The Charlotte Knights Minor League Baseball Team & John Deere

Sponsorship Proposal

Katie Stephenson 10/27/2015

October 27, 2015

Mr. Samuel R. Allen Chief Executive Officer and Chairman John Deere World Headquarters One John Deere Place Moline, IL 61265

Dear Mr. Allen,

The game of baseball is only a few years older than the John Deere name. Since 1837, John Deere has been making quality equipment for people connected to the land all over the world. Just a few years later in 1901, professional baseball came to the Carolinas. The Charlotte Knights would like to invite John Deere to be an exclusive sponsor of our team. We believe that both of our companies’ rich histories will only lead us to success as partners.

The sponsorship proposal that follows outlines opportunities for John Deere such as promotions, widespread advertising, special event opportunities, signage and the accumulation of season tickets and holding events at the stadium. We believe that a partnership between our two companies will be beneficial for the both of us and we hope to prove this to you in the following proposal. You will find that John Deere and the Charlotte Knights are quite similar in terms of goals, target markets and community involvement. John Deere’s core values are values that we also find to be of great importance.

The Knights are looking for an aligning sponsor that will be able to stay with our team for many years to come. We will show our impact to your company with increased brand awareness, better brand image as well as more online and in-store traffic.

We hope you find this proposal intriguing and that it leads to a successful relationship in the future. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call and ask.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Audrey Stanek Audrey Stanek Manager, Sponsorship Services

History of the Charlotte Knights

Professional baseball has been in the Carolinas since 1901, even though it’s form, location and names have changed many times since then. The Charlotte Knights got their name in 1989 via a “Name the Team” contest held by then owner, George Shinn. Shinn wanted this team to be connected to the community and there is no doubt that the Knights are a part of Charlotte’s great past times. Under Shinn, the Knights saw some great success and produced some great stars we all still know today including Frank Castillo, Derrick may, Kevin Roberson, Steve Trachsel and Rick Wilkins. Other notable Knights alums are Steve Finley, Leo Gomez and Cal Ripken, Jr.

Current owner, Donn Beaver, bought the Knights in 1997 and since that day has been seeking to bring major league baseball to the Carolinas. He has made great strides with his efforts and we feel that there is a bright future under his leadership. Since 1999, the Knights have been the Triple-A minor league affiliate for the Chicago White Sox and have had numerous players called up that were, at one point or still are, staple players in the Sox rotation. Some of these players include pitcher of the year, Jon Garland and position players Joe Crede, Aaron Rowand and Willie Harris. Most recently, left handed pitcher Carlos Rodon found success with the Knights, a former NC State pitcher, and is now in the starting lineup for the Sox.

The Knights have a tradition of excellence and community upheld since 1901. While they may have moved around in the early years, they have now found their home in Charlotte and they plan to stay there for as long as the city will allow them.

 15 Championship Winning Teams  31 post-season berths  1 Las Vegas Triple-A World Series appearance

Minor League Baseball as a whole

A minor league team is affiliated with one Major League Baseball parent club. The team is considered a player development and enhancement team, as well as a support system for its major league parent. There are over 250 minor league clubs in the 44 of the 50 United States and is roughly a $750-million annual enterprise.

John Deere could be a part of one of the most highly attended minor league team’s in the entire league! 4

BB&T Ballpark – Home of the Charlotte Knights

Ground broke for the stadium in September of 2012 and was opening in late March of 2014. The first event held at the stadium was a media softball game on the opening day, March 22nd. The Knights hosted their first home game on April 11, 2014. The stadium features a two-level club with sweeping skyline views as well as a VIP enclosed club with full service bar. There are 975 club seats, 22 luxury suites and has a capacity of 10,200. In the coming years the City of Charlotte is hoping to host the ACC Baseball Championship that is currently held in Durham, NC. During the 2014 season, NC State Baseball and the Charlotte 49ers held a game in the stadium and they look forward to doing this more often in the future.

The Charlotte Knights had the highest season attendance of the International League in 2015 with 669,389 fans attending and an average of just over 9,400 fans per game. The Knights beat out other team’s attendance including the Durham Bulls, Gwinnett Braves and the Norfolk Tides by over 100,000 fans per season.

Inside club-level seats with view of

Downtown Charlotte

Enclosed VIP Bar and Lounge at BB&T Ballpark

View from third-base side seats with views of Charlotte, NC

Description of Minor League Baseball Events

 Minor League Baseball teams all across the country are geared towards affordability, memories and family entertainment  Often teams are seen to provide the same family-friendly features of an MLB Park without the major league prices  Creative promotions are key to keeping fans engaged with the team and getting them to return to your stadium  MiLB isn’t about media presence on TV, but more of the in game and fan following experience

*From a study funded by the MiLB

“Millions of fans are turning Minor League Baseball into one of the biggest spectator sports in North America” – USA Today

Why John Deere and the Charlotte Knights Make Sense

Core Values John Deere has four core values that go into every aspect of their work and in their words, if something doesn’t align with those values, they don’t do it. These four values, integrity, quality, commitment, and innovation, all align with the Charlotte Knights values as well. We are proud to call Charlotte our home and want to uphold the integrity of the city just as John Deere has upheld the integrity of the name since 1837. Here in Charlotte we hope to put on quality entertainment for our fans just as John Deere provides quality machinery to customers around the world. Commitment, the third value, is the one we probably cherish most. The Knights are committed to this city, our fans, and our gracious sponsors who make what we do possible. And finally, innovation is what keeps us all progressing and moving forward. Without innovation we would never been able to get better and that’s what we, as well as the people of John Deere, are always striving to do.

