Looking "to expand its global reach and augment the offerings of its consulting division with additional activation capabilities," Wasserman Media Group has acquired U.K.-based experiential marketing group Ignite, according to Terry Lefton in this week's SPORTSBUSINESSJOURNAL. Ignite’s clients include top sports properties like the NFL, NBA, Premier League and ATP, as well as consumer brands including Barclays, Vodafone, Nike and HP. Ignite "will become part of the WMG Consulting division," headed by Managing Dirs Denise Durante and Elizabeth Lindsey. Lindsey said, "At WMG, we are tasked with doubling the size of the business within five years, and one way to accomplish that is with new and incremental services. Our agency pedigree started with strategy, and we do some activation for clients like Quaker Oats, Lenovo and Verizon, but there’s something satisfying about being able to offer full service to all clients and seeing our strategies played through." Ignite’s 50-plus employees increases the WMG Consulting head count to 120 people, with around half of those in the U.K. Agency Founder and group Managind Dir Fred Porro is relocating from Miami to WMG’s N.Y. City offices, where he will be a WMG Consulting group Senior VP. Durante said, "Bringing a brand to life on the ground in a way that moves sales is the ultimate validation for the strategy work we do, and Ignite has been really innovative there. This builds our experiential services in a way that allows us to offer them globally and in much greater depth" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/15 issue).
