Sox to Advertise on Uniforms in Japan

By KC Downey in News, Red Sox ⋅ January 27, 2008 at 12:25am ⋅ Post a comment

Larry Lucchino (Courtesy of Boston Herald)

Sox CEO Larry Lucchino is posing here with a Red Sox jersey embedded with the EMC ad.(Courtesy of Boston Herald)

The Red Sox will take advantage of another opportunity to make a little more money when the team travels to Japan at the beginning of the regular season. They have stuck a deal with EMC to display a patch on the right sleeve of their uniforms, the first time in Red Sox history they have ever put an advertisement on their jersey.

EMC is interested in tapping into a lucrative Japanese market, while the Red Sox are looking for even more ways to make added revenue.

Apparently, advertisements on jerseys are commonplace in Japan, just not here in the U.S.

More from the Boston Herald’s Scott Van Voorhis:

The deal, which is with MLB Japan, is likely to cost EMC in the six figures, one leading sports business expert said.

“The fact that it is on the uniform makes it a unique sponsorship,” said Marc Ganis, head of Chicago-based SportsCorp.

Sox players and coaches, including Terry Francona, will wear specially designed sleeve patches featuring both the EMC and Japan 2008 logos.

The games will be broadcast both in the Japanese market and back home through the New England Sports Network (NESN).

EMC will also get hundreds of tickets to the two March games against the Oakland As, which the company will use to entertain customers and business partners.