Range Media Partners Hired By New York Mets To Help Update Team’s Brand

Dade Hayes
·2 min read
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The New York Mets, which were acquired before this season by billionaire financier Steve Cohen, have brought in Range Media Partners to “evolve” the baseball team’s brand.

Range is a startup management firm founded a year ago with initial funding from Cohen’s Connecticut-based venture fund, Point72 Ventures. The company has two key partners in the Mets branding effort: sports marketing and analytics specialist 4FRONT and branding agency Base Design.

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According to the official announcement, the objective is to “evolve the Mets brand and accelerate innovation and engagement across the organization.” Range’s role will be to “merge the realms of sport and entertainment in new and original ways,” by integrating the iconic Mets brand into film, television, fashion, social media and music.

“Range was built to empower exceptional storytellers, and the aspirations of this team go far beyond the field – to the intersection of sports, entertainment and culture,” Range CEO Pete Micelli said. “We are thrilled to partner with Steve, Alex, Sandy and the entire Mets organization and support their commitment to be the most innovative owners in professional sport – many of us at Range are lifelong Mets fans ourselves, and we know how important the responsibility of remaining true to the Mets narrative is.”

Along with the Cohens, key members of the Mets leadership team will join the initiative, including President Sandy Alderson, EVP of Marketing and Chief Content and Communications Officer David Newman and EVP and Chief Revenue Officer Jeff Deline.

The update of the Mets brand identity encompasses photography/art direction, motion system, optimization of typography, and incorporating additional graphic elements such as heritage illustrations. The effort will also seek innovative uses of technology and digital engagement, brand partnerships, and cultural activations. The goal is to make Citi Field, the team’s Queens home, not just a sports destination but a hub for culture and entertainment.

Cohen closed his $2.4 billion purchase of the team last November, closing a long period of ownership by the Wilpon family, during which fans grew increasingly restless. The Mets were eliminated from the playoffs last week. While they have made two World Series appearances over the past couple of decades, their last championship came in 1986. (That singular title run was the subject of an ESPN “30 for 30” docuseries, which aired earlier this month.)

Promising a breath of fresh air, Cohen has contributed resources not marshaled by the Mets for many years. He has also engaged fans on Twitter and even recently invited one disaffected partisan to watch a game from his suite at Citi Field. The signing of shortstop Francisco Lindor to a 10-year, $341 million contract turned many heads earlier this year, but that and other free-agent deals have not yielded positive results on the field.

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