By Bill Shaikin - Originally published in the LA Times
Could the Dodgers really sign Shohei Ohtani to the richest contract in baseball history and still make money on the deal?
Stan Kasten smiled. After the Dodgers introduced Ohtani at a news conference Thursday, the Dodgers’ president declined to dispel the notion that Ohtani’s contract could pay for itself.
“I think this was a good deal for the Dodgers,” Kasten said, “on the field and off the field.”
The Dodgers’ legacy in Japan dates back decades, to the team playing exhibitions there under O’Malley family ownership, and to All-Star pitcher Hideo Nomo.
“Combining the most popular international player in the world with the Dodgers’ brand is going to expand that,” Kasten said. “That is going to be good for baseball, and it is going to be very good for the Dodgers.”
Let us count the ways.
The Ohtani jerseys are flying off the shelves, even the virtual shelves, for as much as $346.99 per jersey. The Dodgers are making a killing on this, right?
No. The revenue from licensed merchandise — jerseys, T-shirts, caps and so on — is split equally among the 30 major league teams, so the Angels get the same cut as the Dodgers from the sale of Ohtani jerseys. (The exception: The Dodgers get a greater share of revenue for sales at Dodger Stadium and at Dodgers Clubhouse stores in Southern California and Las Vegas.)
Everyone wants to watch Ohtani, especially in Japan. The Dodgers will cash in on selling television rights to broadcasters in Japan, right?
Again, no. Major League Baseball controls international broadcast rights and splits the revenue equally among the 30 teams.
Am I going to be able to afford to take my family to a game at Dodger Stadium now?
The Dodgers, like many teams, use dynamic pricing — that is, adjusting ticket prices up and down based on demand, rather than setting a price for each ticket and sticking with it all season. The more people that want to see Ohtani play, the more expensive a ticket is likely to cost.
“I think we have a good record here of matching supply and demand at price points across a wide range of budgets,” Kasten said. “That won’t change.”
Within hours of Thursday’s news conference, the Dodgers emailed fans, saying “It’s Sho Time” and offering dugout club seating for as much as $111,840 per seat this season. After Ohtani announced he would sign the Dodgers last weekend, standing-room tickets for the home opener were available for almost $900.
But the opportunity for the Dodgers to cash in on ticket sales is limited by the fact that they sell so many tickets already. The Dodgers played to close to 90% of capacity in the largest stadium in the majors last season. It is not as if they can now double their attendance.
The Dodgers could make more in ticket and merchandise revenue, one former MLB business executive told The Times, “but it’s pennies compared to sponsorship. It’s all sponsorship.”
What does that mean?
“There will be lots of Japanese companies — and American companies that sell things to Japan — that are going to use the Dodgers and Dodger Stadium to promote themselves,” said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based Sportscorp Ltd.
The first and most obvious sales pitch: jersey patches.
“This may be precisely the thing that appeals either to a high-end company, or a Japanese company that is not well-known,” Ganis said. “This would certainly put them on the map.”
The Lakers and New York Yankees each sold jersey patch sponsorships for about $25 million per year. With Ohtani, the Dodgers might be able to do that too.
The Dodgers have one other major sponsorship opportunity available. What is it?
Field naming rights, which they have tried to sell for years. Instead of playing at Dodger Stadium, the team could play at — by way of example — Honda Field at Dodger Stadium.
No one would expect fans in Los Angeles to call the ballpark anything but Dodger Stadium, but audiences in Japan and the United States would see the corporate name behind home plate — every pitch, every home game, every season.
In 2017, the Dodgers asked $12 million per season in field naming rights. With Ohtani, they could seek $20 million, or more.
“They are in a unique position in the marketplace with their sponsorship portfolio,” said Jeff Marks, president of Los Angeles-based Innovative Partnerships Group. “Having both the jersey patch and the field naming rights available now allows them to unlock value and put a premium on two high-value assets they have never sold.”
So, with those two sponsorships, the Dodgers could just about make back the $46-million annual value of Ohtani’s contract. Would there be other money-making opportunities?
Sure. The Angels did not sell field naming rights, and their modest jersey patch deal last season was sold to a local building supply company, largely because no one could promise Ohtani would stay in Anaheim beyond the season. Still, the Angels made $10 million to $20 million per year on Ohtani-related sponsorships, and the Dodgers could make more — on new sponsorships, and on increased renewal rates as current sponsorship deals expire.
