But in Lumen Field’s event center, Chevy had fans race on stationary bikes, make their own baseball cards and take photos in team home-run chains while checking out new pickups and EVs.
Just down the hall, OxyClean pitchman Anthony “Sully” Sullivan greeted families as he deposited children into oversized, made-for-social mockups of bubbling tubs of cleaning product. In the space’s arcade, just next to MLB’s virtual-reality home run derby, the league’s Sony-produced MLB the Show was played on league sponsor Microsoft’s XBox Series S.
If you have a number of categories that aren’t being activated on, you’re missing opportunities to connect with your fan base.
—Noah Garden, chief revenue officer, MLB
“Historically brands bought out vast categories … and they would partner with us, but only promote certain parts of their business,” Garden said. “Now, partnerships work two ways: They bring value to us, we bring value to them.”
In the event center’s main hall, the MLB’s own activities, panel discussions and historic exhibits—and attractions like the world’s largest baseball signed by decades worth of All-Stars—mingled with brand logos. A Miami Marlins mascot sported an ADT mark on its City Connect jersey, Rawlings offered fans a wall of gloves and NFT fantasy sports firm Sorare hosted a seemingly endless rotation of player, coach and baseball-legend meet-and-greets.
Outside, on the Lumen Field playing surface, Nike erected an amphitheater with a forested backdrop for the week’s MLB draft. OxyClean set up batting cages, auto insurance sponsor GEICO built a mini baseball diamond for youth games and Home Run Derby sponsor T-Mobile allowed fans to launch soft-pitched balls into the Lumen Field seats in a home-run contest of their own.
At many attractions and activations, CapitalOne cardholders got a chance to skip the line and experience some of the privileges of membership. Mastercard, meanwhile, teamed with MLB and tech firm Candy Digital to give cardholders who bought an MLB All Star Game Experience on Priceless.com an NFT that unlocked perks including a meetup with Sabathia, free food at Food Truck Row and $50 to the MLB Shop.
“The way that we enable those experiences has evolved with technology, but at our core we are still about connecting everyone to priceless possibilities,” said Anne Valentzas, Mastercard’s svp of consumer marketing and head of sponsorships for North America.