American Dairy Queen teams up with MLB in first sports league sponsorship
Major League Baseball and American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ), a leader in iconic treats and food, today announced a new integrated marketing partnership that brings together two beloved American brands this summer. To amplify this relationship, ADQ has also partnered with MLB All-Stars Tim Anderson, Cody Bellinger, Bryce Harper and Fernando Tatis Jr.
The DQ brand is launching this landmark league sponsorship with broadcast, digital and social media assets that feature the four All-Stars, while also leveraging MLB in retail marketing and popular DQ® restaurant offerings: new Signature StackburgersTM and the Summer Blizzard® Treat menu. To lead off the partnership, DQ and MLB are giving away autographed items from each of its All-Star ambassadors via @MLB on Twitter.
For the first time, fans will have the chance to crown their favorite combo meal the “Official Combo Meal of MLB” in an American League vs. National League meal competition. Anderson, the Chicago White Sox shortstop, will pit his favorite Signature Stackburger and Blizzard Treat against Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies perennial All-Star outfielder, and his favorite Signature Stackburger and Blizzard Treat. Fans will then judge the competition at dairyqueen.com and select the winning meal.
Harper and Anderson will appear in TV and online video spots, social media and DQ restaurant menu boards promoting the Signature Stackburgers. Later in the summer, Tatis Jr. and Bellinger are set to star in their own set of DQ creative to promote the All-Star Summer Blizzard Treat menu.
“We could not be more excited about our new partnership with the DQ brand,” said Noah Garden, MLB Chief Revenue Officer. “A cold treat is as synonymous with baseball as any ballpark food and DQ is a fun, family-focused brand, much like we are at Major League Baseball. To see DQ embrace our new relationship so fully from the start shows a major commitment to reaching baseball fans. By partnering with some of the best, most personable players in MLB and developing such a unique marketing plan around their sponsorship, DQ is making the most out of this season.”
As a way of extending its long-time support of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the annual Miracle Treat Day, ADQ is also sponsoring a Miracle Child and their family from the Children’s Miracle Hospital Network to attend the 2022 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard in Los Angeles.
“We know our fans love baseball as much as they love a Blizzard Treat or a delicious Signature Stackburger, and teaming up with MLB, another iconic summertime favorite, is sure to make this an unforgettable season,” said Becky Felling, Vice President of Marketing Communications at ADQ. “We are hosting an All-Star Summer packed with fun – and some surprises – for our fans to engage in our restaurants and during the summer baseball season.”
DQ will actively engage with baseball fans and MLB players all season long while showcasing its new Signature Stackburgers menu and All-Star Summer Blizzard Treat menu with national advertising airing during MLB game broadcasts and across other cable networks. Additionally, beginning this May, DQ restaurants nationwide will offer Blizzard Treat and beverage cups with a special MLB theme.
To amplify fan engagement, the DQ brand will also sponsor Grand Slams all summer long – when a MLB player hits a Grand Slam, fans will have the chance to win an MLB Shop gift card when they engage with DQ replay content on social media. With an average of five Grand Slams hit every week of the MLB regular season, fans can look forward to more than 100 chances to win.