• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 8, 2011

WPP's MediaCom Worldwide has launched a new global sports division, MediaCom SPORT.

The shop has hired IMG veteran Marcus John to run the new unit as global head of sports.

Given the appeal of sports to huge numbers of consumers, many agencies are active in sports marketing, event and promotional activities, either through formalized units or on a client-need basis.

In fact, MediaCom's parent GroupM has a unit called Entertainment Sports Partnerships. Just last week, it promoted Bryce Townsend to North American CEO, succeeding Greg Luckman, who left to join CAA Sports. John will work closely with ESP, the shop said.

Other agencies are in the space as well. At the beginning of the year, Horizon Media formed a new sports marketing and events division, and Interpublic has operated Octagon, the sports and entertainment marketing unit, for years.

MediaCom said its new sports practice would offer four key areas of services: strategic advice, rights negotiation, rights activation and measurement. Marcus will work with MediaCom's global account directors to manage the relationship with key sporting bodies and to provide clients with access to opportunities in the space.

Prior to joining MediaCom, John spent 10 years at IMG, most recently as senior vice president and managing director IMG Consulting Asia/ Pacific. In addition to negotiating a number of deals related to the Beijing Olympics, John has advised a wide range of clients over the past decade, including Visa, GE, Phillips, Hyundai and Johnson & Johnson.

"Both consumers and clients are increasingly interested in what sports can deliver," stated MediaCom global CEO Stephen Allan. The shop has handled sports-related projects at the local and regional levels up till now. But Allan says clients "now require a more global and deeper understanding of the sports arena," given the bigger investments being made in the space and the greater focus on ROI by clients.