What Ally Bank learned from building a sports marketing strategy before the market caught up

By Kimeko McCoy • July 14, 2026 •

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If Ally Bank CMO Andrea Brimmer had to rebuild her sports marketing playbook, she’d change two things: lock in longer-term partnerships from the start and invest more aggressively in emerging media.

It’s not that her own sports playbook didn’t work, but investing in sports marketing sooner would have made it even more effective.

Marketers are entering a new phase of sports marketing. Audiences are fragmented, ad costs are rising and the sports arena is more crowded than ever. The argument, at this point, is less about the value of sports marketing and more about how brands are structuring their partnerships to maximize return.