General Motors has signed a three-year agreement that makes its Chevrolet line the Official Vehicle of Major League Baseball.
MLB fits into the brand’s marketing initiative, “American Revolution,” with includes the launch of 10 new vehicles in the next 20 months, Steve Tihanyi, general director-marketing alliances for GM, said in a statement.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal begins this season and ends after the 2007 campaign.
“This partnership will further allow us to market our full line of cars and trucks to baseball fans across the country,” Tihanyi said.
As part of the agreement, Chevrolet will be the presenting sponsor of the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award and the World Series Most Valuable Player Award. The MVP of both events will be presented with the Chevrolet vehicle of his choice at the conclusion of the All-Star Game and deciding World Series game telecasts.
GM spokesperson Ryndee Carney said those programs would be similar to the one its Cadillac brand does with the NFL. Cadillac is the sponsor of the Super Bowl, and that game’s MVP receives a Cadillac of his choice.
Chevrolet was MLB’s Official Vehicle from 1985-1996, but no other automaker had stepped in to claim that title. Chevrolet has maintained sponsorships with several MLB teams since dropping its league-wide sponsorship.
Chevrolet also will be the presenting sponsor of 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Selection Show on ESPN, where the starters, reserves and pitchers for the 2005 All-Star Game are announced, along with the five position players in the American and National Leagues eligible for the Ameriquest 2005 All-Star Final Vote on MLB.com.
Chevrolet also will be a participating sponsor of John Hancock All-Star FanFest, the interactive baseball theme park that opens Major League Baseball All-Star Week, and will be the title sponsor of a premier attraction at the five-day event, which takes place this year at the Cobo Convention Center in Detroit, MI.
Though GM reported a 10th consecutive year of positive earnings in 2004, published reports last week said the automaker is considering cutting 28% of it’s 38,000 white collar workforce through early retirements and attrition. The company had revenues of $193 billion in 2004.
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