Media, marketing and technology company Brave Bison has agreed to acquire the entire share capital of global sports marketing business Engage Digital Partners.
Engage delivers dynamic fan engagement campaigns via a roster of services including digital content and commercial strategy, creative production, social media management, measurement, analytics and digital asset management. Its current roster of clients includes Formula 1, ICC, Real Madrid, and New Zealand Rugby.
Engage was established by current CEO Gregg Oldfield following a management buyout from Endemol Sport in 2012. With offices in London, Australia and India, and over 130 staff worldwide, Engage’s clients are provided with a 24/7 ‘follow the sun’ delivery and a global strategic perspective—benefits that will be passed on to Brave Bison and its social-first creative and strategy agency SocialChain.
As part of the deal, Engage will combine with the Brave Bison Media Network of sports and entertainment channels, which partners with leading rights holders such as the PGA Tour, Ryder Cup, US Open, Australian Open, CPLT20 and Le Mans to offer channel and rights management services alongside content strategy and production.
The combination will create an enlarged Sports and Entertainment division for Brave Bison that will service some of the biggest federations across football, cricket, rugby, motorsports, tennis, golf and e-sports and total £16 million in pro-forma turnover. It will be led by Engage’s existing CEO Gregg Oldfield, alongside chief business officer Casey Harwood in partnership with Brave Bison’s VP of video and audience development Adam Raw and head of sport Martin Ruffell.
The newly combined entity will work closely with SocialChain, to help sport and entertainment brands unlock new audiences through emerging channels and culture strategy, as well as helping leading brands activate their sports sponsorships and partnerships through social media channels—from content to commerce. Brave Bison acquired SocialChain in February 2023 and this year it says that the agency will deliver 50% revenue growth year on year following a number of high-profile client wins including Holland & Barrett, SharkNinja, Linkedin and Greene King.
Oli Green, executive chairman, Brave Bison commented: “Engage boast an enviable client roster and deep expertise in sports media and digital content strategy. This combination comes at a time when rights holders and sports federations are looking to maximise their IP, boost fan engagement and drive commercial performance using a more data driven approach. We look forward to working with (the team) to build digital solutions leveraging content, media and tech to help the worlds’ most ambitious sports federations and brands capitalise on the complexity of the digital age.”
Gregg Oldfield, CEO, Engage Digital Partners, added: “Brave Bison’s sports team bring expertise in channel and rights management across YouTube and the wider digital ecosystem, along with a prestigious roster of clients. While SocialChain’s expertise in social media marketing and strategy, together with Brave Bison’s performance media and commerce technology offerings, will round out Engage’s ability to offer clients new audience engagement and monetisation solutions from trend to spend.”
