Major League Baseball (MLB) and American Dairy Queen Corporation (DQ) intend to kick off a multi-year integrated marketing partnership this regular season, led by various stars of the game Cody Bellinger, Fernando Tatis Jr., Tim Anderson, and Bryce Harper.
Major prongs of the sponsorship deal are:
- leveraging MLB in popular DQ restaurant items and related retail marketing, plus
- branding social media, digital, and broadcast media assets.
The value or resulting dollar impact of the MLB and DQ partnership is unknown. However, the potential is thought to be substantial.
Consider DQ has more than 7,000 locations in the U.S., not counting Canada or other parts of the globe. In 2019, the last completed MLB regular season before the Covid-19 pandemic, MLB estimates 68.5 million fans attended a game.
DQ is becoming increasingly active in recent years too seeking out various new paths to cast a wider reach. While the deal represents the first of its kind with MLB, DQ has over a dozen different similar arrangements with minor-league and even college teams.
At the outset paraphernalia that is autographed by each of the four stars is going to be given away to lucky fans over Twitter.
Then fans will then judge a fun online competition at dairyqueen.com pitting the American League against the National League for the best “Official Combo Meal of MLB”. Harper and Anderson will compete with their favorite Signature Stackburger and Blizzard Treat. They will also promote their Signature Stackburgers on custom menu boards at DQ locations, over social media, and in various online video and TV ads. Farther into the season Bellinger and Tatis will ‘compete’ in a similar manner.
On paper, the partnership seems a perfect fit. A cold treat on a hot summer day or night is often synonymous with one another.
DQ will also make good with target charity partners via the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and its namesake annual Miracle Treat Day. With the right to attend the 2022 MLB All-Star Game, DQ is paying for a Miracle Child and its family to take in the festivities.
Additional engagement efforts by DQ with MLB players, fans, and the community are apt to entail custom beverage cups and supplemental national TV spots in-game.
If fans interact with DQ replay content on social media when a player hits a grand slam, they will have the opportunity to win an MLB Shop gift card too. Based on historical averages of more than 100 grand slams annually, fans will have several shots at winning.