CAA Sports’ Corporate Consulting division has won one of sports’ most competitive and closely watched marketing agency reviews of the year, landing the sports/entertainment agency business of JPMorgan Chase.
Chase’s sports portfolio is headlined by its 10-year, $300 million Madison Square Garden deal, which encompasses the New York Rangers, Knicks and Liberty, MSG itself, Radio City Music Hall and the Chicago Theater. Also in the Chase portfolio are sponsorships with the New York Giants and Jets; a U.S. Open tennis relationship; sponsorship of the Sundance Film Festival; a deal with Jeff Gordon and Hendrick Motorsports; and naming rights to the Arizona Diamondbacks’ home ballpark.
“We looked at all the leading agencies, and CAA was strong in activation, acquisition, negotiations and strategy,” said Steve Pamon, the former NFL marketer who has been heading Chase’s growing sports and entertainment marketing department for the past year.
As for CAA’s broad-based assignment?
 |
Chase bought its “marquee partnership” with Madison Square Garden two years ago.
Photo by: JPMORGAN CHASE (2)
|
“The key thing is maximizing the value of our relationship with Madison Square Garden,” Pamon said. “The second thing is going to be expanding into core financial markets across the country; to support JPMorgan Chase not only nationally, but as a global player; and determining what the key activations will be that will drive value.
“Overall the objective for all our sponsorships is to establish an emotional connection for our customers and clients that moves beyond the commoditized relationships that exist with any consumer product.”
CAA’s involvement in selling Chase MSG’s “marquee partnership” two years ago provided an introduction. However, it was only a little over a year ago that CAA hired Greg Luckman away from GroupM ESP to head corporate consulting. Since then, it has won JPMorgan Chase along with a review for Emirates Airline, increased CAA’s business with Best Buy, and obtained new business from Time Warner Cable and its recent launches of TWC SportsNet and TWC Deportes in Los Angeles.
“We’re happy with the [Chase] win and our first year,” said Luckman, whose financial service expertise includes a decade with Momentum, mostly on the American Express account. “We’re leading with strategic consulting in terms of capabilities, but certainly handling activation for clients like Chase and Emirates. What I have found in a year here is that CAA has a position within pop culture that can provide unique insights. That and our collaborative culture are what has allowed us to build a brand consulting practice so quickly.”
