New partnership expands client services with enhanced data and insights capabilities in the sports and entertainment industries.
Leading global sports & entertainment holding group of agencies You First is pleased to announce it has acquired a majority stake in UK based Goodform Ltd. The acquisition provides You First with a strong position in the UK market as well as leading data and insight capabilities that strengthen its range of services and brings significant opportunities globally with the combining of the two organisations. This move will enable Goodform to apply its market leading Fan Insight approach to wider global markets, as well as expanding its data and insights work into global football and basketball and other talent management.
Established in 2002, Goodform is one of the UK’s longest established independent sports marketing agencies. Specialising in data and insight, the award-winning agency’s expertise in both data and research services provides their clients with a holistic audience view that informs both strategy and omni-channel marketing, driving better engagement and audience growth on a global scale. ‘Sportswise’, Goodform’s Customer Data Platform, has become an essential product, allowing its clients to easily analyse and understand their audience across multiple channels and touch points.
Goodform’s extensive experience spans rights holders, governing bodies and major international events, including Formula 1, NBA, UK Athletics, Six Nations, Formula E, Watford FC, British & Irish Lions and the EFL [English Football League] amongst many others. Their work includes F1 Fan Voice, Formula 1’s award-winning always-on global research community with over 100,000 members from over 100 different countries, providing insights that have informed key decisions at speed and utilised across Formula 1’s business. Likewise, Goodform’s audience insight and engagement expertise for EFL, as their retained CRM & Data agency for the past 7 years, has played a key role in the growth of iFollow, the EFL’s OTT product, that generated over £42m in revenue for EFL Clubs during the 2020/21 season.
You First is a global talent management, brand services and content marketing ecosystem of agencies in the sports and entertainment industries. Operating in 14 countries the agency manages the careers of more than a thousand talents and offer end-to-end integrated brand services and innovative solutions in digital assets, consulting, sponsorship, creativity, events, content production and influencer marketing to 160 brands through 21 offices worldwide.
The addition of Goodform to the existing You First footprint provides the agency with its first office presence in the UK – a market where it currently already provides services to brands along with player representation services. Goodform, which will continue to be led by its existing managing director Alison Dalrymple, is at the forefront of its sector, in part by the development of in-demand products; an example being its ‘Sports Fan Panel’- which allows organisations to gain insights from sports fans and comprises 10,000 sports fans, representing 50 different sports and providing insights on 60 topics that shape decisions within sport.
Juan Aísa, CEO, You First, commented:
“Alison Dalrymple and the team at Goodform have carved out a unique place for themselves in the UK & global sports market, providing rights holders and others with metrics and data that makes a significant difference to their engagement with fans, sponsors and other stakeholders. Having this new skill set within You First will provide not only new business opportunities, but also additional services that can be offered to existing clients – which is very exciting. We look forward to partnering with Alison and the very talented team at Goodform”
Alison Dalrymple, Managing Director, Goodform, added:
“We are thrilled to become part of such a successful global agency; number 1 in Spain, number 10 in Europe and in the top 20 most valuable sports agencies in the world. We share the same work ethic and philosophies and a huge passion for sport, with the focus on client goals and always delivering excellent service. The further growth opportunities this partnership presents are already evident with the two agencies already coming together to provide services to a major sports team and benefiting from this new relationship. We are extremely excited by what lies ahead”
David Brabender, Managing Director, Global Brand Services, You First, continued:
“Goodform’s expertise in data and insights – when combined with You First’s extensive knowledge of brands – will enhance our added value proposal and the decision-making process for brands in selecting the right business, platforms and communication proposals in the sponsorship and entertainment ecosystem. Data & Insights are also key in the activation and follow up. We will benefit greatly from Goodform’s ability to use its sophisticated technology to not only support rights-holders and properties, but also to bring solutions to brands and to individual talents that You First works with globally”