Allstar Goes To Bat With the Babe With First Signed Baseball Promotion

Allstar Marketing Corp. hopes to trigger the fond memories of baseball fans when it helps celebrate Babe Ruth's 100th birthday on Feb. 6. The firm has issued a replica signature baseball for display in grocery and other retail stores, representing the first in a series of balls planned for introduction in 1995.Each baseball features a replica signature of Babe Ruth, key statistics from his career and the "100th Anniversary" seal. The balls are being packaged with a stand in a four-color gift box by the Elmsford, N.Y.-based company and are selling for $5.99 each.The commemorative balls will be promoted in grocery chains, supermarkets and other retail outlets via a four-sided corrugated display. The display features a two-sided header card that can be adapted for new baseballs later in the year.The display, created by Gammon Displays, Chicago, holds 72 baseballs in four triangle-shaped cases that can be separated from the corrugated base for use as counter units. The unit occupies only nine square feet of floor space. "We'll be producing as many of these displays as we can get orders in," says Scott Boilen, vice president of special markets.The baseballs began rolling out nationally in October. "We've had excellent results using the display and gift box together to make our baseballs into traffic builders."Other baseballs from classic players are scheduled to be included in the program beginning in March, he notes, but the Babe Ruth ball is receiving the primary focus for the first six months of the program. As more are added, the displays will be adapted to allow for the inclusion of one player per side of the display. The corrugated header card, which stands about three feet tall and folds over to provide a two-sided presentation, will also be modified to include the names of other featured players as they roll out.The baseball is one of many products licensed by Curtis Management Group to promote Babe Ruth's birthday. The logo, which features a silhouette of the Babe admiring a home run, will appear on apparel, posters, watches, plates, coins, figurines, commemorative gift items and other products sold through a variety of retail outlets. The Indianapolis-based company expects to license more than 100 products on the market this year from companies such as Nike, Hallmark Cards, Topps and Upper Deck.

Allstar Goes To Bat With the Babe With First Signed Baseball Promotion

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