A rendering of the new signage for PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, N.C.
PNC Bank entered the North Carolina market in 2012 and is now making a name for itself in Charlotte through a naming rights deal at a local amphitheater. Live Nation Entertainment’s PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte signed a multiyear naming rights deal with the bank, a departure from their previous deal with Verizon Wireless.
“We talked to a number of different companies — some in the communications industry and a few others in the financial or service-oriented industry — and at the end of the day, what made sense for us was PNC,” said Marc Abend, Sr. VP Venue Sales with Live Nation Entertainment. “Being new to the marketplace, they were looking to make a splash in the community.”
According to PNC Bank Regional Vice President Weston Andress, venue naming rights were one of many options the bank was considering to get its name into the marketplace.
“We’ve been looking at all sorts of ways, ranging from sponsorships of various local nonprofit groups, traditional advertising, and now naming rights deals like this,” he said, adding that PNC Bank has 17 branches in the Charlotte metropolitan area. “All the sports facilities here already have naming rights sponsors, so we had to be a bit more creative.”
That creativity could be a bonus. More than 2.6 million visitors attended events at PNC Music Pavilion in the last decade. The facility has between 24-28 events per year, ranging from heavy metal to country to pop. Having such a wide range of music genres opens up the facility’s exposure to various demographics.
“The nice thing about our venues is that you can see a different thing every single night, as opposed to sports where you have the same teams playing each week,” said Abend.
Negotiations for the naming rights deal were done in-house.
Abend said that PNC Bank appealed to Live Nation because of the bank’s strong commitment to the local community.
“Live Nation is a huge company, but when it comes to our music venues and promoters, for the most part, they’re regional venues showcasing events for their local communities,” he added.
Part of how PNC Bank plans to reach out to the community is through ticket donations. Within the next year, PNC Bank plans to donate 1,200 PNC Music Pavilion event tickets to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Charlotte. The bank is also entitled to a set number of tickets for each concert at the facility.
Andress is particularly looking forward to the One Direction concert scheduled Sept. 27, but not for himself.
“I’m not sure that’s quite my cup of tea, but some of our clients’ children will be very excited,” added Andress.
Interviewed for this story: Marc Abend, (310) 360-3051; Weston Andress, (704) 571-0626