The banner behind Ohtani on Thursday included a logo for Guggenheim Baseball, the Dodgers’ ownership group. If the price is right, a corporate logo could replace the Guggenheim one, visible during Ohtani’s interviews.
And, since MLB rules require the Dodgers to set aside $46 million of deferred money each year, the team could invest it with Guggenheim Partners, the financial services firm run by team chairman Mark Walter. The firm manages nearly $300 billion in investments; the Dodgers could profit by investing the pool of deferred money with the firm.
The Dodgers have $850 million in deferred payments owed to Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman. Could Walter just sell the team and cash out?
“That is not the plan,” Kasten said.
As the value of the team rises, Walter could sell part of the team and cash in.
During Thursday’s news conference, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said: “One of our goals is to have baseball fans in Japan convert to Dodger blue.”
That could turn the Dodgers brand into a powerhouse at home and abroad.
“Right now, you go around the world, and what you see are New York Yankee caps,” Ganis said. “We might start seeing the L.A. logo appearing a lot more around the world, particularly in Japan and Korea.”
How convenient: Ohtani and the Dodgers open the 2024 season against the San Diego Padres on March 20 — in Seoul.
Sportico last year valued the Dodgers at $5.2 billion — pre-Ohtani, that is. Even at that value, the Dodgers could sell 5% of the team for $260 million, or more than half of Ohtani’s contract, to a minority owner or investment fund.
On Thursday, the Dodgers reserved a front-row seat — right next to general manager Brandon Gomes — for one of their current minority owners.
They also reserved 20 prime seats for the department charged with executing the new business plan: Global Partnerships.
Originally Published on Sports Business Journal
Combine all the disparate entities under financial services/fintech and its easily the biggest sponsorship category. A recent study from L.A.-based Innovative Partnerships Group suggests that credit unions may be the red-headed stepchild within this large sector.
Consider that around 135 million Americans now belong to a credit union. Half of the credit unions with naming-rights deals surveyed by Innovative Partnerships Group said category exclusivity was not crucial to them, along with a greater need for branding than the large legacy financial services that have traditionally invested in sports marketing.
And it gets even more interesting.
"Credit unions are the best-kept secret in the biggest sponsorship category," said Innovative Partnerships Group CEO Jeff Marks. "They've been growing considerably since the 2007-2008 financial crisis and have a need to differentiate, which sponsorship can serve well. And they don’t have to create a community platform -- credit unions are community platforms. The trend we’re seeing is that legacy banks have gone to fewer bigger sponsorships, and fewer naming rights. That’s left a void we expect credit unions will continue to fill."
Click here to read a summary of our findings
Innovative Partnerships Group is honored to have been chosen as one of 2023 & 2024's Best Employers to Work for in Sports by Front Office Sports. We are proud to be included as part of this exclusive group of sports employers judged based on leadership, commitment to diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing and more. According to the Front Office Sports, we were counted among the top %15 of companies out of 200 surveyed.
At Innovative Partnerships Group, we are committed to our partners to consistently produce innovative solutions and to our employees to foster individual growth. We nourish community and collaboration that cultivates innovation and allows our employees the freedom to optimize their own productivity and pursue their own creative instincts.
This is a unique opportunity to contribute to high-level projects at a young, but rapidly-growing company. We are looking for individuals that are willing to embody our culture and mission, embrace responsibility and progress with us to the next level.
Read more at the Front Office Sports website
From the Front Office Sports website about
Established in 2019, the Best Employers in Sports Award recognizes organizations across the sports industry that are doing the best for their employees.
ABOUT THE AWARD
Established in 2019, the Best Employers in Sports Award recognizes organizations across the sports industry that are doing the best for their employees.
Whether it’s great leadership, commitment to diversity and inclusion, employee wellbeing, or philanthropic/social endeavors, the Best Employers in Sports Award looks to recognize organizations who do right by their employees.
METHODOLOGY
Working with our primary research partner, Canvs, we developed a survey with a specific set of open-ended questions designed to uncover how employees truly feel about their employer and rate their likelihood to recommend to a friend or family member.
The ranking system consists of two categories of questions: closed-ended and open-ended. Closed-ended responses consist of single answer questions and an analysis of the percentage of employees within each company that engaged in the survey.
