German workwear company reaps rewards

I counted 21 brand logos displayed in the 10 seconds it took Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos to snap Philadelphia's winning streak against the New York Mets on Sunday, not including the Patagonia hat worn by a fan in the spotlight the anxious moment before the high spirits set in.

But it was the logo stretched over Castellanos' head — the newest piece of MLB real estate recently purchased by German workwear brand Strauss — that drew attention a week into baseball's postseason.

The company benefited from appearing on all helmets in the most-watched MLB Wild Card round to date, with ratings increasing 25% year-over-year. Even more attention is expected for the ongoing divisional series, which features four teams from the league's five largest media markets, including Aaron Judge's New York Yankees and Shohei Ohtani's Los Angeles Dodgers.

Live game broadcasts generated nearly $800,000 in media value for Strauss, according to data from Hive, an AI company that uses technology to aid in scoring.

According to digital measurement platform Zoomph, Strauss generated $65,000 worth of additional attention through the opening games of the current series across team and league-owned social accounts on Facebook, Instagram and X. By the end of the playoffs, the company could generate a total of $17 million in media value across television and digital media, Hive said.

Strauss decals have also been added MLB The Show 24 in an update to this video game last week.

“We have seen a significant increase in (website) visitors and purchases,” said Henning Strauss, CEO of Strauss. “Obviously people are taking notice.”

Henning added that the new inventory is particularly valuable to the family business because the baseball equipment ties in with Strauss' protective headgear and other workwear.

“The fact that our two organizations have so much in common – generational legacy, teamwork, dedication to a craft, recognition of a job well done – is a key to what makes this partnership so compelling,” said Noah Garden, deputy commissioner for economic affairs and MLB Media's Economy said in a statement when the deal was announced in September.

Some fans have expressed opposition to league-wide sticker placement, even though commercial intrusion on and around the diamond is almost as old as America's pastime itself.

Wrigley Field had “Doublemint Twins” gum over its scoreboard back in the 1920s. After Anheuser-Busch's 1950s effort to rename the St. Louis Cardinals' home Budweiser Stadium failed, the company settled on Busch Stadium—and then shortly thereafter introduced what would become Busch beer .

There was a battle over advertising behind home plate in the 1990s, but anyone watching this weekend knows who won that battle. Each remaining playoff team has also added a jersey sponsor patch in recent years.

Strauss represents several trends as fresh brands fill the new commercials. Together with Carhartt and Duluth Trading Company, the company is a workwear retailer that increasingly reaches its customers through sports. It's also the latest European brand to develop a sports strategy on this side of the pond before replicating it stateside. Among other real estate relationships, Strauss is UEFA's official workwear partner for the European Championship and Europa League competitions.

While many companies rely on targeted digital advertising to market their wares, the breadth that sports – and basically just sports these days – offers can be invaluable to a company looking to build awareness and trustworthiness.

In addition to potential customers, other sports properties have also gained Also noted the newest brand on the sports marketing scene.

“As you can imagine, we receive a lot of inquiries from the sports industry,” said Henning Strauss. “They see the opportunity for further partnerships.”