• by Larissa Faw , May 5, 2015

This year, Horizon's research uncovered that people are 50% more likely to consider themselves heavily interested in cooking and restaurants versus sport.

This emerging "foodie" culture is leading Horizon to partner its Scouts Sports and Entertainment practice with the culinary and lifestyle agency The Connect Group.

Founded in 2008, The Connect Group's concentrates on talent representation, corporate consulting, event management and licensing within the food and beverage industry.

These two divisions will work together to introduce culinary-focused campaigns. Office space will be made available for The Connect Group at Horizon Media's New York office as part of the partnership agreement.

This strategic alliance will inform Scout’s media planning and activation with expertise in the food and beverage space. At the same time, The Connect Group will work with Scout to navigate prospects in the culinary category.

Together, this alignment is designed to provide Horizon clients with "unparalleled expertise, knowledge and access within the culinary space," the agency stated.

"As the food and drink space continues to evolve into one of the more powerful marketing platforms, having a partner like Scout with its vast experience, supported by the resources of Horizon Media, undoubtedly allows The Connect Group’s offerings to reach a wider audience and further highlight the opportunities within the food and drink industry for marketers," says Lonny Sweet, CEO of The Connect Group.

Also, said Sweet, the partnership "will allow Scout to offer their existing and prospective clients a pathway into the explosive food and drink culture.”

This deal expands the focus for Horizon's Sports and Entertainment practice. Passion for sports skews male, whereas food maintains a broad appeal across age groups and gender, reports Horizon research. In addition, Horizon finds that food is more likely to spark a conversation, with people more likely to discuss restaurants (56%) than music (42%), or even movies (46%).

Food's popularity spans across race, ethnicity and age.

When asked to rank their passion levels compared to sports, music and TV shows, more than 72% of millennials and 81% of Hispanics ranked cooking food as something they had an above-average interest in, compared to 49% Millennials and 59% Hispanics for college or professional sports. 

“We look forward to providing our clients with a new avenue to reach their audiences,” said Michael A. Neuman, managing partner of Scout Sports and Entertainment. “The Connect Group has unmatched expertise in food-focused marketing outreach, and I am excited to tap into this knowledge source as we plan and activate campaigns for blue-chip brands.”