"Straps" Could be Latest Promo Craze for MLB, Minors

Last year, we wrote of the on-coming invasion of promotional products from Japan that could be making their way to minor league and major league events near you. The products, through Sharp Sangyo Co., Ltd, a company that started manufacturing and selling commemorative gifts for Japan’s National High School Baseball Tournament in the mid-1960s and is now the leading manufacturer and seller of sporting goods and souvenirs in the country, showed unique ideas for promos that break from the norm here Stateside. As we embark on the 2009 season, Sharp Shangyo has released what could be their breakthrough product in the U.S.: Straps. “Straps” can be added to a keychain, backpack… you name it. They come adorned with a small plastic figurine reminiscent of those Lego figurines that you’re still finding parts of underneath your kid’s bed. These, however, are not designed to be disassembled. We’re still trying to figure out what the numbered stickers are for, although the assumption is they...