At the Big Ten basketball championship final at New York’s Madison Square Garden earlier this month, four rows of seats and dedicated space at Delta’s Sky360° VIP lounge were reserved for event sponsor SoFi. Most people using these facilities were not SoFi employees, but its customers, who occupied the front two rows and enjoyed complimentary cocktails and food at the lounge.
It’s all part of a VIP approach to keeping customers and adding new ones — a strategy the company said is worth the investment.
“Even for someone who has a great job and makes a nice living, it’s hard to imagine [customers] spending discretionary income on that — we want to treat our members,” said Libby Leffler, vice president of membership at SoFi. “The best way to build trust is through these community events; we’re seeing those members are referring people from their networks like their workplace or where they went to school.”
More in Marketing
‘Intentionally being cautious’: Why the ad industry isn’t ready to let AI agents spend ad dollars
For now, LLMs are being used as accelerants, not decision makers. They compress workflows. They do not spend the ad dollars
Walmart says ‘open partnerships’ are central to its AI strategy, while Amazon goes it alone
Walmart and Google have announced a partnership that brings the retailer’s shopping experience inside Google’s AI assistant, Gemini.
The case for and against influencer-led Super Bowl ads
Inside the Super Bowl ad debate: Celebrities offer mass appeal, but creators provide better engagement.