The news: Chase’s “A Coach’s Influence” campaign in the UK, highlighting support for grassroots soccer, is resonating with younger adults, per independent creative testing from marketing analysis platform System1.

Zooming out: Chase began building its UK soccer presence in February 2024 by signing four-year partnerships with the Football Associations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, becoming the official banking partner of their national teams, per press releases. The initiative has since expanded, with Chase funding more than 7,000 coaching qualifications across the four home nations, including more than 6,000 grassroots course spots for training volunteer and community coaches. 

The new campaign spotlights that investment across radio, social media, and TV, per Droga5 London. 

Zooming in: The ad opens with a coach delivering a team talk before following players into their everyday lives, where lessons around perseverance, teamwork, and resilience help them navigate challenges off the pitch. It ultimately connects the influence of coaches beyond sports back to Chase’s funding of coaching qualifications, which is revealed later in the video. 

Why it matters: Chase has only operated as a UK retail bank since 2021, competing against incumbents with much longer-standing customer relationships. Its soccer-focused strategy could help close that familiarity gap: System1’s consumer testing placed the ad in the top 3% of commercial banking ads tested among the general public. 

The ad also scored better than average in brand recognition and likelihood of influencing consumer behavior. And it tested particularly well among 18- to 34-year-olds—a key demographic as Chase looks to build digital-only banking relationships with younger consumers.

Implications for banks: Chase’s approach shows how newer digital banks can use real-world experiences to build familiarity and relevance in markets dominated by established brands. Rather than competing solely through app features, rates, or rewards, Chase is attaching its brand to a community where consumers already have strong relationships and interest. That could become increasingly important as digital banking features become easier for competitors to replicate. 

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