Canvs AI also analyzes the emotions behind employee’s open-ended responses and determines if they mention specific keywords. Responses are also searched for multiple specific keywords and phrases (such as leadership, equity, or opportunities for advancement) and analyzes the sentiment surrounding them.
Once the survey is complete, all responses are analyzed, datasets are normalized, and bespoke weighting is applied to each category to come up with a single score for each company. Companies with the highest scores indicate the Best Employers in Sports.
DaBella Becomes First Portland Timbers Jersey Partner Since 2011
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovative Partnerships Group, a global leader in naming rights and sponsorships, was the agency of record for the new naming rights agreement between the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Portland-based DaBella, a home improvement services leader. The multi-year partnership marks the first-ever foray into sponsorship for DaBella.
Representatives from the Portland Timbers, DaBella and Innovative Partnerships Group gather for the jersey partnership announcement at Providence Park in Portland, OR
Innovative Partnerships Group was retained by the Timbers in March to secure the club's first jersey partner since its inception in 2011. DaBella's branding will be prominently featured on all home, away and specialty game kits and club apparel.
"We selected Innovative Partnerships Group because of their proven track record and their enthusiasm for this project, despite a relatively ambitious timeline," said Heather Davis, Timbers CEO. "IPG has a deep understanding of the sports and soccer landscape and a really talented team that delivers tremendous value for their clients."
As "Official Home Improvement Partner" of the Portland Timbers, DaBella aims to further strengthen its Portland community ties by supporting Stand Together Week, the Portland Timbers Community Fund, and all Timbers Youth Camps. DaBella will spearhead an exciting addition to the fan experience as well via "DaBella House," a semi-permanent, in-stadium structure, that will be the centerpiece of a new in-game, seat upgrade promotion called "Best Seat in the House."
"We could not be more thrilled to have this opportunity with the Timbers," said Donnie McMillan, Jr., DaBella Founder and CEO. "We did not view Innovative Partnerships Group as just a sales agency, but as a true business partner who helped our team understand the intangibles and non-traditional metrics that will allow us to substantially grow market-share and scale nationally."
Innovative Partnerships Group's executive team has a proven track record of assisting global sports property rights holders in generating billions of dollars in long-term naming rights and sponsorship revenue over the past 25+ years. Jeff Marks, CEO of Innovative Partnerships Group, noted, "This is a perfect example of how our company's Innovation Studio, a collaboration of business development, creative solutions, valuation and IP/asset creation, helped bring this deal together. It's a real testament to both the Timbers and DaBella of trusting our process and ultimately becoming an excellent match for one another."
According to Daniel Cassidy, VP of Partnerships for Innovative Partnerships Group, "We quickly noticed DaBella's Oregon roots and its commitment to local communities. But given its expanding national footprint, we persuaded DaBella on the power of MLS, its media partnership with Apple TV and the upcoming 2026 World Cup as a platform to leverage the jersey naming rights in top markets around the country."
Innovative Partnerships Group has extensive roots in soccer. The Timbers marks the seventh MLS jersey partnership for their executive team. Innovative Partnerships Group was the first AOR for the Canadian Premier League, working on founding league and jersey partnerships. and is currently the agency of record for FC Barcelona's Espai Barça project in a multi-year collaboration.
About Innovative Partnerships Group
Innovative Partnerships Group is a global leader in developing long-term, revenue-generating business relationships among the most prestigious professional sports team, entertainment properties and global brands.
The company has been recognized on several occasions in recent years by Sports Business Journal as one of the leading sports marketing agencies in this industry. Innovative Partnerships Group has its breakthrough Partnership Intelligence™ system that allows both properties and brands to maximize their return on sponsorship partnerships. For more information, visit www.ipg360.com.
SOURCE Innovative Partnerships Group
Municipalities
City of Charlotte
The City of Charlotte is looking to undertake a number of large, city-defining initiatives, including an Innovation Park and a mixed-use District within the downtown core of the city. Bringing the right partners to the development is key in the District’s long-term success. Innovative Partnerships Group conducted an analysis on the commercial viability of assets within the city, specifically within the mixed-use Sports and Entertainment District around the Hornets’ new training center.
Bison World (Jamestown, North Dakota)
Innovative Partnerships Group was engaged by the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation to create a viable commercial sales strategy and roadmap for Bison World, a planned “destination attraction” and the first theme park centered around Bison, America’s national mammal. Located in Jamestown, ND (“Buffalo City”), Bison World is scheduled to open in 2026 and the theme park is expected to become a tourism gateway for the state with a variety of high value assets for new Naming Rights and Founding Partners.
