From Broadway to the Big Leagues
When you work in creative for a bank, people don’t always picture Broadway spotlights or MLS championship stadiums. But for me, that’s been the core of my role as Creative Lead at City National: taking our entertainment and sports legacy and shaping it into a national brand story people remember.
City National has always been the bank to the stars. For decades, we’ve served Broadway productions, Hollywood studios, professional athletes, and their business managers. By the time I stepped into this role, the challenge was clear:
How do we grow beyond our West Coast stronghold without losing our insider credibility?
Our team’s mission was to turn marquee sponsorships into more than logos. We’d make them integrated, living campaigns that would connect with our core clients and introduce CNB to new audiences nationwide.
Broadway, Film & The Arts
In June, the Tony Awards and Tribeca Film Festival land just weeks apart — two cultural icons, one city in full celebration mode. For us, it was the perfect moment to paint the town blue.
My team and I worked to make City National’s presence impossible to miss:
Event-Adjacent DOOH Takeover: Saturated high-traffic NYC locations with taxi toppers, bus shelters, and urban panels during the festivals.
Contextual Digital Placements: Ran creative in entertainment-adjacent newsletters and sites like Vox, Vulture’s film column, and Time Out NYC; leveraged Tony Award nomination announcements for targeted bursts.
Cross-City Connection: Activated West Coast audiences via Spotify, The LA Times, and social channels.
Owned + Earned Content Ecosystem: Produced a content library of video, animation, and photography covering before, during, and after events, balancing UGC with brand-led creative.
As Creative Lead, I directed the visual and narrative cohesion across channels, ensuring CNB blue as the unifying brand thread. I adapted messaging for each placement’s context—DOOH executions leaned bold and visual, while digital creative leaned narrative-driven. I also partnered with media and content teams to tailor creative by audience segment, ensuring resonance with both entertainment insiders and broader arts enthusiasts.
The Results
This campaign proved the value of smart media orchestration paired with highly tailored creative. By showing up in the right places, with the right tone, and at the right moments, City National reinforced its role as a trusted partner in entertainment while demonstrating how integrated campaigns can translate cultural sponsorships into measurable brand growth.
7.7M
Total impressions — a 190% increase YoY
⬆️ 81%
Lift in brand consideration
⬆️ 56%
Lift in brand perception
The Sports Arena
When we refreshed our approach to Entertainment & Sports Banking in 2025, it wasn’t just about adding another sponsorship logo. My team and I worked to make City National’s presence feel authentic to Los Angeles sports fans and the Hispanic community by producing co-branded, bilingual creative for Dignity Health Sports Park, the home of the LA Galaxy. We also positioned the partnership to live well beyond the stadium, tying it to RBC’s global sports portfolio.
The Takeaway
Entertainment and sports sponsorships can easily become expensive wallpaper. My role, and my team’s mission, has been to make sure they don’t.
From painting the town blue in New York to crafting bilingual creative that connects on and off the field, we’ve turned CNB’s partnerships into stories people want to be part of.