Not Wasted
Bank of America’s chief executive Kenneth Lewis has said that the bank’s multimillion-dollar sports sponsorship deals are worth the investment because they generate sales and profits.
Reuters reports that Lewis told the Chief Executive Officers Club of Boston, “I was never inclined to pump big sums of money into sports marketing until I saw the facts and the numbers.” In general terms, for every dollar we spend on sports marketing, we get $10 in revenue and $3 in earnings. This is not wasted money.”
Reuters reports that the bank spent between $120 million and $125 million on US sponsorships, including sports deals, in 2007, according to IEG, a subsidiary of advertising giant WPP Plc.Reuters says that banks have come under heavy fire in the US for spending on bonuses, perks and other items that were long considered acceptable, as the government has pumped hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money to help revive the banking system.
