Bank of America - The Human Sponsorship

When Bank of America became the presenting sponsor of the Boston Marathon in 2024, we needed to grow brand love. Trust in banks was eroding with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and FTX, and BofA’s brand favorability was at its lowest point since 2020.

The Boston Marathon is famously tough for elite runners, but even tougher if you want to run for charity. To be a charity runner, athletes commit to raising over $10,000. And if they fall short they have to cover the rest. Their connection and motivation to causes is deeply personal, yet there isn’t much support for them surrounding the marathon.

Helping people is at the heart of our brand purpose: achievement made possible. So we flipped corporate sponsorship on its head and donated ourselves, then used our platform to tell runners’ stories, expand their reach, and help them meet their fundraising goals.

We used every piece of media from Bank of America during their inaugural sponsorship to amplify the stories of these runners, and to help them raise more money than they ever thought possible.

Media included over 600 out-of-home placements blanketing Boston, films debuting during the national broadcast of the Oscars, a takeover of the Boston Globe Sunday newspaper and magazine, and more.

The results: $72M raised for 164 charities—a 77% increase over the previous year. Donors credited the runners’ stories as the reason they gave. Brand favorability rose 8%, reaching its highest level ever.

And the business followed. Revenue beat industry projections by $190M that quarter.

By turning a sponsorship into something human and purpose-driven, we didn’t just show up. We helped people move forward—and proved that real impact drives real growth.