Activate Sports & Entertainment

Name

Activate Sports & Entertainment

Legal name

Activate Sports & Entertainment

Website

https://activatesports.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Marketing Consulting

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events (7113), Spectator Sports (71121), Spectator Sports (7112)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Marketing, Sponsorship Sales & Activation (MPAKAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sports Brand Strategy & Creative Services (Design, Content, Social) (MPAKAKAF), Sponsorship Sales, Valuation & Analytics Services (Rights Sales, Measurement, Consulting) (MPAKALAK)

Keywords

• Sports marketing consulting
• Brand activation services
• Event marketing agency
• Strategic communications firm
• Digital transformation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting & Advisory Services: Ongoing strategic partnership with professional sports teams and venues, providing revenue growth strategies, digital transformation, and marketing expertise as an embedded team extension.
2. Brand & Marketing Campaigns: Project-based engagements for brand development, event marketing, partnership activations, and MarCom playbooks for clients ranging from naming-rights pitches to live event experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Activate Sports & Entertainment is a strategic communications and marketing consultancy that helps pro sports teams, world-class entertainment venues, and brands drive revenue through three core service practices: strategic consulting (Revenue Growth Jumpstart), AI-forward digital transformation, and Brand & Event Marketing. Deliverables include brand development, fan engagement programs, naming-rights pitches, partnership activations, and proprietary methodologies such as SpeedBranding® Sprints, Mission Control (in-arena digital command center), and VenueShield. Services are delivered as embedded team-extension engagements, primarily via direct enterprise sales.

Product overview

Activate Sports & Entertainment is a strategic consulting and marketing agency that offers a portfolio of professional services organized around three core practice areas: Revenue Growth Jumpstart (strategic consulting to fuel growth), AI-Forward Digital Innovation (practical AI solutions for digital transformation), and Brand & Event Marketing (storytelling and campaign development). Key methodologies include SpeedBranding® Sprints for rapid brand development. Notable digital products include Mission Control (in-arena digital command center for fan engagement) and VenueShield (health and safety branding program). The firm operates as a flexible consulting model that scales from small teams to 20-person strike forces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SpeedBranding: A rapid stakeholder interview and insight mapping process that compresses months of research into a clear brand platform in days.
• Mission Control
• RockForce

Products and services

• Revenue Growth Jumpstart Strategic consulting practice operating as an extension of clients' in-house teams, providing outside perspective, new ideas, and innovative solutions to fuel growth and maximize revenue for pro sports teams, venues, and brands.
• AI-Forward Digital Innovation AI-powered digital transformation practice leading the sports and entertainment industry in AI adoption, layering practical AI solutions into engagements to drive innovation that elevates fan experiences, creates operational efficiencies, and fuels growth.
• Brand & Event Marketing Marketing services spanning naming-rights pitches to MarCom playbooks, shaping brand stories and campaigns that drive maximum impact through positioning, execution, and go-to-market plans for live events ranging from the Super Bowl to local events.
• SpeedBranding® Sprints Rapid stakeholder-interview and insight-mapping process that compresses months of brand research into a clear brand platform in days, used across brand development and transformation engagements for pro sports teams, venues, and brands.
• Mission Control In-arena digital command center developed for the New Jersey Devils that unites fans, influencers, and front-office executives in a 24/7 social engagement hub, designed to drive social media growth (350% Facebook fan growth, 400% Twitter follower growth, 66% engagement lift) and fan interaction.
• VenueShield Post-COVID health and safety branding initiative developed for ASM Global that translates complex safety protocols into a bold seal of trust, deployed across 400+ venues on six continents.

Quantifiable outcome

• New Jersey Devils achieved #1 spot for social interaction across global sport with 350% Facebook fan growth, 400% Twitter follower growth, 66% engagement lift, 60M+ Facebook post views
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ASM GlobalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActivate collaborated with ASM Global on the VenueShield brand development, creating post-COVID safety messaging for their global network of 400+ venues across six continents. Also partnered on the Avicii Arena naming rights announcement with the Tim Bergling Foundation.
• Red BullcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFor more than a decade, Activate has served as the go-to strategic partner for Red Bull in New England, advising on wild event concepts, negotiating city/state permits, and navigating hurdles to keep the brand's urban adventures fresh and culturally relevant.
• Minnesota WildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs a long-time strategic partner (10+ years), Activate has helped steer the Minnesota Wild's evolving digital roadmap, shaping social platforms, sponsored content, and fan engagement to keep the team consistently ahead of the curve and post record-breaking corporate partnership revenue.
• New Jersey DevilscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActivate developed a strategy to transform the New Jersey Devils into the most digitally savvy club in sports, conceiving and launching Mission Control. Drove 350% Facebook fan growth and $1M+ first-year sponsorship revenue.
• Tim Bergling FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with ASM Global and the Tim Bergling Foundation to announce the renaming of Stockholm Globe to Avicii Arena, the world's first major venue named to advance mental-health awareness.
• Boston Marathon (B.A.A.)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServed for several years as part of the marketing communications team for the Boston Marathon, helping shape B.A.A.'s next-gen branding and first-ever corporate partner integrations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• SponsorUnited: SponsorUnited is a sponsorship analytics and intelligence platform serving brands, rights holders, and agencies. Adjacent to Activate's valuation and analytics work and a potential partner or emerging competitor for sponsorship measurement engagements.

Broad incumbents

• Endeavor: Endeavor is a global sports and entertainment company (parent of IMG, WME, UFC) offering representation, brand licensing, and event management. A broad incumbent that competes across multiple Activate service lines at significantly greater scale.
• Legends Hospitality: Legends is a premium experiences company offering venue planning, hospitality, sponsorship sales, and merchandise services to sports and entertainment properties. A scaled incumbent that competes for venue-side engagements where Activate also operates (e.g., ASM Global relationships).

Direct peers

• Wasserman: Wasserman is a leading sports marketing, athlete representation, and entertainment agency serving leagues, teams, brands, and properties. Competes with Activate for sponsorship consulting and brand activation mandates, with significantly larger athlete and property representation capabilities.
• 160/90: 160/90 is a creative agency focused on sports, entertainment, and lifestyle brand marketing, including sponsorship strategy and content production. Direct overlap with Activate's brand and event marketing practice area.
• CSE (Cross Sports): CSE is a sports and entertainment marketing agency focused on athlete endorsement, brand partnerships, and event activation. Comparable to Activate's sponsorship activation and brand-side partnership work for breakthrough brands.
• MKTG: MKTG is a global sports and lifestyle marketing agency (part of Dentsu) providing sponsorship activation, experiential, and content services. Overlaps directly with Activate's brand activation and venue marketing work, with the key difference being Dentsu's institutional scale.
• rEvolution: rEvolution is a sports marketing and sponsorship agency specializing in global sports partnerships, consulting, and brand activation for rights holders and brands. Closely comparable to Activate's core advisory and activation services with a similar boutique-to-mid-market positioning.
• Octagon: Octagon is the largest global sports marketing consultancy, providing sponsorship consulting, athlete representation, and experiential marketing to brands, teams, and venues. Direct competitor to Activate in the pro-sports and venue advisory space, with deeper global scale and broader service breadth.

Regional players

• Influx Worldwide: Influx Worldwide is a sports and entertainment marketing agency with roots in the Boston/New England market, providing sponsorship sales, consulting, and event marketing. A regional peer competing for similar Northeast enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Activate Sports & Entertainment