Mike Kramer has a cool office.
Hey, he’s a bank bigwig, the head honcho here in Chattanooga of Atlantic Capital Bank (ACB). A swanky office is part of the executive package; right up there with a prime parking spot and free checking.
Kramer’s office is spacious, sitting in the back of Atlantic’s impressive new, 27,000 square foot headquarters that spreads across the north and south buildings on the third floor of Warehouse Row downtown.
The walls are a mix of personal and professional artifacts. Degrees meet pictures, awards meet mementos.
In a far corner, next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, there are some family keepsakes. Chief among them is a letter written to Kramer’s father from legendary Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown when the elder Kramer was drafted in the 1950s.
It’s framed. It’s family. And for Kramer, who played small-college football after growing up in Pittsburgh and attending school with Steelers head coach Chuck Noll’s kid, it’s forever.
“Yeah, that’s pretty special,” he said this spring behind a wry smile before adding, “even if it is from the Cleveland Browns.”
Kramer’s family has had season tickets for the Steelers since 1969, before the Steel Curtain dynasty of the 1970s and back in a time when the Steeler Way was a pathway to last place. Football, Kramer readily admits, is part of who he is and how he got here, starting with a college scholarship.
That said, the waves Kramer’s professional group are making in the local sports community are not about friends or family. It’s neither hobby nor pastime.
“Sure I love sports,” said Kramer, who has moved ACB into a place to be the official bank of the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Chattanooga Football Club. Earlier this spring ACB extended its deal to be the banking partner with UTC athletics.
“This about partnering with local entities that we respect and value,” he said.
For Kramer and his Atlantic Capital marketing plan, connecting with some of the most well-known sports brands in Chattanooga is business. And for ACB, business has been good. According to FDIC reports, ACB last year earned $16.5 million, which is almost triple its net income from the previous year.
Certainly a lot of factors play into that, and Kramer and his management team are proud of the growth. But in a scant two years since ACB merged with FSG, the name-recognition certainly helps for the new kid in town.
“We started with UTC in 2013 when we were rebuilding the image of the bank,” said Kramer, who was head of FSG locally as the organization turned $150 million in problem assets into making a profit in less than two years before ACB bought FSG.
“I have always believed that you are judged by the company you keep, and we restarted FSG by being involved with some of the best organizations in town.”
The extension between ACB and UTC is more than simply a money-for-monogram swap, according to UTC Athletic Director David Blackburn, and it offers benefits for each side.
“We are excited to have Atlantic Capital Bank continue their support of UTC Athletics. As the Official Bank of UTC Athletics, they have been instrumental in the success of our programs and we look forward to their continued involvement,” said Blackburn. “As they transition into a new bank, we are transitioning into football season with a new coach. These are exciting times for both parties and we look forward to even greater opportunities on the horizon.”
Money pressures on athletic departments mean every sponsorship and promotional opportunity must be explored and maximized, even for a school like UTC which is enjoying an unprecedented run of on-the-field success.
There are monster negotiations that are measured in multi-comma totals for the major athletic programs in college sports. Even bitter rivals Alabama and Tennessee can come to a common ground in the marketing game, as each is partners with Muscle Milk, and its parent company CytoSport, Inc., as the official supplier of high quality porting drinks, bars and powders for the Tide and the Vols.
Those deals vary financially based on size and notoriety of schools. UnderArmour and Nike, the nation’s two largest apparel and shoe companies, spend tens of millions per year to get their UA and Swoosh on jerseys and cleats on Saturdays in the fall.
For UTC, the numbers are clearly not as big, but the commitment and the contributions are no less valuable.
“We count on our partners, and we are very thankful for their support,” said Blackburn, who spent a couple of decades working at UT before coming to Chattanooga. “The deals here are not as big, but in some ways they may be even more important.”
For Kramer and ACB, the deal with UTC is a win-win.
And that’s something every sports fan and business person would love.