Dentsu announces Dentsu Sports Analytics and global Managing Director appointment

Dentsu Sports International has announced the launch of dentsu Sports Analytics, a new global offering bringing together the research, data, and analytics capabilities of MKTG Sports + Entertainment (MKTG), Sponsorship Research International (SRi) and dentsu’s Merkle, to help drive better outcomes across the sports and entertainment measurement industry.

Based in New York, USA, former Melbourne Demons AFL player Glenn Lovett (pictured) has been appointed Global Managing Director for the company.

Advising that the new offering highlights the importance and demand for data to enhance ability to accurately measure and analyse the true commercial benefits of partnerships, MKTG Global Chief Executive and DSI President, Matt Manning, stated “the launch of dentsu Sports Analytics highlights the importance and demand for data to enhance our ability to accurately measure and analyse the true commercial benefits of a partnership.

“Given his extensive experience at Repucom/Nielsen and working in North America, EMEA and APAC, Glenn is the ideal candidate and a natural fit to accelerate our global analytics business in these regions.

“Furthermore, this opportunity becomes a reality by bringing together Merkle’s best-in-class performance data and SRi’s and MKTG Insight’s sponsorship analytics. This unique combination will change how partnerships can be analysed and measured domestically and across borders.”

Commenting on his new role, Lovett noted “an industry moving at the speed of fans needs data, analytics and insights that can keep up.

“By bringing the best data resources from across the dentsu group to the sports and entertainment industry, dentsu Sports Analytics will help brands and properties to better understand fans and audiences, and to maximize the value and measure the impact of sponsorship and media investments.”

While this offering was born out of MKTG and SRi, the addition of the resources of Merkle, one of the world’s largest and most advanced data analytics and customer experience businesses, and dentsu’s broader data and media analytics capabilities, dentsu Sports Analytics has access to unrivalled data, data science, and targeted audience and digital marketing capabilities.

Lovett added “through this combination of entities, dentsu Sports Analytics can provide sports and entertainment sponsors with an unrivalled data set across more than 11,000 attributes for 268 million people in the US alone, and also connecting into dentsu’s global consumer and media data sets across 70 countries.

“In a nutshell, we are super-sizing our offering and, in turn, our clients’ ability to maximize their reach and achieve their goals through sports and entertainment investments.”

With offices in North America, EMEA, and APAC, dentsu Sports Analytics will deliver a truly global and local market offer across high-end custom consumer research, syndicated fan and audience data, rights valuation, and measurement services to leading clients worldwide.

Lovett has previously held roles as Global Chief Executive of Nielsen Sports and Regional Managing Director, Europe for Octagon.

Before joining Nielsen, he was a key player in the transformation of private-equity-backed Repucom and has also held key strategy roles at Booz Allen Hamilton and Nike Australia.

He formerly played for the Melbourne Demons in the VFL/AFL between 1987 and 1998.