QMS Sport CEO Mark Pejic has outlined plans to target big brands as the business seeks to "further educate" agencies on its live sport assets
Pejic, who was former CEO of GroupM's MediaCom from 2003-2015 and IPG Mediabrands Melbourne chairman, now leads sport rights and signage division, joining last year.
QMS Sport currently operates multiple sporting rights assets across Australia, which are primarily made up of in-stadium LED signage. The business currently has deals with the likes of the Sydney Cricket Ground trust and the National Rugby League.
Speaking to AdNews, Pejic said the business, which was recently split out into its own separate sector following a restructure of the wider QMS operation, was now looking to develop its local client base as the business ramps up operations.
QMS Sport now has eyes for bigger clients such as Procter & Gamble, energy providers and FMCG business and other brands with strong name recognition. Pejic said that this will "unshamedly" lead the business to target brands already buying TV space during live sporting events.
He said prior to the purchase of the Out and About Marketing and Media, now QMS Sport, 70% of the business came through direct engagement with small to mid-level clients.
Pejic said that while there are exceptions to the rule, such as brands like KFC and McDonald's who are already heavily involved with in-stadium advertising, he believes other brands are missing out.
He said the high-frequency and mass brand exposure that comes with in-stadium advertising is becoming a strong offer for those brands looking to gain broader audience reach at a cost-effective rate.
"Audience retention during live sport its significantly high, couple that with its consistent ability to draw a large amount of eyeballs and you've got an asset that allows brands to tell a very specific piece of whatever it is that brand or that company wants to say in that environment," Pejic said.
"Now factor in that we are multi-channel, multi-device. You place a series of content on our screens or virtual assets, you're going to have the opportunity to get to all of Australia because we are not segmented in our feed."
Pejic is anticipating that within the next 12-18 months QMS Sport will have significantly grown its portfolio of big name brands.
"Take it just not only as sport but look at it from an audience aggregation point of view and say where can I get a large proportion of males that are highly engaged in an activity and that can execute a campaign very quickly. That's where we need to get to," he said.
According to Pejic when it comes down to educating media agencies there's no a simple answer in terms of what buying team stadium advertising falls under.
Whether the assets sit in a TV buying pot or this sits in an outdoor pot, Pejic said the deals need to be sold at the top end of the funnel, while understanding how it is executed at the bottom end remains up to the agencies themselves.
He believes, given his experience within agencies, he has a better understanding for the "time-poor" working conditions and says it's his team's responsibility to make the buying process as simple as possible.
"We respect that they're under the pump but that shouldn't be the reason that they don't consider us," he explains.
"We have to disseminate this information in a really user friendly and easy way giving them the ability to believe that this is a broadcast product and it can be measured as such," he said.
As part of his strategy to create a better dialogue between agencies, Pejic has built out a national sales team led by former MCN sales boss Shae Boney, that also includes ex-Mindshare, Ikon and Initiative employees.
"Our major clients have all returned for the season across our winter codes and will enjoy the advancements in technology QMS Sport have invested in to increase accountability and provide deeper insights into consumers viewing of sports coverage in Australia," Bonney said.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.