BMO’s new Toronto Raptors sponsorship looks to have paid off as the NBA team enters the playoffs after its best season ever. The bank is taking advantage of the high-profile games by focusing on experiential advertising, creating quick-turnaround tie-ins to live events.
BMO activates in-branch
“It’s very in the moment, very organic, very grassroots, in some ways almost guerrilla marketing,” says Justine Fedak, senior vice-president of marketing at BMO financial group.
As a presenting sponsor, BMO’s TV ads were shown on TSN for the Raptors’ first playoff game on Saturday against the Brooklyn Nets. The brand was also promoted at a tailgate party beforehand, and its logo flashed on the 23,000 rally towels handed out at the Air Canada Centre. BMO clients at the game could also enter through a faster “blue line” entrance, and the first 250 customers to do so were surprised with food and beverage vouchers.
BMO is also doing in-store activities across its Toronto-area branches, with employees offered pre-sale tickets and wearing playoff T-shirts, customer giveaways, and dance pack appearances. And it’s been active on social media, working with MLSE on Twitter.
“We’re here because the fans are passionate, and we’re passionate about the excitement that’s generated when these moments occur. We are really activating against that,” says Fedek, adding BMO often uses the tagline “Proud sponsor. Loyal fan.” All the work has been created by BMO’s in-house sponsorship team, while the ads are by new-ish agency partner Young & Rubicam.
“It’s a really active and exciting time to have an asset to activate, because you really to have to day by day be coming up with new ideas,” says Fedak.
BMO has a strong connection to sports, with a decade-long relationship with Raptor owners Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (including its sponsor-named BMO Field, where the Toronto FC soccer team plays). The financial institution was one of the original sponsors of the Raptors, and these playoff moves were informed by its American basketball sponsorships with the Chicago Bulls and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The bank is interested in basketball because it’s a growing sport in Canada that’s also very inclusive, Fedek says, adding that as Canada’s only NBA team, the Raptors resonate beyond Toronto to the rest of Canada as well.
