The tariff economy, along with growing geopolitical tensions, has produced an appetite for new marketing expenditures best described as languid. That probably explains why the two agency-of-record wins detailed below took more than six months to culminate. Still, happy to see activity during a late June that feels more like August, both in terms of temperature and any nascent marketing activity.
Words of wisdom: “We’d get sick on too many cookies, but ever so much sicker on no cookies at all.” — Sinclair Lewis
Allied Sports has triumphed in a “beauty contest” to win the coveted agency-of-record assignment from Ticketmaster, which bills itself as “the world’s largest ticket seller.”
Owned by Live Nation since 2010, Ticketmaster surely has as large a sports sponsorship portfolio as any brand. Included are deals with the NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL and innumerable other connections across the industry, so, as one involved party expressed, “it’s a real foundational client.”
Property sources tell SBJ that Ticketmaster VP/Partnership Marketing Lauren Buck was notifying larger team sponsors of the agency change earlier this month, and that making better use of Ticketmaster’s array of customer data was an imperative in choosing a new AOR.
This win has to be considered enormous for Allied. Assumed here is that Ticketmaster will be one of the agency’s biggest clients (likely after Cisco). Notable: Cisco is already a large sponsor and tech provider to Live Nation.
Sources tell me that Playfly Sports, also in on the pitch, was a close second. 160over90 was the longtime incumbent, having handled the Ticketmaster account for a decade.
Another agency review tracked by SBJ interminably has been Rocket’s (ne’e Rocket Mortgage) longtime search for an agency of record.
160over90 has triumphed in this one.
Here’s another review resulting in new and intriguing connections, since Rocket is controlled by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Sports marketing assets in Rocket’s portfolio include the PGA Tour’s Rocket Classic tournament this week in Detroit, along with the designation as the “official mortgage sponsor of the PGA Tour.”
There’s also naming rights to the Cavs’ home arena, a league-level NFL deal, presenting sponsorship of the WTA event in Cleveland and endorsement deals with golfers Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson.
Intersport was the sponsorship agency for Rocket (formerly Quicken Loans) since 2011.
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