Back in mid May Chime Communications announced that it had acquired 60 per cent of the Brazilian sports marketing company Golden Goal Sports Ventures, which lists domestic football giants Flamengo and Botafogo among its clients, along with AC Milan and Banco do Brasil.
Taken in isolation it is an interesting deal, providing further evidence of the lure of a nation which is set to become the world capital of sport between 2014 and 2016.
But seen in a broader context it takes on far greater significance. In many respects the addition of Golden Goal to the portfolio marks the beginning of a new era for Chime and underscores the London-based company’s determination to be seen as a major player in international sports marketing.
The man responsible for translating that desire into reality is Jim Glover, CEO of CSM, the umbrella brand for a raft of sports businesses which includes the Fast Track agency, Essentially, PMP legacy, Stuart Higgins Communications and Icon.
Over the years we have seen a number of attempts to integrate serious sports marketing divisions within larger marketing communications groups. The logic is more or less impeccable. As marketing moves from an interruptive to participatory model, sport is ideally placed as a driver of engagement and communication. In theory at least, that provides an opportunity for the major groups with strong sports marketing teams to offer an end-to-end service to existing client brands as well as widening the prospectus to include sports bodies and athletes.
Unfortunately it hasn’t always been as easy as that. The world’s biggest advertising and marketing groups are complex businesses, many with a host of individual brands run by highly entrepreneurial individuals with strong personalities and, lets face it, big egos.
Uniting them around sports marketing hasn’t ever been easy and some have been noticeably more successful than others.
Glover however, is confident that CSM will deliver on its promise: “We are in a very good place right now.
“Chime PLC decided they wanted a significant position in sports marketing because it is seen as a major point of difference in the overall offering.”
All of which means that the company set up by Lord Tim Bell that now incorporates some 35 individual companies, including the renowned Bell Pottinger PR operation, is particularly committed to ensuring its sports marketing unit really takes off. And, of course, the fact that the Sports Marketing Division is already making a significant contribution to the balance sheet certainly helps.
Chime’s first sports acquisition came back in 2007 when it welcomed Fast Track, a London-based agency which already harboured ambitions to demonstrate its capabilities internationally and across a wide range of properties and clients. Over the years the group added the PR firm run by former British tabloid editor Stuart Higgins – who Glover describes as “remarkably well-connected in every area of life” - in a move which allowed the company to dig deeper into lifestyle media opportunities while opening many other doors to new contacts and fresh business.
Next up was The Sport Business - a Glasgow-based events and sponsorship consultancy whose relationships with Carling and the Clydesdale Bank made it an important player on the Scottish football scene while Essentially, which was acquired around the end of 2009, can be seen as something of a game-changer.
With offices in Hong Kong, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, Essentially was well-established as an athlete management and sales operation specialising in rugby and cricket. Bringing it into the Chime tent not only increased the global footprint in an instant but added a new and increasingly important capability. Essentially also continues to hold key marketing sales contracts in Test Match cricket and rugby, including the Heineken Cup and Magners League.
Next on the list was PMP Legacy, a consultancy specialising in one of the biggest growth areas in sport today - advising cities and nations on the advisability of hosting sports events and developing legacy strategies around them.
This year’s acquisition of Icon, the award-winning event branding and services company, adds an additonal dimension to the CSM offering.
“After Chime bought Fast Track back in 2007 it was always our goal to look at ways we could grow the group through careful acquisitions and, over the last few years, we have seen that policy coming to fruition,” says Glover.
“The objective now is to turn what we have into something which is really world-class and offer our clients something different. That may come through bringing more people on board or making more acquisitions.
“The deal in Brazil helps make this a really, really exciting time from our point of view. It is run by two driven and dynamic individuals and we are confident that it will position us to serve our clients in an increasingly important part of the world. With the World Cup and Olympic Games coming up there are tremendous opportunities there for organisations which are equipped to deliver.
“This is now a truly international business with a presence in key growth markets including the Middle East where we have been doing some significant work for major organisations.”
For the full interview see the latest edition of SportBusiness International published June 1.
