Blogs

Government restrictions on gambling advertising and sponsorship continue to have a profound impact on brand partnerships across numerous European markets.As the UK braces for legislation that will come into force in the coming years (you can read a relevant white paper published by ESA in May 2023), sponsors and rights holders in other countries have already demonstrated resilience by evolving and pivoting to keep the industry buoyant.In this special guest blog by Carlos Cantó, CEO of SPSG ... read more

Government restrictions on gambling advertising and sponsorship continue to have a profound impact on brand partnerships across numerous European markets.As the UK braces for legislation that will come into force in the coming years (you can read a relevant white paper published by ESA in May 2023), sponsors and rights holders in other countries have already demonstrated resilience by evolving and pivoting to keep the industry buoyant.In this special guest blog by ESA Member RTR Sports ... read more

Guest blog by Oliver Howard Partnership Development Director CSM Sport & EntertainmentI’m sure you’ve all heard it before: technology brands and F1 are a ‘match made in heaven’. A sport that hinges on hundredths of a second, so the narrative goes, provides the perfect testbed to prove the efficacy of your technology.The tech brands themselves have certainly bought into this neat synergy. Since 2017, there has been a 150% increase in tech sponsors entering F1, and as of 2023, they make up ... read more

Claire Ritchie Executive Vice President InternationalWhat’s your name and position within the organisation?I’m Claire Ritchie, Executive Vice President International at rEvolution, and formerly CEO of Sine Qua Non up to our acquisition by rEvolution in January 2023.How has rEvolution evolved as an agency in recent years, especially in its approach to sponsorship and partnerships? rEvolution has expanded significantly in recent years through a combination of strategic acquisition and organic ... read more

Alex Cowell Founder and CEOCan you give us a brief outline of Sponsorworks as a company and what differentiates you in the market?At Sponsorworks we enable sponsors, agencies and rights holders to automate the management and evaluation of all their ticketing, hospitality and guest registration activities.What sets us apart is our unrivalled software platform, which is renowned for its speed to market, flexibility and the complete control that it offers teams. We can deploy a highly tailored ... read more

Alex Smith Director of Marketing PartnershipsWhat’s your name and position within the organisation?My name is Alex Smith and as Director of Marketing Partnerships at TEAM Marketing, I lead a team of 25 talented sports marketers in support of our client UEFA and its men’s club competition sponsor and licensing partners.Can you give us a brief outline of TEAM Marketing as a company and your approach to partnerships specifically?Strong and enduring relationships are the foundation of our ... read more

Chris Marking Vice PresidentWhat’s your name and position within the organization?I’m Chris Marking, Vice President at AEG Global Partnerships, part of AEG Worldwide – the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company. I’ve been with the team for more than 15 years – since the European team started.Can you give us a brief outline of AEG Global Partnerships as a company and your approach?AEG Worldwide is in the business of live events in all shapes and sizes: venues, touring, sports and ... read more

Glenn Lovett Global Managing DirectorSandra Greer SVP Head of Insights and Analytics, EMEACan you give us a summary of what differentiates dentsu Sports Analytics in the research and measurement marketplace?We’re on a mission to maximise the return that our partners and prospective partners can achieve from their sponsorship activity.Our proprietary industry survey, Frontier, shows that less than 20 per cent of the industry are ‘very confident’ they can measure the business value and return ... read more

Delphine Baise was named on 9 March 2023 as one of the four inaugural recipients of the ESA Fellowship. In this Q&A, Delphine reflects both on the individual honour and the changing nature of the sponsorship industry during her years of service.How do you feel to be selected as one of the inaugural ESA Fellows?It's an honour to be selected as one of the inaugural ESA Fellows. I have known ESA for a long time and greatly value the importance of the association for our industry. I feel ... read more

Catherine Hawkins was named on 9 March 2023 as one of the four inaugural recipients of the ESA Fellowship. In this Q&A, Catherine reflects both on the individual honour and the changing nature of the sponsorship industry during her years of service.How do you feel to be selected as one of the inaugural ESA Fellows?I feel really humbled to receive this award. It’s a very proud moment to be recognised by my peers and by the governing body to have meaningfully contributed to the sector. It’s ... read more

Peter Raymond was named on 9 March 2023 as one of the four inaugural recipients of the ESA Fellowship. In this Q&A, Peter reflects both on the individual honour and the changing nature of the sponsorship industry during his years of service.How do you feel to be selected as one of the inaugural ESA Fellows?I’m greatly honoured, while also feeling slightly embarrassed, because the work is not done!As Course Director of the ESA Diploma I’ve had the great pleasure and privilege of being able to ... read more

