When you think of a bank, you picture numbers, interest rates, maybe a branch on a busy street. But in Estonia, one of the country’s largest financial institutions is redefining what investment means. For Swedbank, investing doesn’t stop at balance sheets. It extends to tracks, courts and fairways. Through a carefully designed sports sponsorship strategy, the bank is helping Estonians move, compete and connect, proving that sport can build not just stronger bodies, but stronger communities.
At the heart of Swedbank’s sponsorship portfolio are three flagship partnerships: the Swedbank Tallinn Marathon, the Estonian Basketball Association and the Golf Association. Each agreement runs on a three-year cycle, ensuring continuity, long-term impact and space for innovation. Together, these partnerships account for half of Swedbank’s total sponsorship budget, a bold statement that physical and mental wellbeing are as critical to a nation’s prosperity as financial literacy.
Tiina Pakk, Swedbank Estonia’s Corporate Social Responsibility and Sponsorship Manager, explains the thinking behind it: “Physical activity improves mental clarity, confidence and decision-making. When people are active, they make better choices, including financial ones.” It’s a refreshing philosophy: movement as an investment, both personal and societal.
Swedbank’s strategy is built on balance. The marathon brings mass participation and inclusion. Basketball connects with the energy of team sport and youth development. Golf bridges sport with private banking, offering high-touch engagement for clients. The approach ensures broad societal reach while maintaining strategic brand alignment as an ecosystem where community, commerce and purpose coexist.
Nothing embodies this balance better than the Swedbank Tallinn Marathon, Swedbank’s flagship event every September in Tallinn. With distances ranging from kids’ runs to the full marathon, it’s a festival of movement. The 2025 edition shattered previous records, drawing more than 30.000 runners from 93 countries. Streets filled with color, music and the rhythmic pulse of thousands of feet. A living metaphor for an active nation.
For Swedbank, the marathon is more than sponsorship; it’s a platform for creativity and care. Every participant received a free life insurance coverage worth € 10.000,-. A simple but powerful safety gesture that cost the bank little yet built enormous trust. Customers enjoyed 25% discounts, while private banking clients ran free of charge, deepening loyalty and appreciation. Around the Freedom Square, Swedbank’s presence was unmistakable: banners, digital screens and a bustling tent where volunteers greeted runners, hosted games and shared recovery drinks.
Perhaps the most powerful story, however, is the one inside the company. Among Swedbank Estonia’s 2.600 employees more than 900 took part in the marathon this year, up from 600 last year. Another hundred volunteered on the sidelines, handing out water and cheering runners across the finish line. It’s sponsorship that doesn’t just buy exposure, it builds culture.
The economic ripple effect extends beyond the bank. The marathon injects millions into Tallinn’s tourism and hospitality sectors, aligning with the city’s vision of positioning itself as an active, global capital. “It’s a perfect partnership,” Pakk says. “We help people move and the city moves forward too.”
If the marathon is about scale, basketball is about spirit. Swedbank’s partnership with the Estonian Basketball Association supports the men’s, women’s and youth national teams, including the rapidly growing three-on-three format. The deal extends well beyond courtside logos, it funds real change. This year, the bank distributed 500 basketballs to schools and financed youth training camps that might otherwise never have happened. The message is consistent: every dribble is an investment in the future.
For Estonia, a nation where basketball has long been part of their cultural DNA, the partnership carries emotional weight. Swedbank’s slogan, “Training is an investment,” appears on uniforms and campaign materials, elegantly connecting sport and finance. The bank’s support also shines brightest on the international stage. When the Estonian national team qualified for EuroBasket 2025 in Riga, its first major finals appearance in years, Swedbank hosted a VIP fan zone for 2.000 fans, partners and clients. The mix of national pride and customer engagement created a moment that money alone could never buy.
“... the message remains consistent: training is an investment. It’s not just a marketing line; it’s a mindset that connects financial health with physical and emotional resilience.”
The bank’s smallest but perhaps most strategic partnership lies on the golf course. After a successful pilot in 2024, Swedbank signed a new three-year agreement with the Estonian Golf Association. But this isn’t about luxury or leisure, it’s about transformation. The focus is on young, emerging athletes, both male and female, most in their early twenties. By sponsoring tournaments and training camps, Swedbank is helping dismantle the old stereotype of golf as a sport for retirees and turning it into a space for youth ambition.
At the same time, golf offers an ideal platform for engaging private banking clients through exclusive tournaments and events where business networking meets shared experience. For Swedbank, it’s not a contradiction. Supporting youth talent while fostering customer relationships creates value on both ends of the spectrum.
Across all three partnerships, Swedbank has mastered a crucial principle: activation matters as much as investment. About a quarter of every sponsorship euro goes into additional marketing, storytelling and engagement. “A logo alone doesn’t move people,” Pakk says. “Stories do.”
For the marathon, that meant commissioning a documentary, due for release in November 2025, following three participants as they train, struggle and triumph. It’s a narrative about resilience and community, framed through the lens of sport and supported by the bank’s brand promise. Other activation tools include citywide poster campaigns, social media challenges and onsite experiences such as photo booths and interactive games. Every touchpoint builds emotional connection, turning sponsorship into something personal.
Inside Swedbank, employee participation is central to every activation. Volunteers aren’t just staff; they’re ambassadors, wearing the company’s colors with pride. This hands-on involvement amplifies engagement both internally and externally. The result is a company that doesn’t just sponsor activity, it lives it.
Strategically, Swedbank’s choices reflect the realities of Estonia’s sports market. With many major sports events already tied to other sponsors, new entry points are rare. Rather than chase crowded spaces, the bank invests deeply in partnerships that align with its mission and values. Every three years, contracts are reviewed, measured, and adjusted. It's a balance between long-term commitment and agile rethinking. Current results, however, show little reason for change. The formula works.
Swedbank’s sports sponsorship model has also evolved differently from its Nordic counterparts. In Sweden, the bank’s community investments lean toward education and entrepreneurship. In Estonia, the emphasis on sport makes perfect sense. Here, participation and health resonate more directly with national priorities, an echo of the country’s broader movement toward vitality and wellbeing.
For Pakk and her team, the message remains consistent: training is an investment. It’s not just a marketing line; it’s a mindset that connects financial health with physical and emotional resilience. By supporting events that bring joy, confidence and togetherness, Swedbank reinforces its identity as a bank that believes prosperity begins with active, healthy and inspired people.
Tiina Pakk CSR & sponsorship manager @ Swedbank Estonia