Wasserman Media Group acquires Ignite

Ignite, a leading brand experience agency, has been acquired by global sports and entertainment specialist Wasserman Media Group for an undisclosed sum.

The deal will see Ignite bring its experiential and activation expertise to Wasserman’s sports, entertainment marketing and athlete management business.  Ignite and its clients will also benefit from access to Wasserman’s global network, resources, and relationships across the sports and entertainment landscape.

Wasserman has expertise in media rights, sponsorship, brand and property consulting, athlete management, digital, creative, and multicultural marketing. The Ignite team will join Wasserman’s consulting division, who work with brands including American Express and PepsiCo on crafting strategic programs across the sports, music, fashion and other lifestyle verticals.

Since launching in 2002, Ignite has provided brand experiences for clients such as the NFL, Tesco and Vodafone and produced more than 10,000 event activations in more than 50 countries, pioneering the fusion of live events with digital and social media.

Ignite will assume the Wasserman name. All 50 plus members of the Ignite team will be retained and will play an important role in Wasserman moving forwards.  Ignite’s group managing director Fred Porro will relocate from the company’s current US headquarters in Miami to Wasserman’s New York City office and Cris Cicirello and Paul Saville will continue to lead the existing London-based experience team. They will report to Wasserman consulting division managing directors Elizabeth Lindsey and Denise Durante.

Porro said:“We are incredibly excited to be joining Wasserman as the acquistion provides us with an unlimited opportunity to work across the company to deliver superior experiential campaigns for their clients while integrating our clients into their global network.”

“The company’s leadership, commitment to excellence and reputation for providing best-in-class work for some of the world’s smartest brands, properties, media outlets, and athletes offer us the opportunity to immediately add more value to our current clients and team.”

Casey Wasserman (pictured), chairman and CEO of Wasserman Media Group, said: “Ignite’s experience and capabilities will further enable our teams to connect key client strategic initiatives directly with the audiences they are working to engage.”

“Most significant is that the Ignite team is a perfect cultural fit for Wasserman, and we look forward to immediate and substantial results.”

Elizabeth Lindsay, managing director of Wasserman’s consulting division, added: “Forging connections through consumer experiences has proven many times over to be a successful strategy to raise brand equity among global audiences. We are known for creating deeply strategic programs for clients, and we are thrilled to be able to make those programs even stronger by adding this enhanced service offering through-the-line moving forward.”

Denise Durante, managing director of Wasserman’s consulting division, concluded: “Ignite has an unmatched reputation and track record for delivering premium activation solutions for clients and they work as we do – pushing the envelope of creativity and innovation, and doing whatever it takes to deliver premium client service. We look forward to welcoming the entire team and to getting us all integrated as soon as possible so we can begin providing this additional value to new and existing clientele.”