Bank of America and Sports Marketing

I have always said if I ever get the chance, I would definitely try to work in Bank of America’s sports marketing department. According to the Web site, "Our national commitments and activation activities focus on our major platforms, including baseball, the U.S. Olympic Team, NASCAR racing and golf."

Sponsoring NASCAR was the most recent addition to the organization. According to the AP, "Banking on NASCAR fans' sponsor loyalty to drive more retail business to their ATMs and branches, Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. has signed a five-year deal as the official bank of the popular racing series. The bank shared details of the agreement with The Associated Press before today's public announcement."

This provides a positive strategic outlet for Bank of America to gain a stronger foothold within the sports industry. The company now sponsors five sports in the top ten in fan viewership. Hopefully, when their marketing team is thinking "outside the box", they will begin to develop cross-sports promotions that draw interest to the Leagues and the Bank itself.

It is refreshing to see that companies still see the benefit in sponsoring sports league. They may not see the numbers grow when looking at the bottom line, but from a relationship-building standpoint, it’s priceless. They can go after high net-worth individuals and almost guarantee they have sporting events tickets the individuals will enjoy. Banks want to create long lasting relationship and hosting hospitality tents at sports events offer an amazing amount of long-term ROI.

Wow…those sports marketing folks must be having a lot of fun in Charlotte.