Pitch & Sdisports Launch Football Collective Joint Venture
Pitch Marketing Group and SDIsports have launched The Football Collective, a global football marketing agency alliance focussed on the 2022 and 2026 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
The joint venture will combine the two agencies teams in London, Toronto and Doha offering expertise across sponsorship strategy and activation, content creation, experiential, social and PR.
The Football Collective says it has already secured its first major client with a focus on Qatar 2022, and will be providing brands, governing bodies and broadcasters with the insights necessary to deliver successful campaigns in the host nation.
“There is no bigger event than the FIFA World Cup. It brings people together from all around the world, and creates a deluge of drama, excitement and emotion like nothing else,” said Henry Chappell, Founding Partner, Pitch Marketing Group.
“Because of this, it provides a unique global marketing opportunity for brands, federations and media organisations. But this opportunity is not without its challenges. SDI has the local market expertise and resources in-market in Qatar and North America, whilst we have 20 years of experience creating and activating sponsorship campaigns in football for some of the world’s biggest brands. It really is a case of one plus one equalling three.”
Nigel Scott, Executive Vice President, SDIsports, added: “With the next two FIFA World Cups being held in our own back yards, Qatar & North America, there have never been business problems better suited to The Football Collective and our combined knowledge.
“The FC boasts extensive experience and local offices in both regions, as well as a long history of working with global football brands, organisations, rights holders and media partners.”
To mark the launch of the joint venture – and the passing of the Two Years To Go milestone of the Qatar 2022 tournament – The Football Collective has published a new report into fan behaviours and trends ahead of the event, which found that two thirds of fans worldwide want to see more female pundits on TV, while 40% will bring forward Christmas gifts in 2022 as the tournament will take place in November and December.
