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Loris Le Bon, Brand Services & Activations Project Manager, joined SPORTFIVE almost a year ago. His department supports several brands in order to maximise their notoriety in view of the marketing rights they hold with the various sports institutions. Loris introduces us to SPORTFIVE as well as his daily missions to carry out the agency's projects and his prospects for development.
SPORTFIVE is an agency specialising in sports marketing that brings together all the expertise in the field. Present internationally - more than 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries around the world - the agency has a considerable network in the world of sports business (clubs, leagues, federations, brands). Our job is to connect brands, rights holders and fans around the power of sport. In France, the agency's activities are the creation of partnerships around sport, the sale of marketing rights, the activation of partnerships and the sale of hospitality products. We are particularly present in the worlds of football, rugby, running, basketball, the Olympics and Paralympics, and esports.
Indeed, there are many professions at SPORTFIVE and this allows us to support brands from A to Z in their sports sponsorship strategy. In France, we are present at the heart of 6 professional football clubs, namely, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Lille, Lens, Valenciennes and Auxerre. Dedicated teams therefore work within these clubs in management and take care of marketing rights, supporting the club's partners in their sponsorship strategy, selling hospitality spaces, etc.
The rest of the SPORTFIVE France employees are located in Boulogne-Billancourt, at the company's headquarters. Here we find all the professions that make up the agency: sales, the graphic studio, Business Intelligence, the Olympic Business Unit, the Brand Services & Activations teams, the recommendation division, strategic planning, marketing teams, the digital service, the esports team and all the support functions. This diversity of professions is one of the agency's real assets and allows us to be among the market leaders today.
Very true, I joined the agency in July 2021 for a 6-month internship in the Brand Services & Activations division and this internship ultimately turned into a 6-month fixed-term contract in the same team. I have already been working at SPORTFIVE for 9 months and I haven't seen the time go by! As its name suggests, our division is at the service of the brands that we support as part of their sponsorship strategy. Our department therefore acts as an interface between the brand and the rights holder (club, league, federation). Our objective is to maximise brand awareness in view of the marketing rights it holds under the established contract. We are also there to recommend the brand on turnkey activation systems that we are responsible for setting up.
During its first 9 months, I had the chance to support 5 different brands: MG Motor with Olympique Lyonnais, Up2It with ASSE and MHSC, EDF on the FFH, FFCK and esports universes, BPCE around its partnership with Paris 2024 and finally Brico Dépôt with the LNR. Today, I only deal exclusively with BPCE and Brico Dépôt. This diversity in the client accounts that we support allows us to discover very varied universes and to work on heterogeneous projects.
One of the most important skills is interpersonal skills. As an interface between the brand and the rights holder, we must establish a relationship of trust on both sides. Developing relationships is also essential internally. Indeed, we work with many departments at SPORTFIVE to benefit from their expertise and thus best recommend our clients. We must therefore develop a truly collaborative approach to work. Of course, it is also very important to establish yourself as an expert in the field by keeping up to date with market trends on a daily basis. Demonstrating your expertise is one thing, but you must also be able to pass it on. Finally, as the name suggests, a project manager must be able to lead their projects and complete them.
The next logical step would be to take on the role of Account Manager, then Account Director within the Brand Services & Activations division. These roles require a certain level of seniority that I will acquire over time. Otherwise, positions with the rights holder within marketing/sponsoring departments. Indeed, agency experience allows you to acquire a certain diversification that is often appreciated by brands.
My adventure at SPORTFIVE has been rich since I started! I have participated in setting up many activations. If I had to choose just one, it would surely be the first one, in the summer of 2021, on the first day of the championship between Lyon and Stade Brestois.
This match marked the return of supporters to the stadium after many months of absence. It also marked the first match of the MG brand as a major partner of the club. We therefore set up a "money can't buy" operation around this match in order to develop the notoriety of MG Motor among Olympique Lyonnais supporters. Thus, we launched a competition on the brand's platforms offering an unforgettable experience to the lucky winner accompanied by four friends. Indeed, we arranged to meet the winners on Place Bellecour in the center of Lyon. Two drivers were waiting for them to take them to the Groupama Stadium in the latest MG model. Before departure, the five lucky winners were each offered a jersey with their name on it and signed by the entire team. On the way, they received an iPad with a personalised video from Lyon legend, Claudio Caçapa, who invited them to enjoy this afternoon full of surprises. Once they arrived at the stadium, they were able to visit the OL museum before going to a private VIP box, where unlimited food and drinks awaited them. During the players' warm-up, they were surprised to see their names displayed on the stadium's giant screen with a personalised message. Finally, for the occasion, we had even planned a visit from the mascot Liu at half-time to come and greet them. At the end of the match, the winners were driven home in MG with their heads full of memories.
I was involved in the design of this activation but also in its realisation, since I was present on the day to make sure that everything went as planned. A very beautiful experience in short, both for the winners and for us.
The beauty of our job is that we move quickly from one project to another. A major event, which we have been working on for months, will be held in Tignes on the first weekend of May and promises to be a memorable one!
To join SPORTFIVE, you need to be extremely versatile. No two days are the same, to our great pleasure, but this requires great adaptability. It is also essential to know how to prioritise your tasks. Indeed, clients and missions are multiple, and the success of the different projects lies in the management of timings. Finally, be curious, expand your network and never forget that hard work always pays off!
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