Ever wondered what it takes to turn a viral sports moment into must-have fan merch? We just partnered with the Washington Nationals to give away 10,000 free shirts to celebrate James Wood's MLB debut on Monday, July 1, 2024. Let's take a quick look at how we pulled it off and the buzz it created for the Nationals!
At BreakingT, we pride ourselves on operating our business like a newsroom, with new releases happening as fast as trends are breaking on social media.
Our social data platform, CrowdBreak, ensures our creative team's fingers are always on the pulse of the hottest stories in sports. Our dedication to quality, speed, and top-notch customer service has helped us serve over 400,000 fans and partner with more than 100 professional sports teams and major collegiate athletic programs.
With licenses across many leagues and fanbases, we're positioned to satisfy the ever-growing need for real-time, moment-driven apparel.
BreakingT recently partnered with the Washington Nationals for the James Wood debut giveaway, showcasing our ability to scale real-time sports apparel production and aligning our efforts with organizational goals.
Our nimble and fast operations, innovative strategies, proprietary technology, and unmatched creativity helped us satisfy the needs of both the Nationals and their fans.
The Problem: James Wood Debut Memorabilia
James Wood’s debut for the Washington Nationals on July 1, 2024 marked a pivotal moment in the team’s ongoing rebuild. As one of baseball’s top prospects and a key part of the return from the blockbuster Juan Soto trade, Wood's arrival was eagerly anticipated by fans and the organization alike. His debut signified a changing of the guard at Nationals Park, with fans swapping their old jerseys for new ones emblazoned with "Welcome to the Show James Wood."
His debut wasn’t just about a single game; it was about the promise of many more to come — hence the hashtag #TheFutureStartsHere, which was promoted in parallel with Wood's debut.
The Solution: BreakingT x Washington Nationals
BreakingT, headquartered in Washington, DC, has established itself as a leader in real-time sports merchandise, leveraging social media data through its CrowdBreak platform to create timely, officially licensed apparel. With existing relationships with many professional and collegiate teams, including the Washington Nationals, BreakingT was the perfect partner for commemorating James Wood’s debut.
When news of Wood’s call-up broke, the Nationals quickly approached BreakingT to create a special t-shirt for the event. Recognizing the significance of the moment and the opportunity to enhance the fan experience, BreakingT sprang into action. The collaboration was a natural fit, given BreakingT’s mission to connect fans to their favorite players and teams by commemorating the best moments in sports.
In less than 48 hours, BreakingT designed, produced, and delivered 10,000 “Welcome to the Show James Wood” t-shirts to Nationals Park. The swift execution showcased BreakingT’s ability to operate like a newsroom, not just in delivering an incredible design, but by leveraging our supply chain to:
- Create a unique and relevant design
- Leverage our supply chain relationships to get materials same day
- Print our design on 10,000 blank t-shirts
- Package those printed shirts
- Deliver the printed shirts to Nationals Park
The Execution: Design + Source + Produce + Deliver
The project required BreakingT to design, print, and deliver 10,000 custom James Wood t-shirts to Nationals Park in time for his Major League debut.
The design process was a collaborative effort between BreakingT’s creative team and the Nationals’ marketing team. After a few iterations of concept and aesthetic, we agreed on a final design.
Once we knew the shirt color, we needed to order 10,000 blank t-shirts to print on. Using our established relationships with apparel vendors, we were able to order and have delivered those shirts within a few hours — showcasing our optimized supply chain.
We then leveraged our relationship with our screen printing partner to output our design on the 10,000 shirts within a few hours — and then organized and boxed those printed shirts for delivery.
After printing, the t-shirts were delivered to Nationals Park the morning of James Wood's debut. They were then distributed at all entry gates by Nationals staff to the first 10,000 fans.
The Results: Happy Fans 🤝 Happy Nats
Tying one of the most anticipated debuts in Nationals' history with a tangible product like a commemorative shirt was an immediate success and the impact was notable. Ticket sales spiked within the first hour it was announced.
BreakingT also cross-promoted the game and ticket sales to its relevant customer base of Nationals fans.
Quantifying the exact impact of our giveaway is tricky from our end, but comparing ticket sales before and after can give us some insights.
Anecdotally, the buzz of his debut was clearly fueled by the t-shirt giveaway and fans were flocking to Nationals Park before gates opened to make sure they got one of the 10,000 shirts available.
Pretty good line right now pic.twitter.com/YsQyEHj55Q
— TheNatsReport ⚾ 🇺🇸 (@TheNatsReport) July 1, 2024
Once the gates opened, fans across Nationals Park were able to grab their commemorative James Wood debut t-shirt — and with a coordinated effort from the Nationals' stadium staff, the giveaway went off without a hitch!
Partnering with the Washington Nationals on a James Wood debut t-shirt promotion is an incredible example of BreakingT's value and the needs within this industry we are working to satisfy — to deliver high-quality merchandise about real-time sports moments to fans as quickly as possible!
