- Sportfive’s U.S. consulting side, with legacy clients including Citi, Met Life, Moet Hennessy and PointsBet, will now be headed by Exec VPs Brendan Moynihan -- a 2018 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree -- and Josh Wollock. Sportfive CEO Stefan Felsing identified consulting, golf and esports as fertile areas for growth, both in the U.S. and abroad, and said the agency will continue to hire aggressively and grow by acquisition. Former Sportfive consulting head Kern Egan left the firm late last year, taking with him the sports-heavy Bridgestone account and five consulting employees (the agency is refilling those slots) to a new firm he is calling Multiplier.
- Detroit-based esports team Immortals secured a multiyear deal with Progressive to make the insurer the naming-rights partner for the organization's North American League of Legends squad, reports SBJ's Trent Murray. Progressive will receive logo placement on the front of the team’s jerseys. Progressive worked directly with Immortals' partnership team on the deal. Immortals CEO Jordan Sherman, VP/Partnerships Brett McGrew, Director of Brand Brad Peters and Partnerships Manager Meghan Anderson worked the deal for the esports organization.
- Radegen, an agency specializing in athlete marketing and management, has Michigan offensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson and PGA Tour golfer Si Woo Kim for North American representation in marketing, reports my colleague Liz Mullen. Radegen CEO Alex Radetsky and Exec VP Ryan Henderson are representing Hutchinson as he enters the NFL Draft as a projected top pick. Kim will be represented by Henderson and Michael Flynn.
- Twitter launched its largest athlete/celebrity marketing campaign yet, with Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Buccaneers RB Leonard Fournette, WNBA Chicago Sky G Diamond DeShields, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and WNBA N.Y. Liberty F Michaela Onyenwere part of the effort, SBJ's Austin Karp reports. The campaign focuses on tweets the athletes/celebs posted before they gained fame, and it will feature activation on over 39 billboards in North America.
