AdSport

What AdSport does

AdSport is a Phoenix, Arizona-based sports marketing consultancy founded in 1994 by former NFL tight end Gary Knudson. The firm provides four core service categories — sponsorship evaluation, negotiation, activation, and measurement — to enterprise brands seeking to leverage professional and collegiate sports sponsorships. Its service portfolio extends into consulting, digital strategy, content production, event management, and experiential marketing, supported by a stack of branded activation programs (aFANity Rewards loyalty platform, Game Day Chef Challenge, Chevron Cars Challenge, State Farm Territorial Cup Series, Regal Class Award) that have been deployed for clients including Chevron, Texaco, State Farm, Visa, Toyota, Coca-Cola, True Value, and Parkland Fuel Corporation.

The firm operates without a proprietary software platform; its core assets are deep sports industry relationships (50+ years of combined leadership experience with teams, leagues, and governing bodies), proprietary evaluation methodologies, and creative campaign execution capabilities. The technology stack is limited to integrations such as the Visa Offers API used in the aFANity Rewards loyalty program and standard digital/social channels for content distribution. A 2019 rebrand introduced a new website and thought-leadership content engine (Insights blog, Fast Take Friday video series).

AdSport generates revenue through custom-priced professional services engagements sold directly to enterprise and mid-market brands. Distribution is via direct website inquiry and relationship-based referrals, with no channel intermediaries. The firm maintains a core team of approximately 8-12 individuals (including contractors and interns), with leadership spanning CEO, CMO, VP of Technology, Creative Director, and Managing Director of Client Services. AdSport remains founder-owned and privately held with no disclosed external investment.

Name

AdSport

Legal name

AdSport

Website

https://adsport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AdSport is a Phoenix-based sports marketing consultancy founded in 1994 that provides sponsorship evaluation, negotiation, activation, and measurement services to enterprise brands across professional and collegiate sports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Marketing Consultancy

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAGAG

Sponsorship Activation & Sports/Festival Experiential

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Experiential & Event Marketing

SECONDARYMPAKALAL

Sponsorship Fulfillment & Activation Services (On-Site Ops, Creative Production, Staffing)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Sports (Leagues, Teams, Events, Venues)/Sports Sponsorship & Endorsements

SECONDARYBPAFAGAC

Event Staffing & Brand Ambassadors

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Experiential & Event Marketing

Keywords

• Sports marketing consultancy
• Sponsorship evaluation
• Sponsorship negotiation
• Brand activation services
• Sports sponsorship advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship Consulting & Advisory Services: AdSport generates revenue by providing professional consulting services to leading brands seeking to advance their business goals through sports marketing and sponsorship. This includes sponsorship evaluation, negotiation support, campaign activation, and post-campaign measurement services. The firm works directly with brands on strategy and execution across professional and collegiate sports properties.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AdSport is a full-service sports marketing consultancy that helps leading brands leverage sports sponsorships across professional and collegiate properties. Its core services span four stages — Evaluate (proprietary analytical methods to assess sponsorship offers, benefits, and audiences), Negotiate (leveraging 50+ years of combined experience and relationships with teams, leagues, and governing bodies), Activate (creative digital, experiential, content, and event campaigns), and Measure (effectiveness measurement). It has facilitated thousands of deals since 1994 for brands including Chevron, State Farm, Visa, Toyota, Coca-Cola, and True Value.

