Never heard of Acrisure? Naming rights deal with Steelers stadium aims to change that

Why would a Michigan-based financial tech company with little connection to Pittsburgh want to secure naming rights to the city’s NFL stadium?

It is an established model for expanding Acrisure’s growing footprint and helping make the company a household name — not just in the region but nationally, an industry insider said.

Eric Smallwood, a sports marketing consultant and president of Apex Marketing Group, said Acrisure can expect a “four-to-one” return on its investment over the course of its 15-year naming rights deal with the Steelers.

“These are partnerships,” said Smallwood, whose company also is based in Michigan. “It’s not just putting a sign up anymore. What you see on the surface is not the whole package. Is this insurance company providing insurance services to the Steelers organization? The reason banks are the biggest category across naming rights is, a lot of times, they will get the accounts of the team or the venue or a combination thereof.”

Acrisure is best known as a top 10 global insurance brokerage, using artificial intelligence and other high-tech tools to connect clients to insurance companies. Acrisure also provides financial service solutions in industries that extend beyond insurance, such as real estate, asset management and cyber security.

It may be an unknown commodity to most Steelers fans, but the new naming rights holder at the former Heinz Field is a growing power in the financial tech industry.

The company based in Grand Rapids, Mich., has grown exponentially since it was founded by CEO Greg Williams in 2005. Most of that expansion has taken place since 2020 when it has acquired approximately 500 of its 700 holdings.

More on Acrisure Stadium naming rights:

• Heinz Field no more: Steelers, Acrisure finalize deal for stadium naming rights
• Pittsburgh has plenty of places that have changed names
• Many Steelers fans underwhelmed by Heinz Field name change
• Editorial: Acrisure Stadium, you say? To Steelers fans, it'll always be Heinz Field
• How will the loss of stadium naming rights affect the Heinz legacy in Pittsburgh?
• Ben Roethlisberger sounds off on the Heinz Field name change
• No more ‘Highway to Heinz,’ but WPIAL plans to hold 4 football finals at Acrisure Stadium

According to a statement released when Acrisure was named Monday as the new naming rights holder for the North Shore stadium, the company has increased revenue from $38 million to $3.8 billion in the past eight years. It operates in 14 countries and maintains 14,000 employees. Its most recent valuation was estimated at $23 billion.

Williams said Acrisure’s mission in the naming rights deal is to “increase awareness of the extraordinary advantage Acrisure brings our clients while conveying our strong sense of community. Relatedly, we are eager to invest in the Pittsburgh community and broader region as we chart our course to an unforgettable first season.”

Acrisure’s most important acquisition was a $400 million deal for Pittsburgh-based Tulco LLC in July 2020. That company was founded by Steelers minority owner Thomas Tull and provided artificial intelligence properties that were enticing to Acrisure.

“That transaction singularly transforms every facet of our business,” Williams said at the time.

As part of the stock-for-stock deal, Tull became one of Acrisure’s largest minority investors and was named chairman of Acrisure Technology Group.

Tulco and Williams were connected through a mutual investor, and they partnered on a venture named Altway Insurance, a brokerage that used artificial intelligence to coordinate individual health benefits. That set the stage for the Tulco acquisition two years ago.

Acrisure’s acquisition of Tulco was named a winner in Michigan business publication MiBiz’s mergers and acquisition deals of the year awards in 2021.

“Businesses that succeed in the medium to long term must be nimble, data-rich and digitally oriented,” Williams said in 2020. “The transaction with Thomas Tull and the Tulco team accelerates our ability to do all of the above.”