Financial Services - Banking

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has secured higher prices in renewed deals with carmaker Kia Motors America and financial services company BBVA, with both brands highlighting the league’s digital platforms as a key value driver.

Spanish bank BBVA’s goals for its partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) will remain the same under its new deal, Carlos Ricardo, director of marketing, advertising and sponsorship for BBVA, told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Driving customer engagement and generating sales is key to Spanish bank BBVA’s sponsorship strategy.

Brazilian bank Itaú Unibanco has become the Presenting Sponsor of the Miami Open, a mandatory event on both the ATP and WTA tennis tours, formerly title sponsored by consumer electronics company Sony.

Julius Baer, the Swiss private banking group, are using the innovative and pioneering spirit of Formula E to increase brand awareness and consolidate their position as a premium brand.

The Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) sailing team will look for a title sponsor for its inaugural 2017 America’s Cup campaign.

Financial services company UniCredit is in talks to renew its partnership with the Uefa Champions League for the 2015-16 to 2017-18 cycle, after a strong return on investment from its current deal.

UK asset management firm Threadneedle Investments decided to upgrade to a global position in triathlon, having trialled the sport as a local partner of the PruHealth London Triathlon, last year’s ITU World Series Grand Final.

Sponsorship has proven a “flexible instrument” to financial services company UniCredit that has supported brand building and will provide a platform for future business related objectives, Daniele Penna, head of strategic sponsorships at UniCredit Group told Sports Sponsorship Insider.

Global banking brand Barclays has refocused the strategy for its title sponsorship of the English Premier League this season on brand engagement rather than media delivery, according to David Wheldon, Barclays head of brand, reputation and citizenship.

The Sony PlayStation gaming console brand has a limited sponsorship budget in Europe because of its Uefa Champions League commitment, but is open to additional regional or national sponsorship deals – even outside of its core areas of football and motorsports.

The Royal Dutch Hockey Association (KNHB) is generating over €4.2m ($5.8m) per year from central sponsors for its 2013 to 2016 commercial cycle as it prepares to host the men’s and women’s Hockey World Cups in May.

Since the New Year, the Australian Stock Exchange-listed ANZ Banking Group has bolstered its portfolio of sponsorships in Australasia and Asia by extending sponsorship’s of the Australian Open tennis championship and ANZ Championship netball competition.

The Asian Football Confederation is generating between $18m (€13.1m) and $20m per year from Official Sponsors for its club competitions from 2014, in the 2013-16 cycle, following the addition of a second Chinese brand in as many months, construction machinery manufacturer Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery (SDLG).

The Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is struggling to reach its second minimum sponsorship target of $1.3bn (€950m), the amount required to operate the Games without further government subsidy.