Paul Samuels was named on 9 March 2023 as one of the four inaugural recipients of the ESA Fellowship. In this Q&A, Paul reflects both on the individual honour and the changing nature of the sponsorship industry during his years of service.How do you feel to be selected as one of the inaugural ESA Fellows?It is a great honour to be nominated by your peers for such a prestigious accolade. In my role as Executive Vice President for Global Partnerships at AEG Europe, I’m lucky to lead an ... read more

The 2023 UEFA Champions League Final will be accompanied by a ground-breakingly accessible broadcast. In this blog we hear from those involved in creating EE and BT Sport’s innovative ‘New Signing’ campaign: Matt Stevenson (Head of Group Sponsorship at EE), Alex Groom and Issie Mandry (Executive Creative Director and Senior Creative at sport and culture creative agency Cake), and the stars of the project, Damaris Cooke and Rolf Choutan.Alex: EE’s New Signing campaign is the latest initiative of ... read more

Lewis BuckSports Partnership ManagerCan you tell us in less than 100 words what your company does?Bidstack helps brands and rights holders to dynamically reach gamers, unlocking a huge and valuable audience that is notoriously hard to reach. Our sophisticated technology allows brands to serve advertisements into natural spaces within video games, whilst protecting the gaming experience. These branded experiences can vary from trackside banners, and cityscape billboards to pitch-side LED boards, ... read more

Stephen O'MalleyChief Operating OfficerWhat is your name and position within the organisation?I’m Stephen O’Malley, Chief Operating Officer at DataPOWA, an IXUP Group company. I joined DataPOWA at the start-up phase in June 2018.In brief, what does DataPOWA do and what approach do you take to sponsorship and partnerships?Across the past decade, data has changed the face of sport, but data alone isn’t enough to create the revolution that rights owners and sports properties and their partnering ... read more

Ashley ArthingalESA Diploma Scholar, 2023ESA introduced the ESA Diploma Scholarship in 2022 to increase industry diversity as part of its mission as the essential and inclusive community for all professionals working in sponsorship.The first recipient of the Scholarship was Nobandile Mutseyekwa and following in her footsteps in 2023 was Ashley Arthingal, who spoke to ESA about his journey to this prestigious and coveted opportunity.Ashley studied Law in Mumbai and after graduating in 2014 had a ... read more

Quentin 'Q' ThomCo-Founder and Co-HeadCan you give us a brief summary of what your company does?At perfORM Due Diligence Services we help protect sports organisations from unwanted association by assessing potential partners in crypto, blockchain and Web3.This sector is characterised by volatility, with many examples of success and failure, and we offer timely Operational Due Diligence (ODD) research reports on firms that assess core reputational and financial risks, including the inability to ... read more

Philippe PetitpontCEO and Co-FounderWhat is your name and position within the organisation?I’m Philippe Petitpont, the CEO and Co-founder of Newsbridge, the AI and cloud media company I started with my twin brother Frédéric in 2016. We were driven by a desire to redefine the way media teams in sports and the broadcast world manage, store and index audiovisual content. Before founding Newsbridge, I was a broadcast engineer with French TV channel, TF1. Frédéric was a Technical Lead at BETC ... read more

Kirsty MatthewsDirector of Brand Partnerships Can you tell us a bit about Orchard Connects? We’re an experienced, boutique sponsorship agency who are part of Orchard Media Group, an independent full-service media agency based out of Cardiff. We operate across the UK and around the world. What is your approach to sponsorship and partnerships?We work with both brands and rights holders. The brands we work with might be looking for a new sponsorship to support marketing objectives or ... read more

Damien GillmanCo-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Can you tell us in less than 100 words what your company does?Luscid is a software platform that reimagines the sponsorship search process. Brands and their representatives cross-reference their key parameters with the global sports and entertainment rights-holder ecosystem, and efficiently source accountable and transparent partnership recommendations.The user inputs their budget, marketing objectives, brand values, key marketing touchpoints ... read more

By Matthew Leopold, ESA Awards Committee ChairI can’t say I have ever enjoyed writing an award application. I have toiled over many submissions over the years. The challenge is always the same: to convey the energy, passion and commercial strategy of your work within a limited word count. You can usually submit a video or picture to support, but nothing can ever truly bring your work to life.Writing award submissions can be a chore. They quickly slip down the priority list, and often the task ... read more

Victor SteklyCEO & Founder Can you tell us in less than 100 words what your company does?We are a tech company that has developed software for sports and esports properties, brands and agencies to create their own ambassador network. Through players, VIPs and other ambassadors our clients can manage marketing campaigns and partnership activations, reaching huge audiences across social and streaming media.Who are your customers?From soccer clubs to cycling teams to esports teams to sports ... read more

