Sport industry veterans Steve Martin and Jamie Wynne-Morgan Tuesday announced the launch of MSQ Sport + Entertainment, a new global agency set up in partnership with London-based creative, technology and media company MSQ.
The agency will tap into the power of sport and entertainment to create deeper connections for brands, talent and rights holders, its founders, both of who earlier held leadership roles at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, declared. Martin, who was M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment’s global CEO and Wynne-Morgan its UK division CEO, quit the agency together in November 2023.
Tuesday’s launch of MSQ Sport + Entertainment also includes the announcement that Callaway Golf Europe has signed as the agency’s founding client for strategic consultancy services while, according to a statement, “a number of acquisition targets in the US and Europe have already been identified” with discussions “underway”.
The two founding partners said, “By building from the ground-up and with investment for exciting acquisitions, we can create a dynamic global agency that is truly reflective of the current and future opportunities in the ever-evolving sport and entertainment industry.”
Wynne-Morgan noted: “Technology will be integrated into our offering to intelligently accelerate insights, understanding and approaches to enhance the skills of our team, by working closely with the best minds and tools in this space within MSQ.
“It’s MSQ’s people and its culture – it’s strong belief in investing in specialisms, its B-Corp accreditation and its incentivised model that delivers effective internal collaborative working and growth – that really appealed to Steve and I.”
Martin added: “The sport and entertainment industry is an emotionally charged, fast paced world. This is a huge opportunity for Jamie and I to build an agile invested agency for the modern era. An agency that fuses technology and human expertise to keep pace with ever-evolving fan culture and behaviour in real-time to make sure brands never miss a moment. We believe it will be an attractive place for clients to work with and the best talent to work for.”
Peter Reid, Global CEO of MSQ, commented: “We’ve been looking at developing a world-leading sport and entertainment proposition for some time, that builds on the work currently going on within our agencies in tapping into talent and brands in this space.
“For us it was finding the right people with the right cultural fit and in Steve and Jamie we have that in abundance. They are two of the industry’s leading operators with a significant global track-record operating in an experience-driven space that is increasingly attracting greater consumer spend. We are thrilled to be working with them to create an agency that builds authentic connections between brands and cultural trends that are expressed through sport and entertainment. It is an area that is becoming increasingly critical for forward-looking brands and this new agency will deliver a significant increase in our capabilities in this area which is incredibly exciting.”
