Former Hennepin County Commissioner and DFL state party chief Mark Andrew is going to bat for the Boston Red Sox now.
Andrew is developing a niche in the expanding “green sponsorship” field, and it was announced today that his Minneapolis-based firm, GreenMark, will be the Red Sox agency to “handle all aspects of green sponsorship — development, strategy, sales and activation planning — at Fenway Park.”
We’ve written before about Andrew at MinnPost, first by colleague John Reinan in November 2008 and then when GreenMark signed on with the Twins and Target Field.
And when Pentair signed on as the “Official Sustainable Water Provider” for Target Field, Andrew and GreenMark made a national splash. In the good old days, it was the official hot dog. Times have changed.
“While the Red Sox have already established a strong record of environmental stewardship, we are pleased to partner with GreenMark to change the game of sponsorship that will create winning results for the environment, our corporate partners and our organization,” Joe Januszewski, Red Sox Senior Vice President for Corporate Sales and Fenway Enterprises, said in a statement that, in a nutshell, reflects the 21st century of sports business.
It’s a trend to cozy up to customers who care about such matters, to find new areas of sponsorship and to do a little bit of good for the environment in such large edifices.
“Sports offer a powerful marketing platform for building business and brand value,” Andrew said, and that’s what he’s up to these days.
Getting 98-year-old Fenway as green as brand new Target Field will be a task. But the Green Monster in left field is a good start.
