Iris Launches Sports Marketing Division

iris has announced plans to launch a dedicated sports marketing division, iris SPORT, a global collective of specialists from sport, lifestyle and entertainment.

Over the last 16 years, iris, BT Sport Industry Awards 2016 Agency of the Year shortlister, has been behind sports campaigns from Sony Ericsson Night Tennis, adidas’ There Will Be Haters, the Force Of Black activations for the All Blacks at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the opening the exclusive Ferrari garage (digitally) to fans for the first time with Shell.

iris SPORT will work closely with the micro-network’s consulting, CRM, data & insight team – iris Concise – to add commercial accuracy across activity; from identifying the right partnership or influencer, to evaluating the activity.

Nico Tuppen, managing director, iris SPORT: “Sports Marketing is still stuck in a 1970’s world. It’s still middle-aged men talking about passion and glory, trying hard, and the joy of being a fan. A whole new generation of male and female sports lovers is bored of this. They want sport to be colourful, diverse, entertaining, social.

“It’s more than being passionate about the game or displaying loyalty to a team. We believe it’s as much about culture as it is about sport – and should resonate with what we describe as the ‘Slash Generation’; an audience that wants brands, assets and campaigns to be more creative, more provocative and more challenging.

 “This is where the real difference (and benefit for clients) lies; our approach with iris SPORT actually understands the real commercial return of sports marketing. It is this unrivalled blend of resource, experience and capability that ensures our clients sports activations always win. We have already seen what we do completely transform our clients business and approach.”

iris SPORT will be rolled out globally across the iris worldwide network, with teams already in position in Amsterdam, Singapore, Sydney and the U.S.