Sid Lee is launching a new global sports practice to provide specialist services as the agency’s presence in the category grows.
The new vertical will be the group’s global specialist agency for sports, providing a range of sponsorship, creative, and operational services for sponsors, rights holders and sport brands.
The practice will be headquartered in London with offices in Los Angeles, Montreal, New York and Toronto. It will be headed up by CEO Stephen Hall, who initiated McDonald’s sports sponsorship program in the U.K. before taking on leadership roles at sponsorship and event management agencies. Hall has been at the helm of Sid Lee London for the past three years.
“We are seeing growth in all areas of sport but the complexity of the category means brands within this space deserve specialist agencies,” Sid Lee’s global CEO Marie-Lise Campeau said in a news release. “This is why Sid Lee is doubling down on its legacy in sport to offer a new breed of agency combining unparalleled creativity with deep sponsorship expertise.
“We believe sports marketing can and should be done better,” Hall said. “Sid Lee Sport is proof that groundbreaking creative work, sponsorship expertise and flawless operational delivery can not only sit under one roof but maximize returns for our clients when they are truly integrated. This approach will now be supercharged at a global level.”
Sid Lee has been working within the European sport market since the group’s merger with U.K. sponsorship and event agency Infrared in 2021. Tommy Hilfiger, Visa, UEFA, OPPO and Lidl are among a growing roster of global brands and rights holders working with Sid Lee’s London office.
