Fintokei & Yoshi Nishioka

Fintokei, a leading European fintech company, has ambitions to expand its global footprint, with Asia (specifically Japan) cited as a key growth market. To facilitate this expansion, the brand wanted to find a sports partnership that would build awareness locally by giving the brand an authentic and credible connection with Japanese audiences.

Rather than pursue a broad global sponsorship, Fintokei needed a platform that could provide targeted market relevance and create meaningful opportunities to tell its brand story. 

The key task was to find an athlete who would provide genuine cultural relevance in Fintokei’s priority market.

Tennis is one of the most established and popular sports in Japan. At the top of the domestic game was Yoshihito Nishioka, Japan’s number #1 tennis player and a two-time ATP Tour winner, with an established following across Japan and wider Asia.

Nishioka’s own career provided a natural connection to Fintokei’s proposition. His journey as a professional athlete - maximising talent, taking opportunities and competing at the highest level - aligned closely with Fintokei’s ambition to empower individuals to maximise their own potential.

Crucially, the partnership could also help build mainstream understanding of prop trading. Tennis’ round-by-round tournament format provided an intuitive framework for explaining the evaluation stage of the emerging industry, helping to make an otherwise unfamiliar concept more accessible to a mainstream audience.

Alongside Nishioka, Fintokei could make their own brand and story relevant to a mainstream Japanese audience through a sporting context.

The partnership was structured to give emphasis to Japan, with the potential to extend Fintokei’s reach across Asia.

Nishioka became the face of Fintokei’s brand campaigns, supported by a suite of content designed to bring the partnership to life across digital channels. Social videos, pre-roll advertising and still imagery gave Fintokei a versatile bank of assets that could be integrated into ongoing brand communications.

The partnership was also brought into the live sporting environment through Fintokei sleeve branding on Nishioka’s playing uniform throughout the 2024 tennis season, including his multi-round run at Wimbledon.

Nishioka became the face of Fintokei's brand campaigns across Asia, giving the fintech company an immediate and credible connection with Japanese sports fans.

The partnership delivered visibility both on and off court. Sleeve branding provided a consistent physical presence throughout the tennis season, while the accompanying content programme allowed Fintokei to extend the association across its digital and social channels.

Most importantly, the partnership gave Fintokei a distinctive platform for entering sports sponsorship - one centred on a leading Japanese athlete rather than a generic global property.

Fintokei's first investment in sport demonstrates the value of a regional-first sponsorship strategy when a brand has clearly defined growth markets.

By identifying Yoshihito Nishioka as the right ambassador, Playmaker created a partnership that paired sporting credibility with Japanese market relevance.

The result was a platform that allowed Fintokei to enter sports sponsorship with purpose, using one of Japan's leading tennis players to connect the brand's ambition and values with audiences across Japan and Asia.