The Origin Story of the Marlins' Slick City Connect Uniforms

After rolling out special-edition City Connect uniforms for more than a dozen NBA teams, Nike has moved onto baseball—first with Boston Marathon-themed Red Sox jerseys, and now with special threads for the Marlins. Miami’s City Connect unis arrived with much buzz and fanfare as they tied the bond between baseball, community and culture. The Marlins and Nike told Adweek how they tapped into the city’s multicultural history to create the jerseys, using influencers to reach diverse communities (which generated strong fan response—the MLB shop sold out of the special-edition jerseys and hats). “Legacy was at the forefront of this entire process,” said Jason Latimer, Marlins’ vice president of communications and broadcasting, adding the team wanted to highlight the legacy of Miami and baseball while keying in on the multigenerational aspect of the campaign. The jerseys pay homage to the Cuban Sugar Kings, who won the 1959 Junior World Series championing the team slogan “un paso más y llegamos” ("one more step and we arrive") and helped to pave the way for future Latin American players. The conceptualization process, spanning over 18 months from the start of the ideation process to the uniforms’ debut, balanced the vintage look with modern appeal. The Marlins and Nike graphic teams—spearheaded by Mike Shaw, Marlins vp, head of experience and innovation, and Wil Green, Nike senior creative director—took the classic white uniforms with red pinstripes and inverted the design, incorporating the Marlins’ blue along the way in order to stay true to form with the classic kit while also incorporating the full bandwidth of the Marlins’ modern-day color palette. “We went down to Miami and got to know the club before we did any design work,” said Green. “Everything that came to life on this jersey was from us taking the time to hear the voice of the club and their community to create something bespoke for them. This is the club’s ode to its fans that connects past, present and future generations of Latin-American baseball players and enthusiasts.” Fan feedback has been palpable: The edition has surged to an 80% increase in retail sales for the City Connect caps compared to other team hats. The organization has also scored some impressive victories online. The team website garnered 40% more web traffic during the week the uniforms were announced compared to the prior week. Across social, the digital team teased the uniform on Sunday, May 16 with the official launch the following Monday; during that two-day time frame, over 2.8 million impressions have been generated across 23 organic social posts. The launch expanded beyond the confines of social. The team, led by Marlins social media senior associate Sarah Penalver, worked with local South Florida influencers Carlos Hernandez; Ivan Berrios; twins Diana Caro De Castro and Andrea Caro De Castro; and Los Pichy Boys on the launch video. Next, with the help of local artist Carlos Rivera, Marlins' marketing manager Mariah Monahan and her team transformed a quartet of shipping containers into an experiential art exhibit dubbed as “Folklore.” The exhibit sits outside at the West Plaza of LoanDepot Park. "We asked, 'How else can we be bold?'" Latimer said, explaining they searched for a community that would drive big engagement, particularly on Instagram. The shipping containers allowed for airflow on both sides, leading to a safer experience in line with Covid-19 regulations. They were designed from the inside out with neon lights. “There’s not a bad angle at any point,” Latimer said. “You won’t find this at a regular baseball stadium.” For the piece de resistance, the Marlins’ creative team incorporated a handmade velvet-lined custom Arturo Fuente Opus cigar box to serve as a classy vessel for elements of the launch: an Opus One Cigar adorned with a Sugar Kings ring, a cap, a personalized City Connect jersey and an acrylic music plaque with a curated playlist. The set was a luxury collectible for 25 influencers to further promote the campaign. Latimer told Adweek that the team started with a mood and storyboard to capture what they wanted the experience to look like. "The audio element was a nice touch to the set, as it put you in place and time within this greater story," Latimer said about the playlist, which included prominent artists such as J Balvin, Bad Bunny and Gloria Estefan. He added that it spans "across different generations of artists that all tie into the vibe, the ethos, the feel of the community." For the in-stadium experience, the team created an authentic Cuban atmosphere, complete with pregame cafecito stations, complimentary guarapo samples and influential figures from past Sugar Kings squads. The festivities coincided with Cuban Independence Day on May 20. The team is set to wear the uniforms five more times throughout the season during home series in conjunction with upcoming Cuban and multicultural events. Spotify Thanks Bad Bunny and Cardi B for Getting Us Through 2020 in Out-of-Home Campaign

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How the Marlins and Nike Tapped Into Local Culture to Design These Wildly Popular City Connect Uniforms

The team quickly sold out of the special-edition jerseys and hats

Max Simpson

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Max Simpson