GroupM has expanded its sports and entertainment offering under a new global agency brand, ESP, which is made up of two separate businesses: ESP Properties and ESP Brands.
ESP Properties will be GroupM’s first company dedicated to serving rights holders from the worlds of sports and entertainment, including federations, leagues, events, teams, publishers and venues. It will offer global partnership sales on behalf of rights holders, including existing WPP brand clients. ESP Properties will be formed through new hires, the integration of existing GroupM business units, and the acquisition of the sports marketing agency Two Circles.
The new ESP Properties will be led by John Kristick, who has been the global CEO of GroupM ESP since 2011. The business will be led regionally by Jonathan Hill (EMEA), Laren Ukman (North America) and JinWei Toh (APAC). ESP Brands will be managed regionally in North America by Bryce Townsend and through the individual GroupM agencies in other regions.
Sir Martin Sorrell, the CEO of WPP, said: “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. Our new ESP Properties will bring creative power and commercial insight to rights holders for the first time, providing unmatched opportunities to better tailor their offerings to the needs of today’s brand sponsors. ESP will also work hand in hand with our recent investment in Bruin Sports to provide our clients with access to many high-value media and sponsorship opportunities.”
GroupM is also expanding its support for brands to plan, negotiate and activate sports and entertainment partnerships by increasing the specialist teams in its individual media agencies. These specialist teams will be supported in key regions by the second business within ESP, ESP Brands. ESP Brands will represent an evolution of the former partnerships consultancy GroupM ESP.
Dominic Proctor, the chairman of ESP and president of GroupM Global, said: “The global launch of ESP Properties brings leading commercial and creative capabilities to some of the world’s most celebrated names across sports and entertainment. Sport is a driving force in media and we want to serve the market better by assisting rights holders in optimizing their properties and creating more winning partnerships with leading brands. 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.”
Kristick commented: “ESP Properties’ offering is truly unique in meeting the changing needs of the world’s leading federations, events, leagues, teams and other rights holders. We have brought together a range of experts from across GroupM, such as IEG with over three decades of experience in sponsorship consulting, and our new partners, Two Circles, who have been leading the way in data-driven sports marketing. By combining this strategic expertise with unmatched understanding of how to navigate potential brand partnerships, we can uncover new revenue opportunities for rights holders worldwide.”
