Now it can be told. During a period when the agency formerly known as Wasserman had “for sale” signs on it, not only was “The Team” (as it’s been rechristened) not losing any business on the non-entertainment side, but it also was gaining traction (and billings) on the B2B side. Most notably, the creative side of the house, combined from disparate portions of the company including agencies Laundry Service and influencer agency, Cycle, along with what was CSM’s creative division.
That combined agency has, oh-so-furtively, been serving as MLB’s lead brand agency all year, producing spots behind top-tier events, like the World Baseball Classic, Opening Day and America 250.
Perhaps even more notable is that Wasserman replaced creative powerhouse Wieden & Kennedy at MLB in that role, and that seems as surprising as W+K usurping one of The Team’s sponsorship clients.
The Team/Wasserman’s baseball work began last summer with an MLB Shop ad, and then it quietly won an agency review late last year.
“Reach plus engagement is what we’re looking for in our brand campaign, and we feel like The Team has given us both,” said MLB sponsorship chief Uzma Rawn Dowler, who took on additional duties as MLB CMO in early 2025 following the departure of Karin Timpone.
Dowler would not say precisely what precipitated the agency switch, but one of the first changes any new CMO normally affects is installing a new creative shop. It’s an “old dog/new puppy” dynamic. W+K was the league’s first creative agency of record, courtesy of Timpone. Dowler has not (yet?) affixed an AOR label onto The Team’s work, calling them “our lead creative for tentpole moments.”
Still, she was effusive in her praise, noting a strength based in the agency’s numerous MLB connections, including sponsors (Sage and Booking.com are MLB corporate patrons serviced by The Team), market research, analytics and valuation.
“Baseball fandom is nuanced, diverse and global and has a wide demographic range,” Dowler said. “We’ve been working with [The Team/Wasserman] for years in other sectors, and our feeling is that they understand fans and fan culture so well because of all their different touchpoints across our businesses.”
Brand growth
Meanwhile, The Team’s creative business has been growing, even outside of MLB. President of Brands and Properties Elizabeth Lindsey said that, since mid-2024 when those disparate creative shops were united, the yield has been around 40% growth, with work for brands including Casamigos, Gatorade and Google.
“I always felt like our vantage point across all of sports’ constituencies gave us a unique viewpoint, but we needed to prove that in the creative space,” Lindsey said. “Relevancy equals revenue and we think we’re providing both.”
It’s interesting to note that there are women heading both sides of this agency/client relationship.
As for The Team’s creative approach with MLB?
“We’re trying to get across that baseball belongs to everyone,” said Danny Nunez, The Team’s chief creative officer. “Tradition is vital in baseball, of course, but you can’t lose the people element, whether that’s with players or fans.”
