The 2024 World Series wrapped up Wednesday night, and so did the debut season of Strauss as MLB sponsor.
And while some fans were put off by the ad placement—and complained about it on social media—Strauss, a family-owned German apparel brand, told Front Office Sports the partnership was “a huge success.”
Strauss agreed to a deal with MLB in September to be MLB’s official workwear partner and the first sponsor to ever have its logo appear on batting helmets. The deal runs until 2027 and includes its logo on batting helmets in Minor League Baseball throughout the regular season, beginning next year.
The move has received backlash online from fans opposed to the growing number of advertisements on players’ uniforms. While Strauss has aired the occasional commercial during postseason games, many U.S. fans unaware of the brand have been left confused since the logo is the most prominent of the advertisements and Strauss isn’t well known among U.S. consumers.
“The attention has been immense,” CEO Henning Strauss said. “This is reflected in traffic to our website, social media followers, and sales. Our U.S. business is at full speed, ramping up in order to meet very high demand.”
Strauss wouldn’t share exact traffic and sales figures. The brand’s U.S. Instagram account has 23,900 followers, which is a 455% increase since April, according to Social Blade. Its Facebook account has about 2,800 followers, while its TikTok has under 1,700.
Earlier this month when the Strauss logo first started appearing in postseason games, Henning Strauss told FOS the backlash from fans was “expected.”
“It does take a bit of time [to be accepted] whenever a new asset becomes available to the sports market,” Strauss said.
He also claimed MLB was the one who first approached the brand about a sponsorship, and the timing was right as the company was looking to enter the U.S. market. The brand has several partnerships in soccer, including with Liverpool and the Mexico national team.