Sports Clients
Portland Timbers Front of Jersey Sponsorship
Innovative Partnerships Group was retained by The Portland Timbers for their most coveted asset – the Front of Jersey sponsorship – for the first time since its inception. Innovative Partnerships Group also worked with the Timbers in 2017 to renew its existing jersey partner and have been actively leveraging its creative studio over the last few months to re-skin custom videos to highlight how new brands can fully integrate with the team. The Timbers have historically been one of the most successful teams in MLS and are pushing for a playoff spot this year. With Lionel Messi providing unprecedented excitement and attention, and MLS’s increased distribution through AppleTV, the Timber’s platform has never been more valuable.
ocV!BE/Anaheim Ducks Development
The Anaheim Ducks will be part of a new, groundbreaking sports and entertainment district that will redefine 100 acres of Anaheim to become the epicenter of Southern California lifestyle activity. Innovative Partnerships Group has been selected to generate long-term commercial revenue for ocV!BE and its numerous planned music venues, parks, dining, hotels and office spaces. The 2028 Olympic Games will host volleyball events at ocV!be, and we are thrilled to be part of this influential project in our own backyard!
The Valuation & Consulting team’s Data Insights & Reporting division just completed its first survey focused on naming rights and sponsorship for the credit union industry. The genesis of this particular survey resulted from our work with several credit unions where we found that, despite the hundreds of credit union sponsorship deals, there is very little accurate information on trends and best practices in this sector. We worked closely on the questionnaire with a Steering Committee made up of executives from a select group of credit unions to ensure accuracy, relevance, and ability to make an impact. It is the first time that a company has taken an in-depth look at sponsorship and naming rights to help credit unions maximize their sponsorship investments and understand critical best practices when negotiating and executing partnerships.
Twenty-three (23) credit unions of various asset and member size completed the survey. The results provide meaningful benchmarking results, research and actionable insights to decision makers who support and influence future partnership marketing activities that had not been typically captured for this important industry sub-sector. It is clear that the rise in sponsorships and naming rights for credit unions is one of the fasting growing sponsorship categories in the U.S. It is even more evident that participants are continuing to look for metrics and qualitative/quantitative results to help them maximize their significant investments in sponsorship and naming rights as a percentage of their media/marketing mix.
Measurement continues to challenge credit unions who typically look at traditional media channels like digital, social, OOH, radio and TV/broadcast for data. More than 50 percent of credit unions indicated that they do not engage a study measuring the impact of their partnerships on members or plan to do so within the next 12 months. For the first time, credit unions now have a mechanism to value sponsorship similarly to these other media mix options by creating a custom model that quantifies how the different media/non-media assets drive revenue/profit.
Innovative Partnerships Group recently created a subdivision within its Valuations & Consulting team called Data Insights & Reporting. This new group will enhance the value proposition to both brands and properties by providing access to proprietary information that is both customizable for the brand while designed for public dissemination. Our goal is to help the naming rights and sponsorship industry with cutting edge research, tips and insights on long-term business partnerships that can spark thought leadership.
Our initial strategy is to focus on analysis, trends and best practices in sponsorship within specific industry sectors. After completing an initial survey of credit unions, our team will explore new surveys through the following verticals in the upcoming months – Healthcare, EV, Energy and/or FinTech – with the goal to create new marketing vehicles (e.g., blogs, podcasts, client profiles etc.) that showcase Innovative Partnerships Group’s best-in-class services and range of expertise.
Innovative Partnerships Group has been luxury electric car manufacturer VinFast’s Agency of Record, creating and supporting their Sponsorship Valuation & Strategy, since the beginning of 2022. In preparation for their U.S. launch, we worked alongside Vingroup to host exclusive, elite tours of Vietnam. These VIP trips included memorable experiences of Vietnam’s culture, private tours of the state-of-the-art EV plant, and test drive opportunities.
VinFast began its first foray into building partnerships in the U.S. last year when it announced that it would become the first-ever naming rights partner of the IRONMAN U.S. Series starting in 2022. Along with the naming rights, VinFast also became the title partner for the IRONMAN World Championship and the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship. Innovative Partnerships Group has worked with VinFast behind the scenes to bring these two companies together.
