Steve Madincea is the Founder and Group Managing Director of PRISM (Public Relations & International Sports Marketing), a worldwide leader in the fields of sponsorship activation and content communications.
From offices across four continents, PRISM works with international giants such as Ford, PUMA, Rolex, Johnson & Johnson, Infiniti, Coca-Cola, Shell, Aston Martin, Subway, Heineken, Samsung, Unilever and Red Bull, helping brands turn sports sponsorships into award-winning events and activations.
Madincea was born in Detroit and graduated with honours from Northwood University in Michigan, where he developed an entrepreneurial flame. Early roles running sports campaigns for AT&T, Miller Beer and Ford US led to his appointment as Commercial Director at the Benetton-Ford Formula One team.
In partnership with his wife Jackie, Madincea started PRISM in 1992 from their spare bedroom in Surrey, while raising three children – Cali, Riley and Courtney. In 1999, PRISM was acquired by Sir Martin Sorrell and his WPP Group Plc., the world’s largest communication services group. PRISM was WPP’s first sports marketing acquisition and to this day remains its most successful worldwide.
“For me a great campaign must adeptly connect content and engagement to provide fans a rich live and/or on-line experience. Last year’s ESA Best of Europe finalists were exemplary in the way they successfully connected with their target consumers. All across Europe, the entire ESA judging panel were hugely impressed with submission after submission that included effective content and memorable live experiences. The ones that rose to the top had the perfect blend of content and live experiences, were fully integrated and also had a measurable impact with their targeted consumers.
What excites me professionally is when a brand is brave and tries something new and it works. Of course, the basic premise of experimentation means not everything will work. But, with the correct insights accurately interpreted, it often comes down to flawless execution and that’s when the magic really happens, sending the ROI and ROO through the roof.
The really exciting part about being the Chairman of the Best of Europe judges is I think there is more experimentation and innovation in sponsorship across Europe than perhaps any other region. So it actually makes our role quite tough. Naturally that is a challenge myself and all of the ESA Best of Europe judges relish.”