By ESA Awards team 1. Elevate your business and demonstrate your commitment to the sponsorship community by taking part. From boosting staff morale to attracting new business and raising your profile, winning Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship prizes can help your business to the next level.2. Showcase your work and challenge yourself to stand out against the best of the continent. From culture to music, employee engagement to branded content, a win at the ESA Awards demonstrates you’re at ... read more

By Matthew Leopold, ESA Awards Committee Chair I love sponsorship. It is such a fascinating and brilliant discipline. Sponsorship can be the magic dust that transforms a customer’s perception and connection with a brand. It can help create stories that resonate and allow brands to access customers in new and imaginative ways. But, for every brilliant bit of sponsorship, there is a piece of work that is ill-considered, misunderstands how sponsorship works and, bluntly, wastes money. I have ... read more

Guest blog by ESA member Bright Partnerships It’s that time of year again when music fans flock to fields to drink warm beers, pray to the sun gods and soak up their favourite music. Not far behind are brands keen to reach a huge audience (nearly five million in the UK alone1) that is near impossible to connect with via traditional media. Since the return of live events last year, we’ve seen sponsors flood back to festivals and the industry needs them more than ever. Making a show ... read more

Jamie HosieDirector Give us a brief overview of E10, and your role within the companyE10 is a dynamic and fast-growing commercial and marketing agency, focused on maximising returns for brands and rights holders within sport, entertainment and B2B events across Europe and the Middle East.Combining more than 30 years' experience, our senior team leads our three core business functions; commercial, marketing and brand activation.As the head of our Commercial pillar, it's my focus to ensure we're ... read more

Martin FallonHead of Commercial Partnerships Give us a brief overview of the Motorsport UK’s approach to sponsorship and partnershipsAs the national governing body for four-wheeled motorsport, Motorsport UK has a broad portfolio of properties and assets open to commercial partners.We are the rights holders of every British Motorsport Championship, some of which are promoted by independent third parties. We directly organise and promote the British Rally Championship, ROKiT F4 British ... read more

Sadie McKinlayHead of Development Please give us a brief overview of the Edinburgh International Festival’s approach to sponsorship and partnershipsThe Edinburgh International Festival exists to bring world-leading artists together with audiences, in person and online. For three weeks in August, we are an unparelleled celebration of the performing arts and an annual meeting point for people of all nations. Our programme presents the finest performers and ensembles from the worlds of dance, ... read more

ONSIDE owes a debt of gratitude to ESA. John Trainor and Jon Long first crossed paths as Judges of the ESA Awards in 2018 and started collaborating on projects shortly afterwards. Isn’t that a lovely backdrop for ESA’s first ever joint profile?John TrainorCEO and Founder, ONSIDE Jon LongManaging Director (UK & Middle East), ONSIDEWhat is your name and position within the organisation?JT: I am John Trainor; I founded ONSIDE in Dublin back in 2005 and it has been a wonderful ride, providing ... read more

George GilmoreBusiness Director Hello, I'm George Gilmore, Business Director at rEvolution.I joined rEvolution in March 2019, shortly after the exciting acquisition of Revolution Sports Marketing Group by Chicago-based sports marketing agency, rEvolution.The main aspect of my role has been to grow the international side of the business, outside the US, bringing in new clients and helping to establish our integrated model from the London office. And I’m happy to say that despite a turbulent time ... read more

Eva GerritseBusiness Lead Sponsoring Insights Hi, I’m Eva Gerritse and I manage strategy and growth at Blauw Sponsoring Insights; a market research agency specialised in consumer insights that enables brands and rightsholders to optimise the success of sponsorships. Can you tell us what your company does?Blauw Sponsoring Insights has more than 20 years’ expertise in sponsorship insights. We work with global brands and rightsholders in domains like UEFA competitions, Formula One, Formula E, ... read more

Catherine Hawkins, ESA Sponsorship Sales Certificate Course Director, outlines various benefits and insights to be gained from studying it. What are the tangible benefits of doing the ESA Sponsorship Sales Certificate? Having the opportunity to step back from the ‘live’ selling environment to consider in a cohesive and strategic way how each aspect of the sales process contributes to a successful outcome, is of real benefit to those who take part in the course. The opportunity to share ... read more

Stuart OwenSport & Sponsorship LeadHi, I’m Stuart! I’ve been with SQN for six years working across a range of our sponsorship, PR, content, and comms clients. During my time with the company, I’ve been fortunate to undertake the ESA Diploma, and this year had the proud honour of being an ESA Awards judge.Give us a brief overview of SQN in general, and your approach to sponsorship and partnerships specificallyThe power of partnerships is at the core of everything we do, not just in context to ... read more

