Publicis Groupe aims to "disrupt" the sports marketing sector after acquiring global sports and entertainment agency 160over90.
A division of WME Group, the owner of talent agency William Morris Endeavor, sports marketing shop 160over90 has more than 670 employees across the US, UK, EMEA and APAC.
160over90 has created activations for global brands across Super Bowls, Olympic Games and the World Cup.
Campaign estimates the deal is worth approximately $600 million, as 160over90 was acquired by Endeavor in 2018 for around $200 million, when its headcount was 180.
Publicis declined to comment on valuation.
Arthur Sadoun, chief executive of Publicis Groupe, told Campaign that Publicis has been investing in commerce, identity resolution and influencer in the last few years and now it is starting to double down on sports, calling it the network’s “next big bet”.
He said: “[Sport] is a marketing sector that can gain a lot by being disrupted.”
According to the CEO, Publicis Groupe is taking on “a polar opposite strategy” to its peers and “investing in [its] people” with this acquisition.
“The best player in the industry”
Market intelligence and consulting service Ken Research has found that the sports media market is valued at $150 billion and, according to Allied Research, sports sponsorships have surpassed $90 billion globally.
Sadoun said: “It's a move that comes at the moment where the market is a bit depressed, to say nicely, but we also want to show to our clients that we are committed to their transformation and to their goals in an area that is particularly important for them.”
Sadoun said Publicis has been prioritising sports for some time because it is driving growth for their clients and when it came to choosing 160over90, he said the agency “is by far the best player in this industry”.
Publicis’ acquisition of 160over90 is part of a bid to continue to build on Publicis Sports’ roster of sports and culture-first capabilities, including the acquisitions of Adopt and Bespoke in 2025, as well as a recent partnership with Magic Johnson Enterprises and the launch of Influential Sports.
Publicis did not confirm whether the 160over90 name would still exist following the acquisition.
Its headquarters will continue to be based in New York.
Integration and fragmentation
Suzy Deering, CEO of Publicis Sports, told Campaign that integration was an important factor the holding company considered when searching for agencies in the sports marketing sector, as the incoming agency had to “mould into [its] culture”.
She said that global expertise in the field was critical.
Deering added that this acquisition means Publicis is meeting where its clients are by further prioritising sport.
Speaking generally about clients with which she has worked in the past, Deering said: “Somewhere between 60% and 70% of my total marketing spend was in sports and culture. Why are [clients] going there? It’s because this is where the audience is, this is where their consumers are.”
Publicis is also striving to “disrupt” the marketplace with this acquisition, according to Deering, citing that sports marketing is currently “extremely fragmented”.
Publicis therefore wants to bring more integration into the way it operates.
Deering said it can become “extremely difficult to have that connective thread and a unified approach” without integrating the sports marketing agency into other parts of the business such as media, creator and hospitality.
She added: “When you're sitting at the C-suite table, and they're interrogating the business, the question is, what is that returning back to the business? How is it impacting my business outcomes?”
“If we can't help our clients answer that question, that's a challenge. The current sports marketing agencies can't do that. They may be able to do experiential, they may be able to do some hospitality, but they can't answer [that] because they don't have a connected identity and they don't have data at the core to help clients make strategic decisions, and they can't measure it.”
“A new way of doing sports marketing at the edge of AI”
The holding company suggests that marketers need a unified approach across media, sponsorships, events, content, creators and talent to leverage the power of sport.
With the arrival of 160over90, Publicis aims to offer an “end-to-end ecosystem” with the help of four core principles.
The first will involve scale and reach by integrating Publicis Sports and 160over90 to create the “world’s leading sports marketing solution”, with reach across the US, UK, EMEA and APAC.
The second focuses on data-first optimisation by leveraging the Publicis Sports Intelligence platform, which is powered by Epsilon Identity and connects verified fans in real-time during key moments in sport.
Sadoun noted this integrated approach, harnessing data and tech, is “a new way of doing sports marketing at the edge of AI”.
This will allow Publicis to plan, personalise and measure investments and outcomes across media, experiential, content, hospitality, sponsorships and commerce.
Publicis is also looking to explore the creator economy, with the acquisition of influencer agency Influential in 2024. The agency will work with 160over90 to extend the reach and impact of athletes as socially connected creators and community leaders.
Lastly, a strategic partnership with WME Group will aim to unlock direct access to talent, original content and production capabilities.
Speaking on Publicis further prioritising talent, Deering said the network already does a lot of consulting with clients on talent. WME Group's involvement will give Publicis “an incredible upper hand in the sense” because it will give them more access to talent.
Sport isn’t a transaction anymore
Deering said: “[Sports marketing] isn't a transaction any more. This isn't sports equals sponsorships, you go sign a deal, and you get a little logo, and you slap yourself on the back and say, ‘thank you’.
“This is now putting into action real money that [is] up for big time stakes for our CMOs, we want to make sure that we're actually enabling them to drive business and outcomes.”
160over90 will sit as part of Publicis’ media offering, rather than creative. The combined Publicis Sports group will report to Deering and sit within Publicis Media Exchange, Publicis’ trading arm, to “ensure access and unified delivery to all Publicis agencies and clients”.
Sadoun noted that the line “between media and creative is blurring a bit more every day” and Publicis has taken a different strategy to its competitors when it comes to separating its disciplines.
“We have a country model organisation, which is very different from our peers that now are organised by capabilities: media, production, creative,” he said. “We go end-to-end from those capabilities at the country level.”
160over90 will play a part in the network’s creative offering but Sadoun said it sits within Publicis Media Exchange because it is important that it benefits from Publicis Sports Intelligence and the “scale of media”.
Publicis dismissed suggestions it had been slow to move into sports marketing, an area where several rivals, including Stagwell, Dentsu, M&C Saatchi and Wasserman, have been active for years.
Sadoun highlighted the position Publicis is in when compared with its competitors: “Where people are paying back their shares, we are buying new capabilities.”
Mark Shapiro, president and managing partner at WME Group, said: “160over90 has earned its reputation as a trusted partner to many of the world’s most influential brands, consistently delivering unique experiences and valuable partnerships on the biggest stages in sports.
“Combining forces with Publicis Sports will create an unmatched offering for brands looking to move faster and create deeper connections with sports fans, properties, and content. Additionally, WME Group’s new collaboration with Publicis Groupe will deliver more opportunities for our talent and partners to realise their business ambitions at scale.”
Shapiro and Robbie Henchman, president at 160over90 and senior partner at WME Group, will not be moving to Publicis as a result of the acquisition and will remain at WME Group.
Justin Zambuto, Jessica Sinn and Ryan Brown, executive vice presidents and co-heads of 160over90, and Merrill Mladineo, finance director at WME Group, will be moving over to Publicis as part of the acquisition.
Brand experience agency XYZ was acquired by 160over90 in 2023. Deering said experiential also played a part in Publicis’ decision to acquire 160over90.
She added: “We purchased Bespoke last year [and] one of the main reasons we did this is because they do experiential at scale. I would say sport is almost truly expressed through a lot of experiential, [and] not just sport, but culture. So it will be a core component.”
