Member News

Cancer Research UK has been confirmed as the Principal Charity Partner of London Duathlon, the world’s largest duathlon. Taking place on Sunday 18 September, the event, organised by Limelight Sports, started in 2005 and is a run-bike-run race offering athletes of all abilities the chance to race through the stunning surroundings of London’s Richmond Park. London Duathlon continues to grow and has grown into an extremely popular event selling out in both 2014 and 2015 reaching a record high ... read more

Two Circles, the data driven sports agency acquired by GroupM’s ESP Properties in May 2015, has announced significant international expansion plans on the back of another record year. 2015 saw revenue and growth levels for the company at over 50% with a significant emphasis on international client work and a third consecutive shortlisting for the UK’s Agency of the Year title at the 2016 BT Sport Industry Awards. As a result of this growth trajectory, the company has today announced it is ... read more

English Premier League side, Norwich City FC has appointed Two Circles, the data-driven sports agency, in a multi-year deal. This partnership will help the Club enhance fan engagement and increase commercial performance, including leveraging the Club’s digital assets. As one of the most forward thinking clubs, Norwich will be working with Two Circles to develop these commercial opportunities. With a passionate local fanbase, Norwich City is always looking to improve the way it engages with ... read more

SportQuake, the award winning sport marketing agency, has today announced the opening of new Hong Kong and Beijing offices as part of their expansion into the China market. The growth represents another milestone for SportQuake in a year that marks its 10-year anniversary since being founded by Matt House, the former Tottenham Hotspur Commercial Director. The agency has delivered over £150 million worth of partnerships between sports rights owners and brands since opening in 2006. Recent ... read more

A.T. Cross, major manufacturer of fine writing instruments and personal accessories have been confirmed as the official sponsor of Valentine’s Day, 2016, on Jazz FM, in a deal brokered by independent sponsorship agency, brandmeetsbrand. As part of the promotion, Cross are giving Jazz FM listeners the chance to win a stunning Townsend rich blue lacquer fountain pen and Signature Journal , and to share their messages of love live on air during the Breakfast Show on 14th February ... read more

Further solidifying its leadership position in the areas of sports corporate consulting and experiential marketing, CAA Sports, a division of leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has acquired brandrapport, an award-winning London-based sports marketing agency. Founded in 1981, brandrapport works with such well-known brands as Allianz, Jaguar Land Rover, Nestlé, Prudential, and Samsung, providing industry-leading insights from brand engagement strategy to ... read more

IRISH SPONSORSHIP SET FOR EUROS BOUNCE IN 2016 Driven by the UEFA Euro’s and emerging new sponsor sectors, and off the back of the decade high 10% growth rate experienced in 2015, the Irish Sponsorship market is expected to show a more modest 5% growth to €158 million in 2016, according to the annual ONSIDE Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey* from leading consultants ONSIDE. 2015 delivered strong growth for the Irish sponsorship industry, with 37% of sponsors increasing spend across the ... read more

The date for Royal Bank of Canada V Series, London’s inter-company team cycling challenge, is confirmed for Thursday 15th September 2016. The event which was created by Limelight Sports will once again take place in Canary Wharf. Last year, Canary Wharf was transformed into an arena for a high-energy Italian Team Pursuit cycling race - Royal Bank of Canada V Series.  Corporate teams, each made up of eight riders and representing different companies, compete against each other around a 1km ... read more

Fuse Sport + Entertainment has been appointed by PepsiCo, the multinational food and beverage corporation, to activate the brand’s new sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League across the globe. The agency, part of Omnicom Media Group, played a key role in developing and negotiating the unique global partnership. PepsiCo’s partnership with UEFA officially began on 1st July, prior to the start of the 2015/16 season. PepsiCo is one of eight UEFA partners who gain exclusive rights to the event, ... read more

brandmeetsbrand is pleased to announce that we have secured Exodus Travels, the original activity and adventure holiday company specialising in cultural, walking, cycling, photographic, wildlife holidays & family holidays, as the official sponsor of Christmas on Jazz FM. As part of the festive promotion, Exodus are giving Jazz FM listeners the chance to win an incredible adventure holiday for two; walking the stunning Amalfi coast and exploring the fascinating ruins of Pompeii. The ... read more

