Connect with execs from Axios, The New York Times, Paramount and more.
The Big Ten men’s college basketball championship final last weekend at Madison Square Garden had a new type of brand sponsor: SoFi.
The San Francisco-based personal finance brand joins a small club of finance startups making a name for themselves through a connection to sports. Quicken Loans has long-established sports sponsorships, including naming rights to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland and links to college sports teams; and Credit Karma is playing in gaming, by becoming the “official personal finance partner” to eLeague, the gaming league formed by Turner Broadcasting and IMG tournament two years ago.
“As part of an overall media buying strategy across a number of platforms and formats, we’ve identified sporting events such as the Super Bowl, the Big Ten tournament and the X Games as excellent ways to reach our target audience,” said Margi Brown, SoFi’s vice president of marketing and media. “Our marketing strategy is driven by meeting our members where they are, with a unique focus on brand awareness marketing.”
More in Marketing
To manage 300,000 creators, Unilever automates everything but the relationship
Unilever is using AI to vet creators and automate workflows as it scales a 300,000-creator network without handing over creative decisions.
Nike versus Adidas: Who’s spending more in race to claim the World Cup crown?
With the World Cup at the midway point, ad spend estimates show the apparel rivals taking opposite tacks in their media approaches.
Platforms’ AI dilemma: scale without sameness
Using AI to create content risks a lot of it looking the same. But the platforms agree creativity will always come from humans.