Ally Bank allocates 40% of its marketing budget to sports media and sponsorships, betting on blogger advertising from athlete influencers and their podcasts as an alternative to traditional sports integrations. This strategy was revealed by the bank's CMO Andrea Brimmer in an interview with Digiday, where she outlined the influencer marketing approach amid audience fragmentation and rising ad placement costs.
From traditional sponsorships to athlete influencer content
Ally Bank is rethinking its approach to sports marketing: rather than placing logos at stadiums, the bank invests in podcasts and original athlete content. Brimmer calls this "another door to sports sponsorship" — a format that creates a stronger connection with fans and bypasses traditional advertising models with rising CPM costs.
In 2021, the bank became a sponsor of the National Women's Soccer League, forgoing some exclusive rights in mortgage and investment categories to close the deal. Since then, Ally has publicly committed to splitting sports advertising expenses equally between men's and women's sports — a rare practice in the financial sector.
Media buying and non-standard integrations in sports content
The multi-million dollar deal with Disney and ESPN became an example of selective media buying: 90% of investments support women's sports tournaments within ACC, SEC conferences and NCAA championships. According to eMarketer's forecast, combined spending on linear and streaming sports TV advertising will grow by $5.3 billion from 2024 to 2030 — competition for reach is intensifying.
"We're not just slapping logos everywhere. We want to do interesting things," explains Andrea Brimmer, outlining Ally Bank's strategy.
To compete with major advertisers like Visa, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America, Ally focuses not on direct airtime purchases but on cross-integrations. The CMO gives an example: female soccer players could be brought in at the women's US Open golf tournament to discuss sports — this format creates brand recognition outside the standard context and drives engagement rather than just impressions.
Why brands are shifting to influencer marketing in sports
Brimmer links the growing share of sports media in budgets to two factors: the spread of AI-generated content, which erodes audience trust, and the difficulty of building loyalty through traditional means. Athlete podcasts and sports professionals' original projects provide access to an audience that is already emotionally invested and ready to perceive advertising messages as recommendations.
For brands planning to enter sports influencer marketing, it's critical to stand out from template integrations and select influencers whose audiences overlap with your product. Building a media plan at the intersection of traditional sponsorships and influencer work requires forecasting KPIs for reach, engagement, and conversion — a task that influencer agencies can help with. For example, the ETC team selects athletes and sports bloggers aligned with brand goals, purchases placements, and evaluates campaign effectiveness based on market benchmarks.
Frequently asked questions
How much does advertising with sports influencers cost
The cost depends on reach, format, and the athlete's status: an integration from a professional athlete with an audience of 500,000+ followers can start at several hundred thousand rubles for a post or podcast mention. Exact rates are determined through direct negotiations or via an influencer agency that has current rate cards.
How to measure the effectiveness of sports influencer marketing advertising
Basic metrics are reach, engagement, link clicks, and direct conversions (signups, purchases). For brand campaigns, brand awareness is measured through surveys before and after the integration; for performance goals, UTM tags and promo codes with source attribution are used.
Why are brands increasing the share of women's sports in media plans
Women's sports show rapid audience growth with less competition for ad inventory, offering a more favorable price-to-reach ratio. Additionally, supporting women's sports improves brand perception in terms of social responsibility and diversity.
In brief
- Ally Bank allocates 40% of its marketing budget to sports media and plans to increase this share further amid the spread of AI-generated content.
- The bank splits sports advertising spending equally between men's and women's sports, with 90% of investments in the ESPN deal supporting women's tournaments.
- Focus on athlete podcasts and content instead of direct media buys: cross-integrations and non-standard formats create stronger audience connections.
- eMarketer forecast: spending on sports TV advertising (linear + streaming) will grow by $5.3 billion by 2030.
- A successful sports influencer marketing strategy requires selecting influencers based on audience overlap, KPI forecasting, and integration into the overall media plan.
Want to see where the market is heading before your competitors do? The ETC team builds a media strategy and media plan for your niche — with reach forecasts and KPIs fixed in the contract.