Publicis Groupe has announced the expansion of its Publicis Sport & Entertainment (PSE) offering into Australia, with Lion Dairy & Drinks’ Dare Iced Coffee engaging PSE to drive the brand’s esports strategy.
Publicis Sport & Entertainment is a global Publicis Groupe solution that helps brands and rights holders use sport and entertainment to optimise their return from sponsorships, and broader sports media channels.
Working alongside Publicis Media agency, Starcom – which counts Lion Dairy & Drinks as a client – Publicis Sport & Entertainment has been charged with developing Dare Iced Coffee’s approach to reaching the highly-engaged fans in the esports and gaming industry.
Darryn Wallace, Marketing and Innovation Director, Lion Dairy & Drinks said: “We’re excited to be working with Publicis Sport & Entertainment and Starcom to evolve our esports strategy and supercharge our engagement with this hard-to-reach audience.”
In Australia, Publicis Sport & Entertainment is being led by Director, Ashley O’Rourke. He reports into Patrick Whitnall, Publicis Media’s Head of Content and Sport ANZ.
Patrick Whitnall
Whitnall said: “This new offering allows us the opportunity to create an integrated sport and entertainment solution, providing our clients with a full portfolio that includes strategic consulting, research, creative leadership, content production, PR, social, digital and experiential execution across the group. To do this we have hired one of the rising stars in the sector, Ashley O’Rourke, who has led some of the best-in-class sports partnerships in market.”
Michael Rebelo, CEO, Publicis Groupe ANZ added: “As a group, one of our strengths is our ability to provide clients end-to-end solutions through the diverse capabilities of our agency businesses. While we continue to do a lot of work in sponsorship, the addition of Publicis Sport & Entertainment will further boost our ability to make sure that clients are maximising the return from their sponsorship investment within the context of their overall media and marketing strategy.
“Publicis Sport & Entertainment is already starting to work with agencies within our group as we continue to drive more collaboration for our clients, including through our unique Power of One model.”
Publicis Sport & Entertainment operates in key markets including the US, UK and Europe, offering brands and rights holders in sports and entertainment access to all Publicis Groupe capabilities.
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Top Photo: Ashley O’Rourke