The Memphis Grizzlies have “announced a multi-year partnership with financial services company Robinhood Markets, Inc. as the official investing and jersey patch partner of the Grizzlies. The Robinhood logo will be featured on the upper left chest of all Grizzlies uniforms beginning with the 2024-25 season,” per the team.
Teams who solicit uni ads are no longer shy (were they ever?) about announcing such ad solicitations, often speaking in glowing terms about such things as “partnerships” and “commitment to communities” and other such marketingspeak. And of course, these announcements are now almost always accompanied by a hype video. Such is the case with Memphis.
a new jersey patch partner for the future.@robinhoodapp pic.twitter.com/6z0vw9pDQd
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) September 19, 2024
The advertiser — Robinhood — is also an advertiser on the Wizards jerseys (they became “partners” in 2023) and now becomes the third company to have patch partnerships with multiple teams. Motorola (Bucks and Bulls) and Ibotta (Nuggets and Pelicans) are the others.
If your recent memories of the Grizzlies jerseys were ad free, that’s because they without an advertiser since parting with FedEx following the 2020-21 season. But that’s all coming to an end now.
The new advertiser’s presence isn’t limited to all the Grizzlies’ jerseys either. According to the team, “Robinhood will also have prominent placement on the Grizzlies home court, with the logo positioned along both baselines. In addition to the patch and baseline position, Robinhood will receive significant visibility across the Grizzlies ecosystem through broadcast, social, and in-arena assets.”
Michael Goodbody, Robinhood’s VP of Marketing and Communications, said “Robinhood’s partnership with the Grizzlies is a strategic move, driven by a deep understanding of what our customers’ want and where they are. Robinhood is proud to be home to a new generation of investors. We see the Grizzlies Grit and Grind spirit in our customers and it’s something we embody as a company to deliver some of the most innovative products in the industry. As Robinhood grows our NBA footprint, this partnership is a natural fit and will bring us into the world’s most famous arenas — at home and on the road.”
I’m sure others have said something similar to this before, but this is one of the more direct acknowledgments that the advertiser’s goal isn’t just a “local” and community partnership, but also to have the jersey ad appear in the other 29 NBA arenas, via the jersey ad. Not that that makes it any better, but at least there’s a bit of honesty in the statement.
I wonder when the Robinhood ad goes the way of the FTX ad on the MLB Umpire Jerseys because of investment fraud?
They get some points for honesty by pointing out the added exposure that the ad gets in the other arenas, but major points deducted for hiding behind the typical avalanche of euphemisms so as to avoid calling the patch an advertisement. Teams may no longer be shy about announcing their ads but they seem to be embarrassed to call them by their proper name.
I don’t mean this as a criticism, but does anyone care anymore what advertiser a team gets? I’m sure most of us still hate that teams have advertisers, but most have them, and I don’t care which ones they have. Really, I’m now sorry I know who this company is. I know, then why open the article? Valid, and I won’t anymore.
You’re not tied to Paul’s nomenclature on the site.
An advertisement has a message and a call to action. I assume the sponsorship agreement includes a lot of advertising buys, but the jersey logo falls short of being an advert.
Paul used the incorrect term because he wanted negative connotations for something he dislikes. He’s right to dislike company branding on the uniform, but wrong to use an incorrect term. If “sponsorship” is too positive, maybe we call it branding?
It is clearly an advertisement. Nothing more, nothing less. In reference to my son’s little league team, a sponsor helps funds a team’s jersey or cap purchase. This does not.
I’m pretty sure they use money from the sponsor to help pay the team’s bills in both situations.
It’s like the pro team’s sponsor also advertises with the team, but those adverts are adverts because they have the necessary elements of a message and a call to action.
We need to have Mr. Yuk as a uniform ad please!
Ads are here to stay, but sometimes the ads work. I liked the GE Celtics and Frost spurs. Unfortunately most times they don’t work. Golden state rakuten was brutal