There are a lot of new things happening at Bread Financial.
Including the name Bread Financial.
The company formerly known as Alliance Data took on the new name in March, a key part of its business transformation and rebranding process that coincides with some exciting new offerings. Over the past few years, the financial services company has moved its headquarters to Columbus and introduced new products designed to help both businesses and consumers with their needs.
Recently, the Blue Jackets mascot Stinger took a tour of the Bread Financial office, delivering donuts to associates and taking a break in the game room.
It was all part of a goodwill visit, as one of the other new initiatives for Bread Financial a multiyear partnership with the Blue Jackets that brings together two pillars of the Columbus business community.
“Columbus is our hometown and where we have set down roots as our corporate base,” said Shannon Andrick, Bread Financial’s Head of Transformation Office and VP of Business Strategy. “We have been around for more than 30 years. Most people know us more as a branded credit card partner, most recently partnering with brands like the NFL and Ulta. This year we also launched new direct-to-consumer products and felt like we needed to think a little differently about our partnerships.
We have a breadth of products that meet consumers in all walks of life with different financial needs. As we grow, we felt like this (partnership) was a great opportunity to get our brand out there a little more.”
Blue Jackets fans will notice the organization’s newest Championship Partner in two major ways when it comes to their experience as fans. First, Bread Financial has become the team’s home helmet partner starting with the 2022-23 season.
Second, the primary concession area of Nationwide Arena between sections 101 and 106 on the north side of the main concourse has been renamed “Bread Financial Boulevard.”
“We are excited to welcome Bread Financial to the Blue Jackets family as a Championship Partner,” said Cameron Scholvin, Blue Jackets Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “Partnering with local companies in significant ways has always been important to our organization. Columbus is a dynamic market with thriving sports and business communities and our relationship with Bread Financial is a great example of two Columbus-based organizations coming together to help each other achieve their goals.”
For both sides, it’s a bit of a new approach and a unique partnership. For the Blue Jackets, Bread Financial has become the first-ever official financial services provider of the organization. On the other hand, this is the first time Bread Financial has entered into such a partnership with a professional sports team.
From Bread Financial’s point of view, there were plenty of reasons to pursue the partnership, including the fact that it would help introduce the company’s diversified offerings to a new audience.
“In a nutshell, we provide simple, personalized payment, lending and saving solutions for customers and our partners,” Andrick said. “With the expansion of our brand and the new products that we have brought to market, Columbus is a strategic market for us and we wanted the opportunity to be able to reach and connect with these audiences.”
Supporting the Columbus community is also a pillar of both organizations. For Bread Financial, Central Ohio is home in many ways, with 3,100 of the company’s more than 6,000 global associates based in its Columbus headquarters.
There are a number of synergies in the community initiatives for both Bread Financial and the Blue Jackets, including support of Ruling Our Experiences, the Columbus-based nonprofit leader in programming, research and education focused on girls; support of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, for which Bread CEO Ralph Andretta serves on the board of trustees; and other diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“We feel like there are a lot of great opportunities for us to look across the different organizations that both of us support, and perhaps you can make new connections for each of us along the way so we can build a better Columbus together,” Andrick said.
Add it all up and both sides view the agreement as a great way to build a great partnership between two entities devoted to making Columbus a better place.
“We are very excited,” Andrick said. “This is a first for Bread Financial, but we couldn’t think of a better organization to do it with.”
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