Credit card companies like Visa, MasterCard and American Express have fought for years for the right to be affiliated with sports leagues like the National Football League (Visa), the National Basketball Association (American Express), and the National Hockey League (MasterCard). These companies feel that linking their names to these sports will increase their brand recognition. They're probably right.
Sports is an all-consuming passion for millions of Americans. In December, USA Today quoted a Wired/Merrill Lynch Forum's statistic that only 15 percent of adults could pick the name of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court out of a list, yet 75 percent could choose Tiger Woods' name from a list of golfers as the winner of the Masters.
The question is, how can a bank tap into this popularity while avoiding the pitfalls of sponsorship? And how can smaller institutions use sports marketing? These issues are discussed in 'Card Marketers Go for the Gold,' Credit Card Management, May 1996, and 'Sports Marketing - A Winning Game for Issuers: Acquisition, Retention Successes Abound,' Card News, November 25, 1996.
Large and small banks have used various means to take advantage of sports marketing besides marketing credit cards. Banks have sponsored sporting events, affiliated with teams, put their names on arenas in their hometowns, promoted local teams in their ads, and tied products to sporting events.
Sponsoring a local sporting event is one way of promoting a bank's image and enhancing its presence in the marketplace. A bank should be careful in its sponsorship choice and be sure to work closely with the organization responsible for the event.
'Event Sponsorship Can Bring Kudos and Recognition,' Bank Marketing, May 1995, describes how LaSalle Bank chose to sponsor the Chicago Marathon and what made the event successful for the bank. Bank of Boulder, a community bank, uses the Bolder Boulder 10K run as its main advertising promotion of the year. It has strong name recognition because its name is connected to a popular community event. One year the bank tied a RaceCD to the event, thus adding to its deposits and customer base. ('Strange Estimates Yield Dividends for Bank of Boulder Customers,' Bank Marketing, August 1996.)
Sponsoring a local sports franchise can also be lucrative for banks. Super-regional banks like Banc One, NationsBank, and First Union use their sponsorships of professional teams to increase the national recognition of their names. First Union's deal to be a sponsor for the Atlanta Braves means that their name is not only known in Atlanta, but nationwide through the Braves' owner's, Ted Turner, cable network. Smaller banks can also prosper from these associations. St. Paul Bancorp of Chicago has affinity checking deals with the Chicago Bulls, Bears, Cubs, and White Sox. Their sports related accounts are so popular that they make up 25 percent of the newly opened checking accounts. ('Banks Throw Marketing Cash Into Sports Team Sponsorships,' American Banker, May 27, 1997.)
BankBoston used a different approach in their official sponsorship of the New England Patriots. Since 1985 BankBoston has given away Patriots pompoms at home football games. This affiliation really paid off when the Patriots went to the Super Bowl in 1997 and there was a local 'pompom mania.' ('Sponsorship Gets Bank's Name into Consumers' Hands,' Bank Marketing, March 1997.)
Banks have been among the most active corporations in paying to have newly built or renovated sports stadiums or arenas named for them. Major banks like CoreStates (the CoreStates Spectrum and the CoreStates Center in Philadelphia), Fleet (FleetCenter in Boston), and KeyCorp (KeyArena at Seattle Center) have made deals to sponsor stadiums and arenas for local professional teams. The banks not only increase their name recognition, but logos on the signage and scoreboard ads are displayed. KeyCorp has even opened a full service branch in the KeyArena. ('Arena Sponsorship is a Slam-Dunk for KeyBank,' Bank Marketing, December 1996.) Banks have also used their connection with their stadiums and arenas to offer corporate and private banking customers free seats to games. ('Here's a Knockout Brand Naming Idea,' American Banker, December 2, 1996)
Banks of all sizes can also promote local teams in their advertising. When the University of Nebraska's football team won the national championship in 1994, both First Bank and Norwest promoted the Cornhuskers in their 1995 ads. First Bank of Minnesota used the opportunity to reach Nebraskans after their recent purchase of Omaha Federal and Norwest used a limited edition Cornhuskers T-shirt as a premium for new account openers. ('Sports Tie-ins,' Financial Advertising Review, August and November 1995.)
Product tie-ins are also successful sports marketing tools for banks. In Green Bay, Wis., where the football fans are supposed to be especially rabid, Associated Bank Green Bay has promoted an 'Associated Packers Checking' account for two years. Account holders can use checks and ATM cards with images of the Green Bay Packers, get a 10 percent discount at the Packer Pro Shop, receive a weekly Packers newsletter, and are eligible for sweepstakes prizes of game tickets or Packers memorabilia. Associated Bank has also advertised a special CD with the rate tied to the number of regular season games won by the Packers. ('Checking Account Sweepstakes Offers Football Game Tickets,' Cross Sales Report, January 1997.)
Oxford Bank and Trust of Addison, Ill., promoted a special CD with an interest rate based on whether the Chicago Bulls win the NBA championship. The bank also has 'Rodman Fashion Fridays' for employees and offers a $10 bonus to customers of new accounts who dress in Bulls clothing or wear Dennis Rodman-like hair. ('Bank in Chicago Suburb Ties Promotion to Bulls Playoff Hoopla,' American Banker, May 16, 1996.)
Finally, the First National Bank of Naples has offered a Sports club account aimed at sports fans. The package includes services that appeal especially to sports enthusiasts: checks with various team logos, trips to sporting events, free sports related gifts and a newsletter with local sports events schedules. ('Fee Income from Sports Club Quadruples to $5,100 a Month,' Fee Income Report, September 22, 1994).
These sponsorships can also generate a lot of public relations opportunities. For example, when Peterson Bank of Chicago announced its World Cup Soccer CD in 1994, it received front page coverage in the Wall Street Journal. By spending $2,000 on press releases and other related PR functions, Peterson received an inestimable amount of publicity for its product. ('Putting Your Institution and its Products into the Headlines,' Financial Marketing, August 1994.)
Sports marketing can either reach a mass market or particular niche markets. For example, a golf promotion will probably reach an upscale market segment. So, when choosing to use sports marketing, banks should consider not only the sport to sponsor, but the market it wants to reach.
DATA STREAM
Bankers recover some lost ground.
People who give a Very High or High rating to the following professionals' honesty and ethics
Pharmacists 69%
Clergy 59%
Bankers 34%
(up from 26% in 1996 & highest rating since 38% in 1985)
Public opinion pollsters 23%
Journalists 23%
Nov. 1997 Gallup Survey
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