VinFast has taken its next steps into the U.S. market with the groundbreaking of its first electric vehicle manufacturing facility spanning 1,800 acres in Chatham County, NC. The company chose this location after the state offered a $1.2B incentive package with the hope that the investment would create 7,500 new jobs. VinFast aims to produce 150,000 vehicles per year at the plant.
Going Public
In August VinFast made another big step in its growth into the U.S. market when it made its debut on NASDAQ. The company opened its shares at $22, but those numbers rose sharply, and at the end of the day, they closed at $37.06. VinFast CEO Madame Thủy spoke to CNBC on the company’s decision to go public: “It’s a big milestone for us to be listed in the U.S. The listing is going to open access to the capital markets for us in the future.”
As VinFast continues to grow, Innovative Partnerships Group is working closely with Madame Thuy in supporting fleet sale opportunities across the U.S. The goal for the remainder of 2023 into Q1 2024 will be to continue the positive brand recognition and grow the consumer and corporate electric vehicle sales verticals.
Times Square, one of the most iconic sites in the world, has never seen anything like TSX. A first-of-its-kind entertainment venue located in the heart of the Big Apple. TSX is creating one of the most ambitious mixed-use developments in all of New York City. In a multi-year relationship, Innovative Partnerships Group was selected as TSX’s exclusive agency of record for sponsorships and naming rights and has created a unique platform to build out some of the largest global partnerships in the entertainment industry.
TSX launched its permanent main stage on July 18, 2023 with one of the largest events ever held in Times Square. The surprise concert by superstar Post Malone was the highest attended live performance in decades. Post Malone said during the show, “This is the coolest venue in the f–king universe.” His social media followers clearly agreed, as his TSX post garnered a whopping 600,000+ likes on Instagram while the video of his performance generating billions of impressions. For more information on this epic moment, see the article on Billboard.
Anchored by the Hilton Hotel’s new flagship brand, Tempo by Hilton, which opened in August, TSX is becoming the epicenter of entertainment, staging the world's biggest pop culture moments and serving as a new and innovative way for artists and brands to reach fans around the world.
Global buzz has already begun with these pop culture-defining moments in 2023:
Innovative Partnerships Group is excited to be working with TSX to re-define the entertainment industry.
This article was originally published to global newswire.com
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Sept. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HotelPlanner, a leading travel technology platform and hotel booking engine, today announced a service provider partnership with The St. James, the premier sports, wellness, and entertainment brand in the county. The partnership includes HotelPlanner offering discounted hotel solutions to The St. James members for their athletic events and lifestyle experiences.
The St. James Flagship in Springfield, VA, features 450,000 square feet of endless sports, wellness, and entertainment options for the entire family. Home to world-class venues including FIFA regulation size turf field, pair of NHL ice rinks, four basketball and nine volleyball courts, Olympic swimming pool, golf simulators, squash courts, batting cages, gymnastics center, high performance center and more, The St. James hosts to an impressive lineup of tournaments, from elite high school basketball showcases such as She’s Got Game and MLK Classic to Premier Lacrosse League’s Championship Series as well as corporate team building and social events.
“The St. James is known as the place where active families and professionals can train like elite athletes. We found an elite partner with HotelPlanner, which offers the most expansive hotel selection and superior service for athletic events. Our members can now enjoy the additional membership perk of discounted hotels and group travel support from HotelPlanner,” says Elyse Graziano, Senior Director of Sports, The St. James.
“We’re excited to partner with The St. James, a leading company in the athletic performance, health & wellness space for the entire family, to offer discounted hotels for member events, athletic tournaments, and lifestyle experiences. This partnership expands our footprint in the rapidly growing health & wellness space,” says Tim Hentschel, Co-founder & CEO, HotelPlanner.
About Innovative Partnerships Group
Innovative Partnerships Group (IPG 360) is a leading Los Angeles-based naming rights, business development and international marketing firm focused on generating long-term strategic business partnerships for prestigious global brands. It is specialised in the sports, music and entertainment industries and has extensive experience with clients from professional leagues, governing bodies and franchises and teams from the main sports competitions including LaLiga, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS, MLB and the Olympics.
Innovative Partnerships Group also works with a patented system, Partnership Intelligence ™, which helps companies and brands accurately assess, align and measure their potential sponsorship deals. The company has been recognised on several occasions in recent years by Sports Business Journal as one of the leading sports marketing agencies in this industry
