The Holiday Inn has been named the Official Hotel of Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of a three-year sponsorship agreement announced last week. The partnership has been dubbed the largest sponsorship between a U.S. sports league and a hotel industry player.
As part of the agreement, MLB experiences and merchandise will be incorporated into Holiday Inn parent InterContinental Hotels Group’s rewards program, Priority Club Rewards. The program rewards guests of IHG’s family of brands, including InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, Candlewood Suites and Hotel Indigo.
Priority Club Rewards members will be able to earn unique MLB experiences, including on-field access to watch batting practice at an All-Star Game, or throwing out a ceremonial first pitch prior to a World Series game. In addition, members will be able to gain access to MLB apparel and merchandise as well as select MLB regular season, All-Star Game and postseason tickets.
“This partnership is an example of Holiday Inn’s engagement marketing strategy that allows us to reach new generations of guests, specifically Generation X—the fastest growing segment of travelers,” said Steve Sickel, senior VP- multibrand and relationship marketing, IHG. “Our engagement marketing strategy, which also includes our NASCAR sponsorship, will be significantly extended through our sponsorship of Major League Baseball.”
As part of the deal, Holiday Inn will make media commitments to national MLB television rightsholders, as well as other MLB-produced programming. The hotel chain will be the title sponsor of an attraction at All-Star FanFest, a five-day event, which includes an interactive baseball theme park that opens MLB’s All-Star Week. The event kicks off July 7 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA.
Additionally, Holiday Inn will offer MLB fans the chance to win the “ultimate road trip.” Promotion details will be announced later in the baseball season.
This relationship makes sense because it brings together two organizations that share a similar vision of aggressively pursuing international growth, Sickel said. “Through the World Baseball Classic and other international ventures, Major League Baseball is expanding its fan base globally. Similarly… we’re expanding rapidly in places like China and Russia to take advantage of hot markets,” he said.
In addition to its MLB sponsorship, Holiday Inn also unveiled five new club sponsorship agreements with the Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins last week.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The Holiday Inn chain has more than 1,400 properties worldwide and nearly 1,000 in the U.S.
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