AGENCY OF THE YEAR – UNDER 80 EMPLOYEES

Aurora

Aurora Media Worldwide is a broadcast media agency, specialising in the development and production of exhilarating content for global events across sport, action and entertainment.
Combining live coverage, shoulder programming and data insights with cutting-edge, post-produced content, we create storytelling that people care about. Turning viewers into believers, fans into fanatics, and fleeting moments into powerful memories.
As the agency for sustainable, future-first global content we cover projects around the world, producing compelling live and non-live coverage across every platform that matters to fans. We disrupt the storytelling status quo with a relentless pioneering spirit cementing our position as a market leader in sports & entertainment.
We’re privileged to work alongside a collection of the most dynamic and premium rights holders, broadcasters, platforms and brands across the world. We work with our partners to develop compelling live and non-live coverage designed to engage their diverse fan bases and audiences globally.

Cake

Cake is a creative agency specialising in sport, entertainment and culture.

Our sports work spans everything from talent packed integrated campaigns, to cutting edge experiences and unique cultural collabs for businesses like JD Sports, EE, Major League Baseball, PUMA, Arsenal and BT.

Everything we do is about helping brands get closer to people through the things that actually matter to them. Sport, music and entertainment is in our DNA. It’s what keeps us creative, connected to culture and delivering consistently bold work for our clients.

We deliver services across three disciplines – strategy, creative studio, and account management incorporating specialists across communications, social, influencer & culture marketing, partnership and sponsorship activation, live & digital experience and production.

Our work is among some of the most exciting and meaningful in the industry, but most importantly, it’s work that works. At the heart of every project is a commitment to delivering on our clients’ objectives: creating conversation and driving action in their desired audiences.
We’ve transformed the famous Wembley turf into the world’s first 5G AR Foosball Tournament for EE, introduced the world to MLB’s newest baseball format, and helped disabled footballers remain connected and active following lockdown for The FA.

Cravens

This is the story of how the UK’s longest established independent advertising agency has put sport and a distinctive agency proposition at the heart of its growth Our portfolio in sport was impressive and word of mouth recommendation was reflective of the agency’s quality of work and consistency of delivery However we lacked a distinctive point of view We found our answer in a proposition built on purpose A proposition that would inspire our colleagues, clients and commercial bottom line We call it ‘Giving Life To Purpose ’ This focus enables us to meaningfully engage with senior stakeholders to provide a framework for decision making From investment in infrastructure, to alignment of youth and elite performance strategies, to connecting with fans, the community and sponsors, we help sports organisations to ‘say and do’ things on purpose Giving Life To Purpose has been transformative in the success of our agency and clients And sport has been at the heart of this growth Launching brand new electric motorbike sports and kicking off sell-out world cups going from 15% of our business in 2020 to 55% in 2022, while more than doubling our income at the same time.

Ear to the Ground

Ear to the Ground is a global creative agency, proudly independent, built on the founding principle of listening.

Fan Intelligence® is how the agency is able to listen better than anyone else. A global network of 12,000+ culturally-connected fans in sports, esports and gaming help clients understand their audiences and make work that resonates culturally.

2022 set a new benchmark in the agency’s sustained growth. Coca-Cola joined the roster as the third global pillar client, alongside Sony PlayStation and New Balance.

Clients enjoyed their best results to date as the unique Fan Intelligence® model proved its value in a constantly changing world.
A new US office was opened after a major investment in global talent; while creatively, a growing team led on best-in-class campaigns featuring world class athletes.
By listening to fans, clients and colleagues, Ear to the Ground have defied a challenging business environment, continuing to grow and evolve into a major player in the sports marketing industry.

MatchFit

We are MatchFit, an independent and award-winning sports PR and sponsorship agency.

Inspired by a love of sport, and founded on world-class experience, our unique model enables work that is MatchFit, delivered by people who are MatchFit, in a way that is MatchFit for the modern age.

Spanning brands, rights-holders and talent, we are proud to work with some of the most exciting organisations and names in sport, crafting their story, then exploding it across earned and owned media.

We are proud of our work showcasing the cultural and commercial impact of sport, from the grassroots through to the elite. We love helping our clients tell the stories that matters most to them and their communities.

Our people bring diverse experience from the worlds of sport, sponsorship and consumer PR, as well as in-house clubs and journalism. All are united by a passion for sport and fuelled by a culture that makes them truly MatchFit.

The last 12 months have been transformative, as we achieved record levels of revenue and headcount growth, with strong client retention alongside elite new business wins. And 2022 is set to be even bigger still.

MATTA

In 2021/22 at MATTA, we wanted to work harder on becoming more purposeful in all that we do, step-changing the culture and sharpening the focus of the agency on a number of levels. We feel we are achieving this. We feel good about this – and our clients & team do too.

Even more vociferously we believe that sport, fitness and wellbeing matter – we believe they make the world happier and healthier, and our purpose is to make them matter to more people, more often. These three things have become even more central to our whole ethos as an agency – changing the type of work we pitch for, and the culture in which we deliver the work.
Becoming more purpose-led has undoubtedly resulted in client satisfaction, agency growth & profitability for MATTA in 2021/22. We look ahead with the same optimism we had in 2015 when MATTA’s doors first opened for business, but now with even more experience, more valued relationships and more focus on what we want MATTA to mean consistently. Never has it felt more real to us today, that whatever we do, it does have to matter.