rEvolution CEO on how WePlay deal gives brands better access to global sports fans
As the global sports marketing giant acquires the London-based agency, chief exec John Rowady talks to The Drum about how the transformative deal will give global brands better access to lucrative sports audiences and properties on both sides of the Atlantic.
John Rowady of Revolution and Luca Massaro of WePlay
London-based performance-driven sports marketing specialist WePlay has become a wholly-owned operating company within Chicago-headquartered rEvolution group, significantly enhancing rEvolution’s capabilities and global reach to advance business performance for sports rights holders and international brands.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Luca Massaro, WePlay is recognized for its market-leading approach to fan engagement, direct-to-consumer marketing and monetization. With clients based across Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia, WePlay works with global sports brands such as UFC, Uefa, Fifa, Paris Saint-Germain, Ironman, LaLiga, AC Milan and SailGP.
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rEvolution was established by CEO Rowady in 2001 and now operates across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, delivering best-in-class sports marketing and media services to brands keen to strengthen customer relationships.
The WePlay deal is the latest in a string of strategic acquisitions by rEvolution, coming after the agency acquired London PR and communications agency Sine Qua Non (SQN) in 2023, Detroit-based integrated marketing agency Centigrade in 2022 and London’s Revolution Marketing Group back in 2018. The addition of WePlay further underscores rEvolution’s commitment to expanding its global influence and deepening its expertise across key markets, while further bolstering its presence in the UK and EMEA.
The WePlay brand (which generated $400m in new revenue for sports rights holders over the last five years) and its entire team will remain in place, with Massaro continuing as CEO at WePlay. The agency brings to rEvolution an award-winning resumé, including two Agency of the Year awards at the Football Business Awards and gold at both the SportsPro OTT Awards and the Leaders Sports Awards.
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Speaking exclusively to The Drum about the acquisition, Rowady says: “This deal is a coup for both rEvolution and WePlay. We went through a process and Luca had a lot of great options to take his business to the next level, but I think he saw that rEvolution is quite unique in how it invests in performance-based sports marketing agencies and that our business model is based on being ‘brand first’ and connecting brands with fans. Luca and I had known each other for a few years, hit it off when we met and had talked about investments, so I’m delighted that he has chosen rEvolution to be his growth partner.
“We are proud to welcome WePlay into the rEvolution family. The acquisition enhances our international presence with WePlay’s specialization in understanding, connecting and monetizing fans. By leveraging our combined expertise, we strengthen our full-spectrum of solutions for global brands and rights holders to drive their businesses forward.”
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Describing how joining rEvolution will enable WePlay to move to its next level of development Massaro said: “Joining forces with rEvolution marks a significant milestone for WePlay. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to growth.
“We’re only just scratching the surface in sports. There are 8 billion people on the planet and just over 5 billion are sports fans. It’s a half-trillion-dollar industry. There’s no other platform on earth that allows a brand to reach a global audience at scale more effectively than sport. You connect the right creativity with the right message and the right distribution and that delivers an incredible platform for brands to reach that global audience at genuine scale. There are a lot of distractions for brands today, but it remains critically important that brands know how to engage their fans and what fans expect from brands today.”
He adds: “John talks about high performance and, over the next few years, it’s incredibly important, particularly where there are economic challenges, that sports properties and brands continue to double down on the value that they provide to their fans. And that’s what I think we’re going to see a lot of organizations really focusing on that, whether it’s through data or through creativity.”
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This latest deal will offer rEvolution and WePlay clients and partners increased opportunities to work effectively across continents, enabling European brands improved access to the hugely lucrative sports audiences in the US and vice versa, as Rowady explains: “This is going to be an exciting component broadening our strategy and our offering in Europe and beyond and also helps the massive interest from brands and properties coming into the United States. We’re creating a really expansive flow of sports marketing business between continents and this is becoming a very important strategy as we work on global teams, global sponsorship and global sport in general. Those are all part of our vision to be the very best globally in sports marketing.”
Clearly, Rowady and rEvolution are keen to pursue further growth, so could there be further acquisitions down the line?
“We’re always looking to build more value for rEvolution, our companies and our partners,” he tells The Drum. “We talk to a lot of companies throughout the world, but we only choose to go with what we feel will be the very best performance base within the platform. That’s my investment ethos. It’s not about becoming the biggest. If we want to chase some of the huge equity-backed global sports marketing agencies, then that’s a different type of strategy. This is about being the very best and being able to handle the very best that sport has to offer going forward. It’s about finding the right partners to join our group at the right time.”