ReCreate, the new athletic-focused and league-approved brand from MLB’s CBD partner Charlotte’s Web, built its own dugout backdrop for fans to post on social media. Not to be outdone, longtime beer sponsor Budweiser brought in a pair of its Clydesdales for photos while allowing fans to play Hit the Buds at its game booth. Slightly more subdued, Corona—in its second year as MLB’s official cerveza—let fans either relax in its Adirondack chairs or shoot a walkup video in their ring-lit booth with a rotating camera platform.
“You talk through it, and you figure out which pieces they want, you split it up and then you have to be really good partners and you have to make sure that there is separation among brands,” said Noah Garden, chief revenue officer for MLB. “We have Budweiser and Corona: They’re two extremely happy partners, but it takes work on both sides.”
It was too much for one space to contain. Chevrolet showcased new cars with a 3D bow-tie logo outside—giving away a Trax RS SUV to Amanda Tinsley, the surviving spouse of Sgt. Tyler Tinsley, and her two children through the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) the morning before the MLB Draft began.
“Chevrolet and Major League Baseball have been partners for 19 years now, and we used to [give cars to] the players [after the All-Star Game],” said Chevrolet regional director Paul Beckett. “But Chevrolet has a long history of partnering with military appreciation [organizations], so we partnered with TAPS and, in the case of Amanda and her family, this gave us an opportunity to give back to the community and basically change their life.”
