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Kids’ Media Brands Step Up to the Plate with MLB Collaborations

The year was 1988, and it was a sold-out season-opening game. One banner at Three Rivers Stadium, the then-home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, read, “Can you spell pennant?” Only one person was right for the ceremonial first pitch against rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies: Fred Rogers.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood had been on the air for 20 years before he took the mound. More than 20 years later, in 2015, the Altoona Curve, a Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, hosted Sweater Night in honor of Rogers. Mister Rogers ended in 2001, but the show’s influence had never wavered. Players wore cardigan-inspired jerseys for the game, which were auctioned to benefit the local PBS affiliate, WPSU-TV. The following year, the Curve gave 1,000 fans replica jerseys of Rogers’ iconic outfits and treated attendees to an appearance from Daniel Tiger. It also gave away figures of Daniel Tiger in the locker room.

In a new decade, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is an annual promotion for the Curve, which offered free books and photo opportunities in May. Daniel Tiger visited Indianapolis in July and has appeared at games hosted by the Chesapeake Baysox, Frederick Keys, Timber Rattlers, and South Bend Cubs, bridging the gap for young kids between America’s national pastime and the familiar neighborhood at home.

Daniel Tiger is not relegated to the minors: In June, the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted Daniel and his friends, ending the night with a 12-minute drone show. “Drone shows are becoming much more popular and gaining popularity,” says Katie Huber, Senior Director of Licensing at Fred Rogers Productions, which manages  Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Alma’s Way, Donkey Hodie, and more. 

Having seen an Avengers drone show for Marvel at PNC Park in 2023, the team at Fred Rogers Productions saw an opportunity to connect with Pittsburgh in a “really unique, fun way,” Huber says, noting that many viewers don’t realize that Daniel Tiger inhabits the neighborhood Rogers created decades ago. “We’re really helping to continue the work and the legacy of Fred Rogers by creating Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” she says, connecting with young fans and their grown-ups. In addition to the drone show illustrating the progression from one neighborhood to another, the event included a “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” sing-along during the seventh inning and an appearance from Donkey Hodie. “Just the words from that song and the sentiment — it takes you back to just such a simple time in I think everyone’s life, and it is a great message,” Huber says. “That Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood have such a wonderful emotional connection to people…That’s something I’ll never forget.”

Licensing opportunities abound for the MLB and MiLB. For its AAPI-themed celebrations, many MiLB teams have embraced Disney’s Lilo and Stitch. The Curve again donned themed jerseys in August; the Brooklyn Cyclones celebrated Moana Day Aug. 3 with tropical print bucket hats, exclusive straw-front ballcaps, themed jerseys, and inspired local entertainment between innings. In July, the Pirates hosted another post-game drone show with Peanuts, delighting families with animations of Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and other characters.

The PNC Park drone show. | Source: Pittsburgh Pirates

For baseball, the best way to get young fans to the stadium is through characters they know and love at home. Snoopy, Iron Man, Daniel Tiger, Mister Rogers, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Stitch, and the world of Mo Willems move easily from the playroom to home plate. “Mo [Willems] books are a shared experience between the reader and their parents, caregivers, or teachers,” says Tori Cook, Senior Vice President, Franchise Management and Consumer Products for Hidden Pigeon Co. (HPC), the content company founded by author Mo Willems. “Baseball is a timeless shared experience, too. It was a natural fit to put them together.”

The mainstays of Sesame Street have made the journey from fictional neighborhood to several MLB ballparks this summer, including the homes of the Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, and, of course, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Before the season ends, partnerships will entice young fans with Big Bird plushes, and bobbleheads featuring Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster at home games for the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Guardians.

For Sesame Workshop, the path to the MLB was longer than a ride on the 7 train: “It actually started with our 50th anniversary,” explains Samantha Kennedy, Vice President of Brand Marketing at Sesame Workshop. “We were in conversations with MLB and reaching out to specific clubs, and then that was 2020, and COVID came.” 

The program started in earnest in 2021 and has expanded yearly to more clubs. “It’s just been such a wonderful partnership,” Kennedy says. And while the MLB sees Sesame Workshop as a means to bring in a younger audience, the partnership connects Sesame Street in unexpected ways. “We have the luxury of being very well known, but that doesn’t mean we’re always connecting with our youngest audience. So we’re looking for places that are a little bit more unexpected, in places where we can really be more one-on-one with kids and family.”

Special theme nights also offer one-on-one experiences for kids with their favorite characters. Sesame Workshop offers clubs a toolkit, allowing teams to pick and choose the experience, from a first pitch to a meet-and-greet. “We give them all of the assets…it makes it kind of more turnkey for everybody.”

In what must be a big week for preschoolers in New York City, The New York Mets will giveaway a Big Bird bobblehead Aug. 27 for Sesame Street Night and offer pre-game and in-game entertainment — including the first pitch, mascot race, and a T-shirt toss — four days later Aug. 31 for Blippi Day, which includes 5,000 pairs of orange glasses for kids under 14.

For HPC, kids can get up close and personal at home plate with Willems and his best-known character, The Pigeon. Through the Royals Literacy League, the two visited area schools to read The Pigeon Has to Go to School! and read The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog at Book Club at the Ballpark, hosted on the field at Kauffman Stadium. “I love literacy,” The Pigeon caws.

Literacy has long been the goal for Willems, who aptly read The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster at Maimonides Park in 2022; the ticket package included the read-along, a Piggie and Elephant bobblehead, and a Pigeon beanie. “I was afraid because they’re the Cyclones, I was afraid I’d get really dizzy,” The Pigeon reveals. “We had a fantastic time!”

More than a month before the game, packages including the beanie had sold out. In 2019, Willems read to young fans who had the opportunity to take home a Pigeon bobblehead and a Knuffle Bunny bobblehead. At some point, the Cyclones produced a special jersey with Knuffle Bunny, a much beleaguered plush character, as its mascot, a departure from the team’s seagulls and erstwhile mustachioed hot dogs.

“We like partnering with brands that bring families together in a memorable way,” notes Cook. “Plus, pigeons are common to every ballpark, aren’t they?”

The Pigeon agrees: “There are so many floor crumbs,” which appeals to the literary character. “The hot dogs at Yankee Stadium are very specific,” he adds. “They have that New York quality to them.” 

This season, Yankee Stadium offered more than food for Willems fans. The stadium gift shop provided apparel starring Piggy, Gerald the elephant, and The Pigeon, plus magnetic tile sets from CreateOn. The first 10,000 attendees under 14 at Mo Willems Day received plush Pigeon key chains. Spectators of all ages were treated to skits between innings (one such video saw The Pigeon chase an on-field cart) and illustrations of The Pigeon perched on the shoulder of Yankees players’ portraits while at bat. 

The Pigeon will spread his wings and return to Kauffman Stadium Sept. 5 for The Pigeon Night with an exclusive Pigeon bobblehead, branded merchandise, and a meet and greet. Though the HPC partnership has only visited two clubs this season, The Pigeon adorns New Era caps for a variety of teams, including the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners.

While these afternoons and evenings at the game are opportunities to build memories, these partnerships also benefit the industry. “It’s the reminder that we’re still here and doing all this good work. We’re helping kids grow smarter, stronger, and kinder,” says Kennedy. “And just a reminder to watch the show, to look at our content, to engage with the brand in new ways.”

Huber agrees: “I feel honored that I got to see and experience that moment with their child or their friend or their parent, whoever it may be,” she shares. “You could create new neighbors in the seat next to you and behind you,” she explains. “This is really just a wonderful chance for us to start this relationship with the Pirates, and we look forward to continuing it and taking it further,” she adds.

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