NEW YORK & LONDON – GroupM has just launched ESP, a new global brand made up of two separate business that will expand the agency’s sports and entertainment capabilities.
ESP Properties will be GroupM’s first company dedicated to serve sports rightsholders like federations, leagues, events, teams, publishers and venues.
ΩMeanwhile, the former partnerships consultancy GroupM ESP has evolved to become the other unit under ESP called ESP Brands, which is involved in the identification, negotiation and activation of partnerships on behalf of GroupM sports and entertainment clients
ESP Properties will consolidate sponsorship agency IEG together with data-driven sports marketing agency Two Circles, which GroupM just acquired this week.
“There is significant and growing demand on the part of clients to invest more in content and sports but few in our industry have had a serious response to this, Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, said.
John Kristick (pictures), the Global CEO of the GroupM ESP since 2011, will take the reins of ESP Properties as its CEO, overseeing 150 people that will deployed in offices across New York, Chicago, London and Singapore, plus additional teams in Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Dubai amongst others.
JinWei Toh will lead ESP Properties in APAC, together with Jonathan Hill for the EMEA region and Laren Ukman for North America.
ESP Brands will be managed regionally in North America by Bryce Townsend and through the individual GroupM agencies in other regions.
ESP has hit the ground running with a roster of globally recognized clients including the All Blacks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Valencia CF, England and Wales Cricket Board, Pele, and City Football Group.
“Sport is a driving force in media and we want to serve the market better by assisting rightsholders in optimizing their properties and creating more winning partnerships with leading brands,” said Dominic Proctor, Chairman of ESP and President of GroupM Global.
“At the same time we will ensure we work more efficiently on behalf of brands by providing even more resources for the specialist sports and entertainment practices that are embedded in our GroupM agencies, underpinned by a central team in key regions, ESP Brands.”
The launch is part of WPP’s growing commitment to content, demonstrated by its investments in MediaPro, VICE, Indigenous Media, FullScreen, MRC, and, most recently, Bruin Sports Capital to the tune of US$250 Million.
