ASB has released its concluding content around their sponsorship of the Auckland Marathon – and their ‘Run Down Your Rate’ competition that gave 10 lucky runners the chance to win their marathon time as a two-year fixed home loan interest rate: https://youtu.be/QrlLHExIvfY. Helped along with the extra incentive of a low home loan rate, all of the winners ran faster than the average ASB Auckland Marathon time, with six out of 10 runners smashing their goal times. Three runners achieved rates of less than 3% with the lowest (2.42%) run by Katie Kemp, winner of the women’s marathon. 

Corey Chalmers, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi reflected on ‘Run Down Your Rate’ and their growing body of hard working sponsorship activations with ASB over the past year and a half: “Getting people to run for a lower rate is fun, relevant, entertaining and with the amount of money to be saved with each improved step, genuinely motivating. ‘Run Down Your Rate’ is just one more way that we’ve worked hard to make sure ASB has enduring, meaningful relevance in the real world for the past 18 months. It could just be logos and ticker tape, but we’ve really focused on driving genuine relevance into every sponsorship ASB does.” 

Guy Roberts, ECD of Saatchi & Saatchi adds, “Sponsorships are often easily dismissed – pay the money, chuck the logo on it. Together with ASB, we’ve found it an incredibly potent way to authentically grow the brand, by embracing it and challenging ourselves to give fans a reason to walk away thinking ‘this is a brand that really gets it’ - which is exactly what Venus Williams said last year, unprompted, after the ASB Classic final. What’s also great is when an entire business gets behind a sponsorship – not many companies would actually change their name to announce a sponsorship with the All Blacks. We were definitely lucky with the letters, but ASB still had the courage to embrace it!”  

“We’ve happily moved on from just doing the big brand TV pieces – it’s now about many and often, building a brand not with words in one moment but in actions over time, all with a consistent spirit, tone and manner. These days, you’re a glance on a newsfeed, a passing view on a motorway, a share here and a post there. ASB understands that better than most brands”, says Chalmers. 

ASB GM Marketing, Shane Evans said ASB’s recent sponsorship activity demonstrates how the bank is approaching branding through product and sponsorship initiatives, as opposed to traditional brand campaigns. 

“Sponsorships are a key part of the way ASB demonstrates community commitment, rather than simply paying lip service to it. Our innovative activations also create a tangible experience for the public and our customers to be a part of,” Evans said. 

ASB is proud to partner with Saatchi & Saatchi in its journey to find bold, innovative ways to leverage its sponsorships. 

“We build the brand together with a carefully planned mix of innovation, social storytelling, and real life events, supported by ASB’s strong customer service and real-world relevance, which has unsurprisingly led to increased brand love for ASB.” 

Recap of ASB’s recent sponsorship activations:
ASB Marathon ‘ Run Down Your Rate’ 
Race Day – https://youtu.be/QrlLHExIvfY
Training - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXII_KpG5mo
Meet the Runners - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTbfDYkJmeI 

All Blacks Sponsorship
Up for the Game – The special ABS coffee blend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9wiiWUU6GQ
All Blacks Perspective - Business insights from the team behind the team: https://www.asb.co.nz/ambition-series/
ABS announcement – The bank that backs the All Blacks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLv5yVltH4g 

ASB Classic
ASB Classic – The Best Ball Boys in the World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK_83cnHbE4