000 minor league games annually.
Gaining such exposure, especially on such a prominent sports property, is a boon for a company that has only entered the U.S. market a year ago.
“MLB made this decision for money, no question, Bal said. “And the reason Strauss makes this decision is because they think of it as actually a really good opportunity for them to buy a significant part that will be noticed and it’s not going to be cluttered with other messaging in the way that we would see on other parts of the jersey or on the shoes, or whatever it happens to be.”
Reported with assistance from Jacob Feldman contributed to this report.
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