Jayne Kamin-Once upon a Time-USA TODAY Sports
Sports consulting firm Elevate has acquired Fenway Sports Management's Consulting Group, adding to its roster of clients and employees and will be based in the new Elevate office in Boston.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
The deal brings existing Fenway customers such as Moderna, Banco Santander, Wasabi Technologies, Monster.com and Cavendish Farms to Elevate's current roster, which includes Procter & Gamble, Duracell and UKG. The combined portfolio now includes more than 20 brands.
Fenway's consulting group, which has nine employees, will become part of the Elevate brand, which launched in 2021 with the hiring of chief customer officer Cameron Wagner, who spent 15 years at GMR Marketing.
Other bidders for the Fenway business included Allied Sports and Playfly.
“This is a big deal for us because it builds on the success we've already had with Cameron's group and brand consulting efforts,” Elevate CEO Al Guido said in a video interview. ” he said. “And this is in line with the current macro environment for sports sponsorship spending.”
Sponsor spending in the sports field is rapidly increasing due to the slump in the spread of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). PwC predicts the market will reach $109 billion in 2030, up from $63 billion in 2021.
Wagner said the acquisition will allow Elevate to scale more quickly and bring together two complementary staff members. “We are very strong in data and insights,” she said. “They do a huge amount of experiential live activations in collaboration with brands, and we want to do more of this with our clients.”
Over the past three years, Elevate Brand has activated client campaigns including the English Premier League, F1, Men's and Women's World Cups, NASCAR, PGA, NBA, MLB, and NHL. In the past year his revenue has tripled.
In February, Elevate acquired executive search firm SRI and launched Elevate Talent. Elevate currently operates in 12 cities in 6 countries.
