Credit One Bank Expands Sports Portfolio with Multi-Year WWE Partnership
After putting a full nelson on the Las Vegas pro sports market, Credit One Bank is expanding its sports partnerships into wrestling, striking a multi-year deal with the WWE. The Vegas-based firm, one of the largest credit card issuers in the U.S., will feature in the WWE’s Sunday pay-per-view Survivor Series and in its Nov. 22 Tables, Ladders and Chairs event.
While both companies are still building out exactly what the experiences will be for fans and customers, two that will be featured include a trip to a “Fantasy Camp” in Orlando, and VIP experiences at WWE live events.
“We’ve been hyper-focused on keeping the fan at the center of this campaign every step of the way,” said John Stamatis, WWE senior vice president of global sales and partnerships.
The pact with the WWE is Credit One Bank’s latest effort to partner with sports and entertainment properties. The company already works with the sports teams in its hometown, cutting deals with the Las Vegas Raiders, the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Las Vegas Aviators, in addition to its national agreement with NASCAR.
The WWE was attractive because it will provide Credit One Bank with extensive access to the wrestling federation’s marks, talent and other assets. The bank’s partnership with the Raiders only allows use of certain marks, because the NFL has a multi-year deal with Barclays to create branded credit cards for every team.
“The WWE controls their own destiny from top to bottom,” said John Coombe, Credit One’s senior vice president of marketing. “It’s extremely attractive to us from a live perspective, a streaming perspective and an online video perspective.”
Coombe added that WWE’s massive YouTube following of “tens of millions of consumers” also piqued the company’s interest.
“Every one of those consumers has a financial need of some sort,” said Coombe. “It was a natural fit to put our product in front of those who have a growing need for credit products.”
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