David HogginsPartnerships Director David heads up the Partnerships division in the UK, managing many of PHAR's key rights-holder relationships and has a particular focus on growing the Cycle Hire team.Can you tell us a little bit about PHAR Partnerships ?PHAR Partnerships is a global sponsorship and brand partnerships agency that specialises in delivering ancillary revenues for owners of transport, infrastructure and leisure properties, through creating and selling sponsorship packages.We advise ... read more

Steve OlechowskiCo-founder and CEO Can you tell us in less than 100 words what Blinkfire Analytics does?Blinkfire Analytics is a SaaS platform for optimizing sponsorship sales for brands and rights holders. Our mission is to be on the desktop of anyone within a sports & entertainment organization while helping those people and companies make better, more informed business decisions that ultimately generate value and revenue.Who are your customers?We work with some of the world's top teams, ... read more

Nick GreenCommercial Partnerships Director, UK What is your role at The Athletic?I joined The Athletic as UK Commercial Partnerships Director in December 2020. Before joining The Athletic, I spent over ten years working at The Telegraph in the sport partnerships team. So, what is The Athletic?The Athletic is one of the world’s biggest subscription publishers, with over a million paid subscribers globally. The company was founded in 2016 in the USA to provide sports audiences with ... read more

Mats MilebladCEOCan you give us a general overview of vVenues?vVenues is the virtual event platform designed to support agencies in creating virtual events, exhibitions and other types of virtual venues.vVenues offers a publishing tool covering the full event experience from registration to extensive follow-up material and is packed with useful tools to support creative meeting experiences.These include broadcast possibilities for live and pre-recorded material, functionalities for interactive ... read more

Sarah SharkeyBrand, PR & Sponsorship ManagerGive us a brief overview of Electric Ireland as a company in general and your approach to sponsorship and partnerships specifically.Electric Ireland is the retail subsidiary of ESB, and a market leader in the highly competitive energy sector in Ireland.  In terms of our values and ethos, our organisation has always had a strong sense of corporate citizenship. As far back as 1927, our founder Thomas McLoughlin had a vision of how ... read more

David AtkinsonManaging Partner Can you tell us what your company does?Space is a creative agency that solves client problems with ideas that go beyond convention. We specialise in the development of activations in sponsorship and with partnerships that help to extend our ideas to new audiences and deepen engagement.How does that manifest itself in the world of sponsorship?There are 3 ways. First, there are times when we play an integral role in the identification and selection of a sponsorship ... read more

By James Masters on behalf of CSM Welcome to the last article in our week of blogs exploring the eras of women’s sport.Along the way you’ve heard the story of the first two eras of women's sport and seen the opportunities that the third presents. Today, it’s time to explore how you and your brand/agency/talent can play a role in its future.We passionately believe that women’s sport has the power to efficiently deliver compelling returns on all sorts of companies’ business and brand objectives. ... read more

A new era for extraordinary athletes, organisations and brandsBy James Masters on behalf of CSM Here we are. In the now. No more history lessons.We believe that we are at the start of a new era. One where women’s sports are arguably some of the most compelling partnership opportunities out there – valuable audiences, innovative rightsholders, big futures, compelling narratives, great value for money.No doubt, the pandemic has been traumatic for many women’s sports organisations and athletes. ... read more

The 2010s - a decade of massive momentum and growing opportunitiesBy James Masters on behalf of CSM Jessica Ennis (as Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill DBE was once known) was arguably already the face of London 2012 before 16.3m Brits watched her win the 800m and claim a gold medal in the heptathlon. In the days that followed, the newspapers buzzed with speculation that she would soon secure more than £3million in endorsement deals.London 2012, in the UK certainly, was the start of the second era of ... read more

Kicking off a week of content charting the rise of women’s sport and how you can get involved By James Masters on behalf of CSM Women’s sport, it’s been on one hell of a journey.It’s had its time in the dark, the long years of the 20th century when amateurism and the apathy of potential sponsors loomed large.Yet, in the past decade, it has gone through a period of extraordinary growth, having smashed through countless barriers and made remarkable commercial gains – empowered by a collective ... read more

Alex BurmasterCo-Founder; Head of Data, Research & InsightsPlease give us an overview of caytoo as a company and your role in the sponsorship industry.At a tactical level, we help rights holders solve their #1 challenge in sponsorship: getting that first meeting or initial interest with brands. We help business intelligence, business development and commercial partnership teams overcome key pain points to improve their lead generation by providing intelligence on companies, brands and ... read more