UOB is planning two global partnerships in the entertainment space every year, as it taps the segment to drive acquisition and spending across its retail business.

This includes more meet and greets, and priority sales to concerts and festivals across the Asean region as UOB focuses on global artists, with the possibility of riding on the Korean pop wave.

“Entertainment is coming up as a category that’s very, very promising,” said Jacquelyn Tan, head of group personal financial services at UOB. “And in certain reports, you do see a strong double-digit growth for entertainment as a category.”

Tan noted that apart from spending on entertainment, another benefit of the segment is that it can lead to spending in key pillars of the bank’s retail business – shopping, dining and travel.

She said: “It’s not only about the event itself, but also about the 360 spend as well as the economic contribution that happens around it.”

The push comes after the success in the bank’s recent tie-ups with pop stars Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran.

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In June, as part of UOB’s partnership with Swift for her concerts in Singapore, the bank offered a presale for its customers and also reserved tickets for its cardholders during the general sale.

Later in October, UOB announced a similar partnership with Sheeran for his concerts in South-east Asia.

After announcing the partnership with Swift, daily application submissions grew 50 per cent for debit cards and 45 per cent for credit cards.

Of the applications, those from the 25-to-29-year-old age group grew 20 per cent.

Close to 40 per cent of tickets to Swift’s six shows in Singapore were bought by UOB cardholders, of which 70 per cent were from Singapore.

Overall, the bank also reported record credit card fee income for the third quarter of 2023, growing 89 per cent on year to S$104 million.

In the past four months, Tan noted that UOB has organised five sold-out presales for concerts, with more than 150,000 tickets sold and ticket sales exceeding S$40 million.

Apart from Swift and Sheeran, UOB had a naming partnership for an entertainment venue in Thailand.

In September, it had a closed-door meet and greet with pop star Jackson Wang, and organised presales for a music programme in Vietnam, Rap Viet.

The entertainment push is in line with the bank’s aim to provide benefits that are relevant for consumers, she said.

“We always look at consumers and what they spend – that’s why we spend a lot of time doing research insights, as well as looking at our own data and spotting trends.”

Tan noted that one of the insights that the bank drew was that its customers are increasingly valuing experiences, which includes spending on entertainment.

She also noted that UOB is in a prime position to attract acts that are interested in regional partnerships, given the bank’s footprint in Asean especially after it acquired some of Citi’s retail businesses in the region.

“We would be a natural bank partner to work with, because for any bank partner that wants to do a presale, you must make sure that they not only have a base, but a base that cuts across Asean,” she said.

Noting concerns of the quality of customers acquired through the entertainment pillar, Tan said so far, these customers had a “very high” activation rate and decent spending. The difference between these customers, and those acquired through other means, is in their profile – those acquired through entertainment are likely to be younger.

But even so, such customers are still spending at the same average as the rest of their cohort, she said.

“It gives us good comfort, and also emphasises on our hypothesis that entertainment is just one category. If you want to bank the customer well, you have to cover the 360,” Tan said.