NEW YORK, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- World Baseball Classic, Inc. has awarded Grey New York the advertising assignment in support of its premier international baseball tournament, the World Baseball Classic, featuring the best players in the world, set for March 2009.
Grey will create a new integrated advertising campaign as part of a comprehensive promotional effort for the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Tickets are on sale now at WorldBaseballClassic.com. Grey helped launch the advertising campaign for the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, which went on to become one of the most successful global sporting events ever, with nearly 750,000 fans participating worldwide.
"Grey presented us with a powerful creative idea that promises to resonate with baseball fans around the globe," said Paul Archey, Senior Vice President, International Business Operations, Major League Baseball. "We look forward to working with Grey again to take the World Baseball Classic's popularity to new levels."
"We're pleased to be teaming up once again with Grey and its team of such talented people," said Gene Orza, Chief Operating Officer, Major League Baseball Players Association. "They were a major factor in the enormous success of the inaugural Classic, and I'm sure that will be the case again in the second Classic, coming in March."
Maureen Maldari, Group Executive Vice President of Grey New York and the account leader, said, "This is a tremendous vote of confidence and we are thrilled to be part of this unique event that celebrates baseball as 'the' international pastime. We are committed to leveraging the power of the icon brand the World Baseball Classic has become."
About World Baseball Classic, Inc.
World Baseball Classic, Inc. is a company created at the direction of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to operate the World Baseball Classic tournament. The tournament, which is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), is supported by MLB, the MLBPA, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players associations and other leagues and players from around the world.
About the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is the premier international baseball tournament, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, and features the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories. In March 2006, 486 players (235 of them from MLB organizations) representing 16 teams from across the globe competed in the inaugural event. More than 740,000 fans from 48 states and 15 countries attended games (16 of which sold out) and millions more watched on TV as Team Japan was crowned the first-ever World Baseball Classic Champion. The inaugural tournament was broadcast by 48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and territories around the world. Media members representing 25 different nations attended the 39 games in seven host venues across three countries/territories. The upcoming World Baseball Classic will be played from March 5 - 23 and will again feature 16 of the greatest baseball playing nations in the world. The tournament will be held every four years thereafter, with plans in place to expand the participant field beginning in 2013.
About Grey New York
Grey New York is the flagship and largest office of Grey, the advertising network of Grey Group. Grey Group ranks among the largest global communications companies. Its parent company is WPP . Grey Group's total offering includes G2, activation marketing; healthcare communications; media planning and buying and public relations. Grey New York's client roster includes many of the world's best known companies: Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, BAT, Diageo, Darden Restaurants, Wyeth, Canon, 3M, Eli Lilly, Dairy Queen and ETrade.
