AUSTIN, Texas: Strategic Playground, a woman-owned and led industry-leading sports strategy and marketing firm, announced it has rebranded to Unrivaled Group to better align with its client focus of brands, properties and talent.
Founded by CEO Valerie Tyson, Unrivaled Group is a full-service sports and entertainment-based marketing and sponsorship agency focused on athletes, leagues, teams, governing bodies and the brands that sponsor them.
“Unrivaled Group is about developing marketing strategies that put both fans and athletes where they belong, at the center of that strategy,” Tyson said. “We measure all points of engagement and build a brand ecosystem around them that leads to business performance.”
The agency also announced that its service offering has expanded to include sponsorship identification, partner activation, foundation development and NIL for college athletes. The firm’s full-service breadth of services already included strategy, brand development, media placement, content and influencer marketing, social media management, communications, ticketing and revenue strategy, data analysis and athlete marketing.
“On the team, league and property sides of the business, Unrivaled Group believes that by harnessing the power of and understanding the fan experience, we can truly connect with fans where they are most engaged,” Tyson said. “We look at data from all fan engagement touchpoints both in and out of the arena or stadium and wherever fans are investing their time. We use that data to build and continually optimize high-performing marketing strategies with highly measured, predictable and engaged audiences. As a result of this process, brands or sponsors benefit exponentially through more meaningful relationships with fans, resulting in increased revenue and brand equity wisely allocating dollars to the highest performing channels that align with their goals.”
Unrivaled Group believes in the power of athletes and builds their game-changing brands for today and the future.
“We position ourselves as the CMO of athletes’ brands to help them leverage their current equity to support and grow their platforms outside of sports, whether it’s through personal social platforms, business collaborations, content or their foundations,” Tyson said. “Unrivaled Group helps athletes throughout the lifecycle of their careers — at the start, the peak or as they transition out of sports, building their brand for what comes next.”
An agency led by a group of former team and league executives, Unrivaled Group understands the demands of team property revenue generation.
“We know what it’s like sweating out ticket and sponsorship sales, and digging deep for new strategies and tactics,” Tyson said. “We know who your fans are and where to find them. We also understand the current landscape of winning over the hearts and minds of fans in new ways, helping both properties and brands collaborate to build authentic engagement. We have a shorthand with clients, which allows us to quickly plug into their teams and impact business performance immediately, helping them become, well, Unrivaled.”
