Equiti, a globally recognised fintech brand headquartered in Dubai, has partnered with Dubai’s first-ever home sports franchise, Dubai Basketball, with the group serving as the team’s Founding Partner and Official Digital Wealth Partner for the next three seasons.
This partnership is between Equiti’s in-house agency – including brand, creative, OOH, PR and digital – as well as sports activation specialist Lario Agency, marketing and game opps with Dubai Basketball, and M+C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment Middle East.
As part of the partnership, Equiti will feature prominently on official jerseys and courtside at the Coca-Cola Arena, the home of Dubai Basketball, for all home games, while engaging with fans across the team’s digital platforms.
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In addition, this partnership will see an omnichannel rollout, which combines brand-owned and earned media, always-on social, digital and outdoor campaigns and PR syndication across regional and category media to amplify Equiti’s founding partner status.
Through its established partnerships with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and other vendors, Equiti is also looking to harness the full weight of its landmark outdoor locations in Dubai, such as the Equiti Metro Station and Dubai Basketball’s home at the Coca-Cola Arena, and introducing new touchpoints as the season progresses.
In conversation with Campaign Middle East, Chantelle Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer, Equiti Group, said, “This partnership is more than a logo on a jersey to us. As a data-led marketing team, we want to establish owned moments across the Dubai community by creating memorable experiences with measurable outcomes that drive impact. We’re expecting to create sustained impact from strategically linking digital blasts and targeted programmatic campaigns with real-time fan engagement on the ground in the months ahead.”
Johnson added, “We’re all about moving away from passive impressions – and have built an integrated marketing platform that supports live experiences, digital storytelling and data capture. These pillars will establish communities that nourish both the Equiti and Dubai Basketball brands, surpassing typical sponsorships.”
Strategic approach, key audiences and brand philosophy behind the partnership
The overarching goal of the partnership was to fuse two of Dubai’s “most happening brands” – Equiti and Dubai Basketball – at the height of each other’s momentum.
“Mid-term, we want to grow aided awareness and consideration in the UAE and wider MENA amongst those that look for community-led entertainment – without limiting to classic segments such as ‘die-hard’ sports fans. This will be built out through game-day activations and content drops that encourage first-party audiences to connect with our brands on websites, app sign-ups, RSVPs and more,” Johnson said.
She added, “Growing market share and elevating brand recall almost always go hand in hand, at points only separated by timings. With that in mind, long-term we want to increase our brand value by being both meaningful and different, so that we significantly outperform in value growth.”
Equiti also intends to establish ownable experience concepts within the Dubai community that provide premium experiences and ladders into global brand platforms.
Additionally, the brand has heavily researched new audience clusters and optimised its creative approach through brand lift studies to build this out.
Johnson said, “Equiti’s fast-evolving brand and services are broadening into the retail space, but still retain a performance-driven community philosophy of limitless ambition supported by innovative tech. We’re all about demystifying financial potential, as understanding what opportunities are within reach can make wealth shaping accessible for everyone. There’s a lot of resonance to Dubai Basketball – where a homegrown Dubai brand is thriving on a world stage thanks to their discipline, boldness and the support of a passionate community.”
To celebrate the launch of the collaboration, a retro-futuristic half-court pop-up was unveiled at the Ritz-Carlton on Jumeirah Beach, drawing the team’s star players, Davis Bertans and Nate Mason with curious crowds eager to soak up the excitement ahead of the signing ceremony.
Unsuspecting fans and invited VIPs were treated to a showcase of talent on the eye-catching half-court, inspired by Equiti’s bold visual identity and capturing the spirit of “Aim higher”, as Power Forward Davis Bertans and Guard Nate Mason took to the court, trading shots and displaying their signature skills in an energetic performance.
The excitement continued as onlookers went head-to-head in the fast-paced ‘30-Second Basket Challenge,’ competing for limited edition prizes awarded to the top scorers.
“Innovation spikes when ambition meets discipline, and both Equiti and Dubai Basketball prove that the limits of performance can be reinvented,” said Iskandar Najjar, Equiti Group CEO and Co-founder. “This partnership goes beyond the court – it reflects our shared commitment to showcasing Dubai’s talent on a global stage, challenging convention, creating opportunities and setting a blueprint for the next era of success.”
“Together, we’re excited to empower athletes, fans, and clients to push boundaries, excel in performance, and create powerful, positive impact both on and off the court,” Najjar added.
Success metrics and data-led measurement
Equiti Group typically look at reach, brand equity, and behaviour including brand-lift and MMM/ROMI frameworks, Chief Marketing Officer Johnson told Campaign Middle East.
However, the brand also monitors:
- Reach and quality of exposure – Share of voice and sponsorship media value across TV/ streaming/ highlight clips and social (ABA | Euroleague | Dubai Basketball | Players and creator content).
- Awareness and recall – Viewability and duration of on-court/jersey signage/ attention proxies for courtside assets.
- Brand and preference – Brand lift, search demand, direct traffic around games and activations, as well as social sentiment, save and share rates.
- Behaviour and commercials – First-party data growth in the form of leads, app registrations at arena, as well as pop-ups and content hubs.
- Trackable growth – Incremental conversions via MMM (active weeks vs baselines), and attribution deltas on paid media.
- Optimisation and scalability – Full funnel metrics measured across sponsorship cohorts vs. control groups.
Founded in 2017, Equiti has grown into an international fintech brand, with headquarters in Dubai and offices spanning Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Sharing the same aspiration to excel globally, Dubai Basketball played its inaugural season in the ABA League, finishing the season in the semi-finals against the reigning champions.
“Our partnership with Equiti expands the boundaries of what we thought we could bring to our fans – collaborating with such a successful home-grown brand, we really are bringing the world to Dubai. Together with Equiti, we want to create moments that capture the energy of Dubai, bringing basketball to the city and showing our fans that they are at the heart of everything we do,” said Nick Oakley, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Basketball.
