The global fund group Invesco leveraged its first year as an official NCAA March Madness partner through an integrated activation programme built around sports-related innovation and fronted by former NBA star Grant Hill.
Invesco is the official asset management partner of the NCAA while its Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQ) is the NCAA’s official ETF and the company’s marketers leveraged the dual status through a multi-channel, digital-first campaign which uses innovation to bring the excitement of March Madness to college basketball fans.
The objective was to build a connection to sports enthusiasts, clients, and employees and to use the ‘innovation’ theme to reinforces the QQQ’s status as an exchange-traded fund tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index (and thus featuring innovative companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft and technologies like augmented reality, cloud computing, big data, mobile payments, streaming services, electric vehicles and more which are playing a role in transforming sport in particular and life in general).
The campaign tipped off ahead of Selection Sunday when Invesco took part in the ‘Nasdaq Virtual Bell Ceremony’ and set out to energize fans and employees via the ‘QQQ Jump Shot Challenge’ hoops game.
It was our pleasure to take part in the @Nasdaq Virtual Bell Ceremony last Friday as we tipped off our NCAA sponsorship. Be part of the game and take the Jump Shot Challenge: https://t.co/2KoPWwKZnx pic.twitter.com/Bzeir6FLeM
— Invesco US (@InvescoUS) March 22, 2021
The game which uses augmented reality to tie a virtual basketball session with holographic former Duke and NBA star (and current CBS/Turner broadcaster Grant Hill to money invested in the QQQ. The phone-based game is fronted by Hill and aims to offer a fun and teachable investment moment.
IT'S GAME DAY! You've waited for this moment, and now it’s here. We are fired up for the action all tournament long. Check in on our brackets after each round! https://t.co/y0m9Feg68t #QQQxNCAA #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/XItNiyUBsi
— Invesco US (@InvescoUS) March 19, 2021
The activation’s hero spot rolled out on 22 March and featured Hill exploring the ‘Innovation Behind the Game’.
The campaign also continued through a series of sports- and tournament-themed TV and online media partner spots which expanded Invesco’s current ‘Agents Of Innovation’ series including ‘Agents Of Innovation: Kim’ (posted on 13 March) and ‘Agents of Innovation: Queso’ (posted on 23 March).
The work was backed by a set of social content linked through the hashtags#QQQxNCAA #agentsofinnovation #QQQHoops.
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The creative approach and messaging continues Invesco’s wider marketing focus on Innovation and its ongoing ‘Agents of Innovation’ work such as this recent ‘Marie’ commercial.
It was in November 2019 that Invesco unveiled a marketing partnership with NCAA, CBS Sports and Turner Sports which saw it become the ‘Official Asset Management Partner’ of all NCAA championships and Invesco QQQ becomes the NCAA’s ‘Official ETF’.
The partnership also includes activation and package strands focusing on community improvement, financial literacy programs for student-athletes, as well as media and content.
“The NCAA is a natural fit for Invesco given alignment with our brand values. We believe in creating greater possibilities together for our employees, communities, clients and now, student-athletes.” said Andrew Schlossberg, Head of the Americas at Invesco. “Our partnership with the NCAA will bring greater possibilities through local community programs and financial literacy education. We are proud to have the opportunity to support young men and women who strive to combine excellence in the classroom with excellence in sports.”
“We look forward to working with Invesco as they join the NCAA Corporate Champions and Partner Program,” said Dan Gavitt, NCAA senior vice president of basketball. “While our partnership with Invesco QQQ has many dimensions, it is especially exciting around financial literacy education for the benefit of student-athletes’ future.”
The partnership sees Invesco engage sports fans across the country via year-round college sports properties and activation via television, streaming platforms, digital and social media as well as use of all NCAA marks, logos, and trademarked phases, beginning in 2020.
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