Independent sports agency group Pitch launches digital unit
Indie sports marketing agency Pitch Marketing Group has launched a specialist digital business called Pitch Platforms, led by Ed Brittain, previously head of social for MSL.
Sports marketing agency Pitch has launched a new digital agency / Pitch Marketing Group
The Soho creative agency marks 20 years in business this year and hopes the new launch can help it expand its consultancy and digital practices with clients.
Chris Allen, managing director of Pitch, told The Drum: ”While digital has formed part of the offering within our PR and partnerships divisions for many years, Pitch Platforms will help take our work in this area to new levels. Ed impressed us from the very beginning of the process, and I can’t wait to see the brilliant, innovative work Pitch Platforms will deliver under Ed’s leadership.”
The group already includes a PR unit, a production business and sponsorship-focused Pitch Partnership. Pitch’s clients include some of the biggest names in sport, such as Red Bull, Asics, Sports Direct, BT Sport and Beats by Dre. It holds the global PR account for Formula 1 and is the retained agency for the MBA in the UK and Europe.
The new business will provide ”a dedicated team to help clients create and implement brand activation campaigns in a landscape where digital platforms are now the dominant route for brands to connect with consumers,” according to agency founder Henry Chappell.
In 2002, the company was one of the first dedicated sports agencies operating in the UK. Chappell said: ”Much has changed in the past 20 years, and it has become evident that for any business to have longevity it must evolve. So, while for many years we have successfully worked for some of the world’s best digital marketing brands, and we have always used social media channels to amplify our clients’ campaigns, as we have evolved our agency to offer integrated marketing services, there has become a growing requirement for us to have specialist digital expertise as part of our skillset.”
”Pitch is already delivering some brilliant integrated work with ambitious brand clients across both sport and consumer, and Pitch Platforms will both elevate that work and give the agency an additional string to its bow in helping new clients navigate the platform-led digital world,” said Brittain. ”We’re here to ensure brands aren’t ghosts on social, but instead create content that leverages digital culture.”