Kemba Credit Union & Miami University (OH)

Van Wagner launched its partnership with Miami University in August of 2019.  The team was charged with creating a blank canvas within the sponsorship program for Miami Athletics.  The sponsorships had become transactional over time and advertisers were not fully aware of the value that could be delivered through an integrated partnership with Miami.

Very early into our partnership, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the school to close campus and shut down all sporting events.  Over the course of the next 12 months, our team worked diligently to establish lines of communication and relationships with stakeholders in a number of non-athletics departments at the University.  This included student life, human resources, auxiliary services, procurement and the Alumni Association amongst others.  As part of this cultivation process, Athletics and Alumni both discovered an opportunity to create a partnership with a bank or credit union that could provide them with comprehensive exposure across both areas of the University and establish a level of exclusivity within the category.  As the pandemic subsided, Van Wagner engaged the marketplace in close collaboration with the Miami Alumni Association to introduce this new opportunity to applicable banks and credit unions.

The result was a long term, mid-seven figure financial commitment from Kemba Credit Union to become the official Credit Union of Miami Athletics and the Miami Alumni Association.  Van Wagner more than doubled the inherited sponsorship revenue that was in place when the partnership started with only one sales cycle that was not significantly impacted by the Pandemic.