Target Market At first it may be hard to deduct, but in fact, John Deere and the Charlotte Knights actually have much of the same customer demographics and target market. John Deere is “committed to those linked to the land” and those same people are the people who support and enjoy America’s past time, baseball. The farmers who work the land have to do something for leisure and the Charlotte Knights offer that release. Also, Charlotte is located in the heart of North Carolina, a top agricultural state in the US with an ever growing tobacco, Christmas tree, peanut and cotton industry, just to name a few. North Carolina is committed to the land just as John Deere is and the Charlotte Knights are committed to those people as well. =

Community Involvement Both the John Deere Corporation and the Charlotte Knights are constantly working to better the environment and improve the community. John Deere’s Community Relations Sponsorship group aligns extremely well with CKC, the Charlotte Knights group responsible for all outreach programs. The CKC and the Community Relations Sponsorship group both strive to improve quality life and address community needs. Together, the two could do great things in the greater-Charlotte area.

What Your Sponsorship Includes - Tickets

Luxury Suite Tickets to your choice of 45 of the 72 home games. Suite Includes  20 Tickets  5 Parking Passes  A catering package decided on prior to season starting

Season tickets  Four season tickets on third base side in fourth row  Two parking passes per game

Benefit to you! With these tickets, John Deere will be able to invite key clients or successful employees in the region to enjoy a night in the city at a beautiful ballpark. Also, the suite can be used as a meeting place for regional business with a game to enjoy after! 8

What Your Sponsorship Includes – On-field Promotions

During five games over the course of the season we will use John Deere as our in- game, on-field promotion in between the 4th and the 5th innings. We’ve chosen games that are scheduled to have fireworks afterwards so crowd attendance is expected to be high and John Deere will gain maximum exposure. Two lucky fans (children) will be chosen to “Mow the Line” from the right field pole to half way down the foul line towards first base. The contestants will be wearing the costumes shown to the right. Winner will receive a special John Deere prize ranging from things like a ball cap to a t- shirt or prize bag.

Date of Opponent Time Game April 15 Durham 7:05pm June 3 Leigh Valley 7:05pm July 4 Pawtucket 7:05pm August 5 Norfolk 7:05pm Sept. 4 Gwinnett 7:05pm

Benefit to you! This promotion will help increase brand awareness for John Deere by direct exposure to the fans at BB&T Ballpark. This also makes the brand come off as family friendly and wholesome, which only solidifies the integrity and commitment that John Deere has to communities and leaves a positive brand image. 9

What Your Sponsorship Includes – Special Event Opportunities

In 2015, BB&T Park hosted the Charlotte 49ers and the NC State Wolfpack in an early season game. When something like this happens again, John Deere would act as the presenting sponsor with advertisements and signage like the example shown below if the same teams faced off in 2016.

Presented by John Deere

When presenting this game, John Deere will receive the following:  Signage throughout the stadium indicating John Deere as the primary sponsor  Advertisements on both campuses, both athletic ticket websites, and on Charlotte Knights website  Eight mentions throughout the game over the PA system  A local John Deere retailer would be able to set up an interactive booth on the grandstand of the stadium to interact with customers

Benefit to you!  Exposure built of the John Deere name as an exclusive sponsor  Web traffic increased due to advertisements online  Brand awareness increased due to the signage throughout BB&T Ballpark  More traffic in a local store as a result of the appearance

What Your Sponsorship Includes – Advertisements and Signage

Exposure is ideal to making consumers aware of John Deere. For that reason, we plan to place John Deere’s logo all around our stadium including spots on the outfield wall, near concession stands, in pamphlets and programs handed out to fans and many other places. We also would like to place the John Deere logo on our scoreboard. This would be a permanent fixture seen by every Charlotte Knights Baseball game attendees.

We would also use the John Deere logo in many TV commercials and newspaper ads that are put out by local media outlets.

Benefit to you! Really honing in on the exposure of the name John Deere, here again we get that name out there for everyone to see. Having John Deere advertised with the Charlotte Knights is a great way for both brands to work together to get as much exposure to the consumer as possible.

Total Package Value: $200,000

Sponsorship Cost to You: $185,000

How We Measure Impact

Fan Survey Season ticket holders will be sent a survey at the end of the season asking them about their experience, as is standard procedure. In the survey we will include questions about John Deere and about their feelings towards the brand. Questions will include:  Did you know John Deere was a major sponsor of the Knights?  How do you feel about the John Deere brand?  Have you recently been to a John Deere retailer?  Do you own a John Deere tractor or have you previously?

We will also schedule random exit surveys to monitor our progress throughout the season to see if we need to change anything so that John Deere gets the most benefit out of their sponsorship.

Store Foot Traffic We will monitor the store traffic of James River Equipment, the local John Deere retailer. With the help of JRE, we will be able to decipher how much of their traffic is a result of the sponsorship. We will also be able to find out if any sales are in response to the advertisements by having a post-buy survey sent out or working with JRE to ask “Why did you buy a John Deere?” or more simply, “How did you hear about John Deere Products?”

Website Traffic Because the logo is going to be on three major websites, we will want to monitor how much online traffic goes up. This will help us see how the user is getting to the site and what they look for once they enter the site.