Overview

Rawlings Sporting Goods tabbed Fleishman-Hillard to turn a triple play:

Recapture brand ownership and equity in the Rawlings Gold Glove Award;
Connect Rawlings with its priority and ever-emerging consumer target audience: youth players, ages 8 to 18; and
Enhance relationships with Rawlings retailers and cut through the competitive nature of the business to win additional shelf space and key real estate for point-of-sale material.

Our research on behalf of Rawlings to establish benchmarks indicated a lack of awareness of Rawlings as the creator and owner of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award® – the most coveted fielding award in Major League Baseball – entered its Golden Anniversary in 2007 better known as only the "Gold Glove." While the award was turning 50 and Rawlings gloves are used by 37 percent of Major Leaguers (more than any other manufacturer), unaided Omnibus surveys and man-on-the street interviews at MLB ballparks in New York, San Diego, and St. Louis, showed that the vast majority of people in all demographics did not know that Rawlings was the creator, owner, and sponsor of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award.
A media audit showed that approximately 90 percent of reporter and broadcaster mentions of the award in recent years omitted "Rawlings," simply referring to the award as the "Gold Glove."

The Golden Anniversary of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award presented an opportunity to regain brand awareness and enhance relationships among several important audiences – beyond just baseball fans and consumers:

Major sporting goods retailers and team stores/dealers (approximately 4,000 rooftops). Landing participation by 13 major spoting goods retailers would require specific promotions for each.
Managers; coaches; equipment managers; professional, collegiate, prep, and youth players; leagues; and athletic directors.
Media: MLB announcers; national producers, broadcasters, and writers; wires; and sports reporters.