Product overview

AdSport is a full-service sports marketing consultancy founded in 1994, offering a portfolio of proprietary service capabilities and branded activation programs. Their core offerings include Sponsorship Evaluation, Sponsorship Negotiation, Sponsorship Activation, Consulting, Digital, Content Production, Event Management, and Experiential Marketing. These services are delivered through branded activation programs such as aFANity Rewards (loyalty program), Chevron Cars Challenge (mobile racing game), Game Day Chef Challenge (cooking competition), Regal Class Award (internal rewards), and State Farm Territorial Cup Series (rivalry platform).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sponsorship Evaluation Proprietary analytical methods and trend awareness used to evaluate sponsorship offers, benefits, audiences, and value-creating influences for leading brands. Designed for enterprise marketers who need to identify the right sports properties to back.
• Sponsorship Negotiation Leveraging 50+ years of combined sports industry expertise and relationships with teams, leagues, and governing bodies to negotiate the greatest value for clients. Offered to enterprise brands seeking favorable sponsorship terms across professional and collegiate properties.
• Sponsorship Activation Creative campaign solutions conceived and implemented end-to-end that integrate into the sport experience to achieve measurable results for brands and provide value to fans. Targeted at enterprise brand marketers executing sponsorships.
• Consulting Unbiased strategic counsel to help clients meet their business objectives in sports marketing and sponsorship. Offered to enterprise marketers and brand teams evaluating or running sponsorship programs.
• Digital Social and mobile digital strategies to connect brands with fans through digital channels as part of sponsorship activation campaigns. Targeted at brands seeking digital-enabled fan engagement on owned and earned channels.
• Content Production Strategic content creation delivering the right message for the right channel to support sponsorship activations and brand campaigns for enterprise clients.
• Event Management Start-to-finish handling and oversight of all event duties for sports marketing activations, including logistics and on-site execution for brand-sponsored sporting events.
• Experiential Marketing Immersive experiences designed to connect fans and brands through interactive marketing activations at sporting events and venues for enterprise brand sponsors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 million impressions generated for a single activation (Game Day Chef Challenge)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2019AdSport partners with the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University through the AdSport Scholar Thesis Program. The program invites Junior/Senior students in the Barrett Honors College majoring in Marketing and/or Sports and Media Studies to select real-world, project-based theses with relevance in the world of sport. AdSport collaborates with faculty including Prof. Michael Mokwa, Prof. John Eaton, Prof. Daniel McIntosh, and Prof. Christopher Lee.
• Positive Coaching AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGary Knudson serves on the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA) Board for the Arizona chapter. AdSport attends and sponsors PCA events including the Positive Impact Awards. PCA runs workshops for teams, coaches, and parents on the importance of positivity in coaching and youth sports.
• Reed & BartonminorOthersAdSport commissioned Reed & Barton, a silversmith located in Massachusetts, to design the new State Farm Territorial Cup Series trophy. Reed & Barton created the original Territorial Cup Trophy back in 1899 for the Arizona-ASU football rivalry.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Octagon: Octagon is one of the largest global sports marketing agencies, offering sponsorship consulting, athlete marketing, and experiential activations for major brands. It is the closest large-scale peer to AdSport's sponsorship evaluation, negotiation, and activation services, operating in the same space with a broader geographic and client footprint.
• MKTG (Dentsu): MKTG is a global experiential marketing agency, part of Dentsu, that designs and executes brand experiences, sponsorships, and event activations for Fortune 500 clients. It competes directly with AdSport's experiential and sponsorship activation capabilities.
• GMR Marketing: GMR Marketing is a global experiential and sports marketing agency specializing in sponsorships, events, and brand activation for major sports properties and consumer brands. It is a direct competitor to AdSport in the brand-side sponsorship activation space.
• Wasserman: Wasserman is a major sports marketing, talent representation, and consulting agency with deep relationships across leagues, teams, and brands. It competes with AdSport in sponsorship consulting, property evaluation, and brand activation for enterprise clients.
• Leverage Agency: Leverage Agency is a sports and entertainment marketing agency focused on sponsorship strategy, talent partnerships, and brand activation. It competes with AdSport on sponsorship evaluation, negotiation, and creative activation for brand clients.
• Team Epic: Team Epic is an experiential marketing agency specializing in sports and entertainment sponsorships, event activations, and brand ambassador programs. It is a direct competitor in the same niche as AdSport's activation and experiential services.

Broad incumbents

• Legends Hospitality: Legends is a large-scale sports and entertainment experience company offering sponsorship, premium hospitality, and venue activation services. It is a broader incumbent compared to AdSport, with greater scale and deeper property relationships, but overlaps on brand-side sponsorship activation work.
• Excel Sports Management: Excel Sports Management is a sports talent representation and marketing agency representing high-profile athletes and negotiating endorsement deals. While it overlaps on the athlete/sponsorship representation side, it is a larger incumbent relative to AdSport's brand-side consultancy focus.
• CAA (Creative Artists Agency): CAA is a major entertainment and sports agency with a brand consulting practice that advises on sponsorships, endorsements, and partnerships. It is a broader incumbent than AdSport with significantly greater scale and IP across sports, but overlaps on brand-side sponsorship strategy.

Emerging players

• Rockets Sports & Entertainment Group: Rockets Sports & Entertainment Group is a sponsorship sales and activation consultancy focused on brands and sports properties. It is an emerging player with partial overlap to AdSport on sponsorship sales, strategy, and activation services.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/adsport
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCyourchannel
• Facebookfacebook.com/AdSport
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/adsport-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/adsport

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AdSport