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
Inside the messy middle of January Digital agency’s AI adoption
Brands and their agency partners have started using agents to plan, execute, and optimize ad purchases.
Walmart goes global with its Amazon-like flywheel
Walmart executives are beginning to take a more international approach to growing the retailer’s higher-margin businesses.
Brands are catching World Cup fever even without official sponsorships
Some smaller U.S. startups, like Crumbl Cookies and Olipop, are getting into the spirit of the World Cup with watch parties and soccer-themed products.