Allied Sports has announced the addition of Jeff Ehrenkranz, to serve as the Managing Director of International, and take lead on its international expansion from the agency’s current international headquarters in London. Allied Sports, a strategic expansion of Allied Global Marketing, is a rising startup that has built a new agency model for the future of sports. The strategic shift comes from transitioning modern marketers from a Sponsor to StorytellerTM as a result of relationships with rights holders and content creators.
Ehrenkranz joins Allied Sports after his 25-year tenure with Octagon Worldwide, where he served as the President of Octagon’s International Marketing business. While at Octagon, Ehrenkranz had a hand in managing the agency’s sports and entertainment marketing business in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. He was credited with transforming the company’s European and Asian offering from a traditional sponsorship agency to a creative sports marketing agency.
In 2013, while stationed in London, Ehrenkranz grew the business to over 300 people across 12 markets, representing world-class brands and rightsholders including AIG, Budweiser, Hotels.com, Liverpool FC, MasterCard, Shell, and UEFA. Octagon established a wide global footprint through strategic investments and acquisitions in key markets including Germany, France, Japan, and Russia.
“Allied Sports is bringing together proven leaders who have built and managed the largest brand consultancies and sales organizations in the industry,” said Greg Luckman, CEO and Co-Managing Director in a press release announcing the hire. “Jeff’s track record building cross-cultural agency teams that produce award-winning work for clients is a perfect fit for our international growth strategy. We are excited for Jeff to launch our full-service team in London with a relentless commitment to powerful ideas and impactful work.”
In addition to its geographic expansion, Allied Sports has rapidly evolved its lines of business to include brand marketing, partnership sales, sports content, and athlete marketing with diverse clients such as the NFLPA, Quest Diagnostics, New Zealand All Blacks, Miami Heat, game1, and OneTeam Partners.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Allied family at such a pivotal time for our industry,” said Ehrenkranz. “The quality of the team and its entrepreneurial spirit, combined with the deep resources and global reach of the broader company, provide an amazing foundation for us to expand the mission of Allied Sports as an ally for the industry.”