Sports Marketing – A Winning Brand Differentiation Strategy...New England Patriots Fanatics! 2018 Spring Conference nefma.org Sports Marketing – Opportunities ... advertising and

nefma.org2018 Spring Conference

Sports Marketing – A Winning Brand Differentiation Strategy

KAREN HAKALACFMP, SVP Marketing, Norway Savings Bank


Session overview• Sports Marketing – the opportunity – build fans and fanatics!

• Bank Brand and Culture Alignment/Synergy• Managing Celebrity Athletes – an interesting addition to your

resume!

• Sports Marketing Plan• Measureable Results


About Norway Savings• 1.134 billion mutual bank, Founded in 1866 • 24 branches – 300 employees• Located in Western and Southern Maine• Direct competition: 4 large, national/regional banks; 14

community banks and numerous credit unions• Marketing Staff of four – in the process of hiring a CRM

Administrator


Sports Marketing – the Opportunity

Bank Marketing: Sports Marketing:Goal: Build a customer base Goal: Build a fan base – of fanaticsDefinition of a customer: Definition of a fan:“One that buys goods or services: “An ardent devotee; an enthusiast”Goal: Seek to satisfy loyal customers Goal: Create psychological

identification with individuals and teams that goes beyond mere loyaltyhttp://teamsportsmarketing.com/


New England Patriots Fanatics!


Sports Marketing – Opportunities

Differentiation: Athlete sponsorships offer a unique marketing opportunity.

Spokesperson; brand ambassador; “cool-factor”

Media Opportunities - From the positive media exposure to reaching consumers, the opportunity is pretty great.


Bank Brand, Culture Synergy1. Does sports marketing align with/support your

brand position?

2. Is sports marketing relevant to your brand, culture and customer base?


Bank Brand Review and RefreshProcess:• Brand Assessment: Market research, internal research• Test campaign creative• Campaign launch• Post launch research (18 months/two years)• Rinse and repeat steps….


Norway’s culture & rebrand initiative

Culture:Goal of building an achievement and support culture as well as a new, differentiated brand. Prior culture defined as “power/role & top-down management” has evolved to a new culture that fosters personal achievement – in balance with teamwork support. Employees are empowered to make decisions as close to customers as possible.


Norway’s culture & rebrand initiative

Rebrand:

“I do not want typical bank advertising.” – Bob Harmon, President & CEO 2006.


Norway’s culture & rebrand results:

• 2008: Best Place to Work in Maine, large company category

• 2009: Overall winner – ABA Financial Marketing Award for the “Colorful Solutions” brand campaign



2009: Norway Savings sponsors Seth Wescott2010: Seth Wescott wins his second Olympic gold medal2011: Gold Level Well Workplace –Wellness Council of America2013: Best Banks to Work For – American Banker & Best Companies Group



2013: Norway Savings adds Dave Cowens, Celtics legend and local athletes Angela Bancroftand Josh Kennison to the roster and launches sports team campaign

2016: U.S. National Freestyle Mogul Champion, Troy Murphy joins the team2018: Troy Murphy – Olympic Competitor – PyeongChang


Are athletes a good fit for your brand?From Norway’s perspective:Differentiation: While many athletes endorse products and companies globally, the combination of a Maine-based business and Maine-based athletes is less common.

In Common – brand and culture attributes: Key attributes of athletes symbolize the key attributes of the bank, its employees, its services:

Hard work, commitment, expertise, teamwork, trust and partnership

Authentic: It’s not unusual for a celebrity to align with a company. What makes this association so special is that it’s such an authentic fit. That’s because we share the same values… we both support nonprofits and our communities.


Vetting• Before signing the deal, research the athlete as much as

possible• Celebrity spokespeople can sometimes present difficulties…• Those are some of the risks you go with. • When and if something happens, you evaluate where you are in

your marketing campaign, as to whether to stay with it or pull it.• Any fallout from an incident mostly puts a crimp in marketing, but

we feel it wouldn’t really harm the reputation of our business.


Partnership AgreementsTerm– typically two to three years (investing in assets)

Commitments & expectations:– Paid appearances – how

many? Cost per appearance…

– Brand logo use – for example: helmet, skis/snowboards, logowear

– Autographs – Production – number of

hours per year for video, photos, voiceover, etc

– Restrictions – other sponsored brands

– Bank customer


Sports Marketing Plan Outline11. Strategy• Objectives• Creative Strategy2. Sports Marketing Advertising Promotion• Employee engagement & education• Traditional Paid Media• Sponsored Media Programs• Other sponsorship opportunities• Web Site – micro site• Social Media• Public Relations • Events/Paid Appearances3. Results/measurement


Sports Marketing Plan –Objectives

– Break through the clutter of bank marketing by creating a differentiating position

– Deepen audiences’ current understanding of the bank’s brand

– Utilize athletes’ attributes to promote the bank’s key attributes

– Incorporate athletes into the bank’s product and brand advertising and social media channels

– Acquire new customers and accounts


Sports Marketing Plan Creative Strategy

– The Norway Savings’ sports marketing platform capitalizes on the strength and integrity of the athletes, inspiring the audience to want to be a part of the Norway Team.

– Concurrently, Norway Savings utilizes key attributes of the athletes to symbolize the key attributes of the Bank, its employees, and its services:

• Hardworking, driven• Expertise• Trustworthy, Fair• Teamwork, Partnership• Local, MaineThese shared attributes help deepen the understanding of how Norway Savings provides colorful solutions.


Brand Promise:

The Norway Savings Bank athletes, through their brand attributes, represent the high caliber of the bank, promising that if you team up with Norway, you can achieve anything and live a more colorful life.


Sports Marketing Plan – Advertising Promotion

Employee Education & Engagement

– Our employees are always the first to know before we launch a campaign

– Brand Summit – Events create excitement and engage employees


Brand SummitEmployee Education and Engagement


Sports Marketing Plan Traditional, paid media• Television – lends itself to

sports programming/media buying

• Radio – product ads• Print – product and image

ads


Sports Marketing Plan Sponsored Media ProgramsLocal television networks put custom sponsorship packages together to support the campaign and to help build awareness• Ski & Snow Reports• Financial Fitness• A+ Athletes




Mascots & Local Ski Area SponsorshipsOther ways to build awareness


Sports/Ice Arena Naming RightsOther ways to build awareness


Shuttle Bus WrapsOther ways to build awareness


Bank Web SiteMicrosite

–Athlete bios–Cross Sell Products & Services–Landing page for social media and digital advertising


Social Media


Public Relations & AppearancesGoal:Leverage media relationsEfforts to extend publicity reach



Sports Marketing – Measurable Results• What is the value of sports marketing?

– What is the ROI? Is it concrete?• What is the investment – time, dollars; other resources to build a

successful campaign?• What makes sense based on your strategy?

• Key metrics:– Household growth– Customer retention– Campaign lift


Summary and Questions• What have we learned?• What’s next?• What questions do you have?


Thank you!

Sports Marketing – A Winning Brand Differentiation Strategy...New England Patriots Fanatics! 2018 Spring Conference nefma.org Sports Marketing – Opportunities ... advertising and

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