Ulster Bank Sponsorship Strategy

Sponsorship Proposal

1

Problem Defini3on

How can Ulster Bank gain trust and advocacy from the public by unifying their disparate sponsorship ac3vi3es into one coherent brand message.

2

Influencing Factors

•  Ulster Bank is a brand that is commiFed to sponsorship at a local grass roots level.

•  This is a key differen3al between its main market rivals BOI and AIB who are viewed as na3onal corporate en33es.

•  Ulster Bank is at an advantage in that it is posi3oned as a local community Bank.

3

BARRIERS

•  Financial restraints. Its main compe3tors have larger communica3ons budgets.

•  How to unite brand ac3vi3es that have a very different look, feel, message and target audience.

•  How to look authen3c in their endeavors. •  Sponsorship for self advancement would have a nega3ve impact in publics percep3on of U.B

4

What will success look like?

•  A unified message that reflects brand values but with a dis3nc3ve feel.

•  A tone that is aligned with the broader brand voice, “Help for What Really MaFers”

•  A strategic ini3a3ve that will be workable across all of Ulster Banks sponsorship pillars.

•  A brand plaUorm that will facilitate abundant crea3ve execu3ons.

•  A brand message that is simple yet effec3ve, clearly communica3ng Ulster Banks support of local sponsorship and community values.

•  A message with poten3al longevity and diversity.

5

Background

•  AXer a protracted recession the Irish economy has returned to posi3ve growth.

•  Banks have to work hard to overcome nega3ve public sen3ment and mistrust in the aXermath of the downturn.

•  Banks need to rebrand themselves as more caring and human organiza3ons.

•  They need to show commitment, empathy and understanding of their communi3es in which they serve and belong.

•  They need to be ac3ve in community affairs, social and philanthropic causes.

6

Compe3tor Ac3vity

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Other Banking Sponsorship Ac3vi3es

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AIB GAA Club Championship

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AIB Backing Brave

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Sponsor for a Day

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Munster and Leinster Sponsorship

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BOI Ulster Rugby Sponsorship

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Na3onal Enterprise Week

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0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

Bskyb Ltd

Diageo

Unilever

Lidl Ireland Gmbh

Procter & Gamble Ireland

Aldi Stores Ltd

Top Spending Adver.sers in Ireland 2013 & 2014

2013

2014

Courtesy Nielsen AdDynamix

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AIB Vs BOI Adver3sing Spend

7,864,663

4,611,194

Bank Of Ireland Adver.sing Spend 2013/2014

2014 2013

5,871,673

3,388,626

A.I.B Adver.sing Spend 2013/2014

2014 2013

16 Courtesy Nielsen AdDynamix

The ShiX to local

•  The retail industry is a leading example of showing a strong commitment at a local level.

•  Lidl, Aldi and Supervalu are extremely strong in their support of local growers and producers.

•  They promote these suppliers more as community partners than supply chain elements.

•  There is a percep3on that local means beFer quality in food produc3on.

•  Ulster Bank has a clear advantage over AIB and Bank of Ireland by being perceived as a more local bank.

•  Ulster Bank need to harness this so that it can become a corner stone of the local community just like the post office, pub or small store.

17

Key Findings

•  The collapse of our economy has made us reevaluate the needs of society. We have a heightened awareness of non monetary elements that are its lifeblood.

•  Banks now need to focus on repairing their brand image and public percep3on.

•  The most successful and consistent brands in Ireland all have a local focus (e.g. Kerry group, Avonmore, and Guinness)

•  Some of our enduring na3onal ins3tu3ons are also rooted locally…….

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Community is at the heart of our Associa3on. Everything we do helps to enrich the communi3es we serve

We foster a clear sense of iden3ty and place

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At the party's height, FF boasted 3,000 Cumainn, an average of 75 per constituency.

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Ac3on Areas

•  Ulster Bank needs to amplify its involvement with local ini3a3ves which are the lifeblood of the community.

•  Ulster Bank needs to show the importance of keeping local communi3es connected and prosperous.

•  Ulster bank needs to been seen as a key agent in making this happen.

21

What Stands Out

There is a trend in Ireland of wan3ng to reaFach to the human values of community and sustainable clean living. To build a beFer Ireland for the future.

22

Key Brand Insight

“In new Ireland, brand success na#onally starts with community”

23

Brand Proposi3on

“Community MaFers”

24

Community MaFers

•  The phrase is double edged in that it voices the importance of the community agenda but also communicates the Banks commitment to serving it and understanding it in all its nuances.

•  It humanizes and localizes Ulster Bank's philanthropic efforts showcasing that local communi3es maFer but also maFer to the bank.

25

Reasons to Believe

•  The proposi3on has a direct 3e in with Ulster Bank’s overall brand message “What MaFers Most” and acts as a trickle down effect from it.

•  The message has a mul3plicity of usage occasions across a variety of sponsorship ver3cals (Sport, The Arts and Local Business)

•  The message is a simple and compelling commitment to the local agenda.

26

Why it will work

•  The proposi3on communicates a unified message across the three main Ulster Bank sponsorship pillars Sport, Business and the Arts.

•  It shows commitment to the various individual elements that allow small communi3es to prosper.

•  Happy communi3es are prosperous, healthy and support broad interests such as culture and The Arts.

•  The community is the connec3ng thread binding all of these interests and ac3vi3es together.

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Crea3ve Execu3ons

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#CommunityMaFers

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Thank You!

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Appendices

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Ulster Bank Site Traffic

Courtesy Google Trends 39

Graph showing the site traffic of Ulster Bank. We can see that it receives between 700-‐800K visits per month. It is unlikely these are unique numbers.

Courtesy Similar Web 40

Site comparison between Banking 365 and AIB. The laKer receives 1 million more site visits per month.


By comparison Ulster Bank receives just under half a million site visits per month. Search accounts for one quarter of traffic with almost 70% of people visiOng the site directly.

Courtesy Similar Web 42

Most of BOI and AIB traffic comes from direct sources. Roughly one quarter come from search results with 20% as referrals from other sites.

Search Data


Google Trends show us the most popular search related terms for Ulster Bank.

Search Data


The highest volume of traffic on Ulster Banks site comes from the North West.


AIB is by far the most searched for Bank between the three compeOtors thus far in 2015

Search Data

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In the past month Ulster has been menOoned in an average of between 70-‐100 Tweets per day.

47

Overall Ulster Bank has been menOoned in 1,128 Tweets in the past 30 days.

Courtesy Social Bakers 48

Here we can see the steady growth of the Ulster Bank Rugby Facebook page. Over the past six months it has gained roughly 1,500 page likes.