The brands are promotin’ some ball: KC businesses look to capitalize on Royals’ playoff return
October 2, 2024 | Olivia Mizelle
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Missouri Business Alert, a member of the Kansas City Media Collective, which also includes Startland News, KCUR 89.3, American Public Square, Kansas City PBS/Flatland, and The Kansas City Beacon.
Click here to read the original story.
The Kansas City Royals are back in the Major League Baseball postseason for the first time since winning the World Series in 2015, and fans aren’t the only ones celebrating. Local businesses throughout the Kansas City area are hosting watch parties, promoting merchandise and cutting prices in honor of the Royals.
As the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 1-0 in Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series Tuesday, Kansas City businesses were busy publicizing baseball-themed promotions on social media.
Charlie Hooper’s Brookside Bar & Grille in Kansas City is part of the Royals Home Team Program, and it played Tuesday’s Wild Card games on its TVs. Both games took place during Charlie Hoopers’ happy hour, which includes a variety of drink specials.
View this post on Instagram
The Royals Home Team Program features a dozen Kansas City-area bars and restaurants that partner with the team as venues for game day viewing.
Another restaurant that rolled out a playoff promotion is Meat Mitch BBQ, which hosted watch parties for Tuesday’s games. In an Instagram post, the restaurant said it would be playing the game on all 20 of its HD TVs and serving game day specials and happy hour drinks.
View this post on Instagram
Price Chopper is one of the Royals’ local sponsors, and the supermarket chain posted Monday on social media that shoppers could earn 100 bonus rewards points for every run the Royals score in the playoffs, if they make a $25 purchase the following day.
View this post on Instagram
Price Chopper also offers “Steal a Deals” during the regular season, offering fans discounts depending on what game they attend and where they sit.
Local Kansas City clothing stores are also getting excited about the Royals’ recent success.
Made in KC, a local gift and apparel store, leaned into the fact that it has been nine years since the Royals have been in the postseason in its Instagram caption Monday.
View this post on Instagram
It promoted its updated Royals gear and encouraged fans to buy the apparel.
Charlie Hustle, a Kansas City sports apparel brand, announced on X that it is releasing a shirt that reads “Give It Everything You Got,” inspired by former Royals Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer — two stars of the Royals’ 2015 World Series championship team.
Blue October is here and we are excited to team up with KC legends, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas, along with the @DigginDeepPod, to bring you the perfect shirt for playoff ball!
Shop Now->https://t.co/Z0yGYxJBbZ pic.twitter.com/wJZnF4ydNe
— Charlie Hustle (@CharlieHustleCo) September 30, 2024
2024 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
KC startups join Techstars, Amazon and Kickstarter to support net neutrality
Amazon, Kickstarter, Etsy, Mozilla and other tech giants are planning a “day of action” on July 12 to oppose efforts to undo net neutrality regulations by Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai. As national momentum grows, the fight for a free and open Internet already has garnered local support. More than a dozen Kansas City-area…
Flyover Capital leads $1.5M round in Illinois startup
Overland Park-based venture capital firm Flyover Capital has led a $1.5 million Series A round in an Illinois-based tech firm. Flyover led the investment round — which included Serra Ventures and other private investors — in Inprentus Precision Optics, which designs and manufactures X-ray and EUV diffraction gratings for “synchrotron radiation” facilities. The technology is used…
Faster-than-expected visa process helps BLITAB relocate from Austria to KC
Eight months after the Austria-based firm BLITAB won a LaunchKC grant, its co-founders have finally settled into their new home of Kansas City, Mo. BLITAB — a startup that developed the world’s first tablet for blind people — was the only internationally-based firm to win a $50,000 LaunchKC grant in September. But before co-founders Kristina Tsvetanova and Slavi…
KCultivator Q&A: Adrienne Haynes on microwave etiquette, Madam C.J. Walker, Beyonce
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a new, lighthearted profile series we’re kicking off to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Check out our other features on Robert Manigold, Susan Wally and Donald Carter. Adrienne Haynes caught an entrepreneurial bug as a teenager. With a passion for helping young people, she aspired to…