Each initiative demonstrates FSM’s ability to provide customized,
unique activations for clients that are impactful and authentic.

Boston, MA – September 14, 2022 – Fenway Sports Management (FSM), the sales, consulting, and special events arm for Fenway Sports Group’s impressive portfolio of sports properties, announced today the execution of a series of activations on behalf of clients New Balance and Old Trapper. These successful marketing campaigns illustrate FSM’s versatile activation strategies, which support the firm in delivering exceptional results for its clients on a variety of platforms, both digital and in-person.

In celebration of Women in Baseball Week, held July 24-30, the FSM Sponsorship Consulting team partnered with the Red Sox creative team and New Balance to create a multi-part digital activation on social media, which included videos highlighting the profound impact of women working in baseball, as explained by six individuals who work in the industry. Among those featured were Red Sox Senior Programs Manager Lidia Zayas, who shared her desire to inspire the next generation of women in baseball; New Balance Baseball Associate Sports Marketing Manager Nina Beltre, who gave her perspective on the changing of the tide when it comes to more women working in the sport; and Boston Red Sox baseball player Cristian Arroyo, who shared appreciation for his mother’s contributions towards realizing his dream of becoming a professional baseball player.

An additional component to the activation was the creation of a Women in Baseball t-shirt, a collaboration between Red Sox creative and New Balance. The idea originated from the Red Sox’s women employee resource group, which hosts meaningful discussions to advance professional development and career growth for women working in baseball. During Women in Baseball Week, New Balance athletes, including Alex Cora, Garrett Whitlock, Christian Arroyo, and Rich Hill, wore the t-shirts along with Red Sox front office staff to demonstrate widespread support for the initiative.

The Women in Baseball activation delivered tremendous visibility for New Balance and its commitment to advancing representation in sports, accumulating 1.5 million total impressions and 3,880 total engagements across social media platforms. The success of this activation was driven by FSM’s in-depth involvement in every facet – from the conceptualization of the initial idea to the securing of talent for the features, and the coordination and execution of all logistics – and the application of their intimate knowledge of the local fanbase.

“We saw an opportunity for New Balance and the Red Sox to showcase the incredible impact women have on the sports industry; but more specifically we worked with FSM to tell that story not through the typical C-suite perspective, but through the rising stars who continue to pave the path for more women in the sport of Baseball,” said Jessica Vassall, Senior Marketing Manager Sports Partnerships at New Balance.

FSM’s deal with Old Trapper, built around the execution of activations in three collegiate conferences (Big Ten, Pac-12, and Big 12), served to lift the beef jerky company’s brand awareness and brand positioning. At the Big 12 Media Day, held July 13-14 in Arlington, Texas, FSM’s Sponsorship Consulting team executed a successful activation that included the distribution of over 700 packages of beef jerky to fans in attendance. FSM orchestrated the creation and implementation of several promotional components in anticipation of the event, including large co-branded backdrops, mini helmets of Big 12 teams, brand ambassadors, directional signage with each Big 12 team’s stadium location, and multiple branding touchpoints (sizzle reel, beef jerky display, and custom old trapper flannels for ambassadors) to maximize the opportunity on behalf of Old Trapper.

“The FSM team creatively and boldly presents the Old Trapper brand at major sporting events and delights our beef jerky sports fans with a fun, engaging style that perfectly reflects our brand personality and company culture,” said Robert Leary, Chief Marketing Officer for Old Trapper. “They handle all of the creative, detailed logistics and always do it on time and on budget.”

As its client lists continue to grow, the FSM Sponsorship Consulting team is encouraged by the success of these two recent activations.

“These successful activations shed light on FSM’s capabilities as a sponsorship consulting team to create memorable and highly visible programs that align with key brand goals and objectives,” said BriAnne Newman, Vice President of Sponsorship Consulting & Events. “We are acutely focused on helping brands connect their values with the unmatched passion of sports fans. For both Old Trapper and New Balance, these activations did just that in a manner that was true to their respective brand identities.”

FSM’s Sponsorship Consulting team assists companies in using sponsorships as a platform to achieve their business goals. Born from rightsholders, FSM’s expertise is rooted in its experiences directly from its own sports properties, offering a unique understanding of how to negotiate and deliver world class partnerships through leveraging its deep industry knowledge and relationships. With unmatched insights and access to proprietary research about local fan behavior, FSM has a particular strength in helping clients harness the power of local team sponsorships in any market. The team’s core capabilities consist of day-to-day management of a brand’s sponsorship portfolio, including building a fully integrated sponsorship strategy, inclusive of negotiation, identification, and evaluation of new or existing opportunities as well as activating their sponsorships on any scale. Some of FSM’s Sponsorship Consulting clients include: Dunkin’, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Cavendish Farms, and Old Trapper.

About Fenway Sports Management

Fenway Sports Management (FSM) is a global sports marketing firm that specializes in partnership sales, consulting, and the creation of unique and memorable events and experiences. The company serves as the sponsorship sales arm for FSG’s prestigious sports portfolio, including the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, the Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Sports Network (NESN), and RFK Racing. In addition to representing FSG’s network of properties, FSM also serves as the exclusive marketing agency for LeBron James through a strategic partnership with LRMR Ventures.

Outside of sponsorship sales, FSM serves as the sponsorship consulting agency to several brands, advising them on how to use sports as a platform to realize their business goals through a variety of services including strategy development, negotiation, and activation. The firm is also an industry leader with its Special Events practice which creates, plans, and executes a broad spectrum of unique sports and entertainment events that range from large-scale, public events at iconic sports venues, to private, corporate events. 

Media Contact: 

FSM Contact: Sean Hathaway at shathaway@issuesgroup.com or 857-208-5858

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