Carlsberg announces probably the best UEFA EURO 2016™ campaign Ahead of the UEFA EURO 2016™ final draw in Paris on 12th December, Carlsberg, the Official Beer to the UEFA EURO 2016, announced its marketing campaign for the tournament in France next summer. Carlsberg’s promise for the tournament will be to “do it better for the fans”. The campaign is built around Carlsberg’s well-known ‘probably the best’ universe and will deliver on this by creating ‘probably the best prize ever for a ... read more

FC Utrecht has appointed Two Circles, the data-driven sports agency, to place insight at the heart of its strategy and help the Club increase supporter engagement and commercial performance. With the ambition of growing match day attendances at Stadion Galgenwaard, FC Utrecht is committed to increasing its understanding of all FC Utrecht supporters. This includes ongoing and comprehensive analysis to enable the club to improve communication with the right messages through the right channels. ... read more

Dates for the Ricoh Arena confirmed as November 2/3 2016 Rugby Expo, the largest B2B conference and exhibition focused on club rugby, has agreed a new long-term partnership with Wasps Rugby Club that will see the event move to the Ricoh Arena in 2016. The new long term agreement is designed to support and facilitate the growth plans of the event, which starts this year on Thursday 26th November in its final berth at Twickenham Stadium. Rugby Expo, which is now well established in the rugby ... read more

3 in 4 marketing professionals in Ireland named “official” sponsors rather than “non-official” tournament sponsors of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England as brands that they felt stood out, with Heineken and Land Rover shoulder to shoulder at the top of the research released today by sponsorship intelligence consultants Onside, in partnership with the Marketing Institute of Ireland. Among more than 36 different brands mentioned, Guinness was the one non-official Rugby World Cup brand that ... read more

British Rowing is pleased to announce the appointment of Helen Rowbotham as its new Director of Innovation. Helen will be joining British Rowing in early January 2016.  She is currently Director of Consulting at CSM Strategic, the consulting team within the sports and entertainment division of Chime Communications. Helen brings a wealth of experience to British Rowing following 17 years in the sports and events industry, delivering projects both in the UK and internationally for local, ... read more

One of the world’s most luxurious pen manufacturers has written its name alongside the Sports Book Awards for a further two years, in an announcement to mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the prestigious literary event. A. T. Cross, the international manufacturer of fine writing instruments will be the title sponsor of the Sports Book Awards in 2016 and 2017, in a huge coup for organisers. The sponsorship was brokered by brandmeetsbrand. The awards exist to highlight the ... read more

ITV Commercial announces a new partnership with programmatic ad platform, RadiumOne. The collaboration will see ITV launch AdSync+, which, by linking ITV’s broadcast output to RadiumOne’s unique sharing data capability, will allow ITV’s TV advertisers to reach their desired audiences simultaneously across other devices and online environments. Advertisers will be able to target audiences based on their levels of engagement, sharing and viewing behaviours, and will have access to over 30 ... read more

An aspiring sports marketing professional has won a dream job to travel around the world working at the biggest events such as the Olympic Games, Super Bowl and the Sundance Film Festival. Ollie Silverton is the winner of the Ultimate Sports and Entertainment Apprenticeship, by GMR Marketing, after successfully passing a six week application process that culminated in a 24hour challenge at the Rugby World Cup final last month. Starting in Sydney at the Extreme Sailing Series in December, ... read more

The Rugby Football League (RFL) is delighted to appoint Essentially Group, part of CSM Sport & Entertainment (CSM), as its exclusive global commercial agency tasked with sourcing and negotiating a new Principal Partner for the England National Team for next season. England defeated the World’s number 1 ranked nation, New Zealand, on Saturday in the deciding Test to secure a 2-1 series victory. The three matches were attended by over 90,000 fans with over five million viewers on the BBC ... read more

