Partway through the baseball season a year ago, the Fort Lauderdale bank signed up to be a marketing sponsor for the Florida Marlins . . . and the Marlins went on to win the World Series.
During the past hockey season, the bank signed on as a sponsor of the Tampa Bay Lightning. And as everyone in the bay area knows, the Lightning soared to win the Stanley Cup.
"I will tell you that coincidentally we've gotten lots of calls from local teams in the South and located in Tampa," BankAtlantic marketing chief Jarett Levan said last week.
Levan says he doesn't know if that's because the teams heard that the bank is doing more in the sports sponsorship arena or because "they want to sign on with BankAtlantic's lucky rabbit foot."
Capitalizing on the Marlins' championship, BankAtlantic recently furnished the team with a van emblazoned with both the Marlins' logo and BankAtlantic logo for the Marlins' mascot to use at appearances. Ways to capitalize on the Lightning's title are still being discussed.
Levan said no other sports sponsorships are imminent in the bay area. But it might not hurt if the Devil Rays gave the bank a call.
