12th February 2015, London: The Sports Consultancy, the rapidly growing London based agency, is bolstering its commercial services offering to its growing roster of rights holder and event clients with a significant investment into its rights marketing business to be spearheaded by one of the industry’s most experienced and respected professionals, Marc Hope. Marc has spent the last four years with Sports Marketing and Management, where he was embedded in the Organising Committee of Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games playing a pivotal role on the successful achievement of almost 50 sponsors across three tiers. Prior to that, Marc spent a decade with Fasttrack (latterly part of CSM) where he led the rights marketing team with great success over a range of Olympic sports and major international events staged in the UK, headed by UK Athletics. Marc also brought in the multi year title sponsorship deals for the London Youth Games (LYG), and continues his involvement with the organisation as Vice Chairman. Marc also served as a non-exec board director of GB Taekwondo during their London Olympic cycle 2010-2013, which saw the sport achieve Olympic gold. Marc’s appointment will capitalise on the strong reputation that The Sports Consultancy has built for it’s innovative approach to commercialisation of rights for the agency’s clients and significant increases in hosting and broadcast revenues that this has delivered. Marc will be working closely with co-founders Angus Buchanan and Robert Datnow in developing the rights marketing practice with further appointments of senior brand consultants and rights sales specialists to build on The Sports Consultancy’s consultative and insight led sales approach to follow. Commenting on the appointment, co-Managing Director, Angus Buchanan said: “Rights marketing is a core part of our DNA, it’s where we originated and it will build and augment our strong commercial focus as well as add depth to our commercial and strategic consulting services to government and venue clients. In Marc we have found someone who shares our vision and with whom we can work with to build a prominent rights marketing practice. The results he has achieved in his career to date, most recently in his role selling commercial rights for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, firmly establishes Marc as one of the leading practitioners in the industry” Marc Hope added: “I have followed with great interest how Angus and Robert have developed The Sports Consultancy into one of the leading consultancies operating in the sports industry today. It is a privilege to join their innovative team and to have the opportunity to build a new rights marketing division harnessing the company’s reputation and contacts along with its existing in-house commercial and legal experience.”