A leading international marketing figure has been hired to join the senior management of Wasps and the Ricoh Arena. Rob Mitchell, who has 20 years of commercial and marketing experience working with a string of blue-chip organisations, joins the team as Head of Marketing to lead and oversee all marketing activity across both businesses. He has experience in leading brand, sponsorship, community, sales and activation programmes from a client, agency and rights holder perspective and has ... read more

Major cycling brands dhb, Haglöfs, Schwalbe, Wiggle and Wilier Triestina are partnering the Innaugural Race the World cycling race which is now well underway in the USA.  With great content coming across from the first stages, Race the World is proving to be an innovative proposition right in the middle of branded content and sports events. With the continued support of its partners, this unique race is reaching and engaging audiences well beyond the teams taking part. It started on ... read more

The British and Irish Lions today announced Canterbury as the Official Apparel Partner for the 2017 tour of New Zealand. The deal brings together two of rugby’s most celebrated brands and sees Canterbury hold exclusive rights to manufacturing both the match and training kit alongside a new lifestyle range for the Lions. John Feehan, British & Irish Lions CEO, said: “We are delighted to be working with Canterbury as our new Apparel Partner.  The Lions are defined as being the very best of ... read more

Dominic Curran Appointed CEO Engine Group, the global marketing services network, today announced the U.S. launch of Synergy, its award-winning sports marketing and sponsorship agency. Based out of Engine Group’s New York office, Synergy U.S. will be led by Dominic Curran, who has been named CEO. Curran, the former Global Sport Director for Bacardi, will report to Rick Eiserman, North American CEO at Engine Group. Synergy’s U.S. offering will adopt the brand-facing model integrating ... read more

Limelight Sports has been awarded the contract to host the London Duathlon in Richmond Park until 2018. The London Duathlon is the world’s largest event of its kind, offering athletes of all abilities the chance to race through the stunning surroundings of Richmond Park while on closed roads. Richmond Park has played host to number of internally renowned sporting events including the London 2012 Olympic Road Race. Next year’s London Duathlon promises to deliver competitors a unique ... read more

Slingshot Sponsorship is delighted to announce that they have made the shortlist in the ESA Excellence Awards not just once, but three times. Against fierce competition with a significant increase in award entries this year, Slingshot have been shortlisted within the B2B Activation Award for their work in securing Hill Dickinson as a sponsor for GB Taekwondo, focussed on reinvigorating staff and driving revenue within law. As a reflection of their strong work with commercialising rights holders, ... read more

Following 2014 Acquisition of US-Based MKTG INC, Network Framing Up Sports and Entertainment, Experiential and Lifestyle Capability Worldwide Dentsu Aegis Network today announces the formation of a ninth global network brand, MKTG, the lifestyle marketing agency it acquired in August 2014. The move further strengthens the network’s sports and entertainment, experiential and lifestyle marketing offering and continues its expansion around the globe. In addition, Out-of-Home agency ... read more

* DDF unveils new three year deal as title sponsor * Rory Foundation extends involvement for the same period * The K Club to host the 2016 Irish Open * Prize money for the 2016 championship increased by 60 per cent to €4million * Tickets available to buy now A new three year agreement with title sponsors Dubai Duty Free headlines a number of important announcements unveiled by The European Tour today in relation to the 2016 Irish Open. Following the huge success of the championship at ... read more

Worldwide Partner encourages fans to fly their nation’s flag to win its #BringingRugbyHome competition Emirates, Official Worldwide Partner of Rugby World Cup 2015, kicked off its campaign by recruiting over 100 Flag Bearers who lead out the international teams before every match. The Flag Bearers, aged 14-16 years old, won the once-in-a-lifetime experience by finding the Emirates flags located in the 11 host cities, using clues posted on Emirates Instagram. With the world now descending ... read more