User:Jkadis/Velocity

Velocity Sports & Entertainment is one of the world's largest lifestyle marketing agencies. It is part of Aegis Media and therefore a wholly owned subsidiary of Aegis Group plc.

General Information
Spun off from Clarion Marketing & Communications in April 1999, Velocity Sports & Entertainment was the inspiration of several members of that firm who retained clients FedEx and IBM upon their departure. A short time later, Velocity acquired The Event Company, and later, Sponsorship Research International (SRi) (the leading sponsorship research agency) which reinforced its overall capabilities and fueled its impressive initial growth.

Before Velocity
1980: Velocity principals Alex Nieroth and Bob Wilhelmy are partners at Connecticut Consulting Group (CCG), a premier strategic consulting agency.

1986: Velocity principal Mike Reisman is part of the sports and entertainment marketing empire built by Don Ohlmeyer. As part of Ohlmeyer Communications, Reisman lands an account with IBM to manage its Major League Baseball sponsorship. 1989: DMB&B Advertising buys CCG and merges it with Ted Colangelo Associates to create a new marketing communications agency dubbed Clarion Marketing and Communications.

1990: Ohlmeyer Communications is sold to Young & Rubicam. The sale includes the transfer of the IBM business.

1992: At Clarion Marketing and Communications, Nieroth steps forward to create ClarionPerformance Properties (CPP), the company's sports and entertainment marketing division.

Reisman and several others leave Y&R to create International Sports & Entertainment Strategies (ISES). Reisman and his partners bring along several accounts including IBM and Shell, and quickly add the FedEx account to their roster.

1993: Velocity Principal Dave Grant leaves the National Basketball Association and joins Nieroth and Wilhelmy at Clarion.

1995: Clarion Marketing and Communications purchases Reisman's ISES along with its IBM, Shell and FedEx accounts.

Early Years
1999: Sensing the time is right for a specialized sponsorship agency, the group finalizes arrangements with Clarion to spin out a new independent firm, and Velocity Sports & Entertainment is born.

2000: Velocity makes its first acquisition, purchasing The Event Company and expanding into the meeting planning business. They also open an office in Washington, D.C.

2001: Velocity enters the PROMO 100 at #99. Velocity's FedEx/NFL Air & Ground promotional campaign is named by the PMA as one of the top three most effective long-term promotions in the industry.

2002: Velocity consolidates its three Westport offices into one location in Wilton, CT. In addition, Harlan Stone, one of the leading executives in the sports/entertainment marketing industry, joined the agency. Stone was CEO of Momentum Worldwide, a division of McCann-Erickson World Group, one of the world's largest marketing communications companies.

Velocity jumps to number 19 on the PROMO 100 list and becomes the highest ranking sponsorship agency on the list.

Velocity reengages Gillette as a client, having served them for eight years when part of Clarion.

The FedEx/NFL Air & Ground was again named by the PMA as one of the industry's most effective long-term promotional campaigns. The campaign also won a Bronze GLOBE award in a worldwide competition for most effective long-term promotion of the year.

2003: Velocity expands its presence to Europe with the opening of a London based office. New client wins in 2003 included Lilly Icos (Cialis), The Home Depot, Citizens Bank and ConAgra Foods.

Velocity Alliances group launched in support of Little League and Activision clients.

The Aegis Era
2004: Velocity joins forces with Aegis. Announces intention to create the leading global sports and entertainment event marketing capability in the industry.

Velocity jumps to No. 6 (from No. 25 ) in the PROMO 100, largely due to strong revenue growth over two years and high marks for its campaign work.

2005: Due to its rapid growth, Velocity moves its corporate headquarters to larger offices in Norwalk, CT.

2006: Velocity selected by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. to be their sponsorship agency for the company's expansion into the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and the Busch Series.

Velocity opens its Charlotte, NC office as it continues its aggressive expansion of NASCAR business.

2007: Velocity works with FedEx to launch the FedExCup PGA TOUR sponsorship program, the most significant sponsorship in the history of golf.

2009: Velocity named Sports Marketing Agency of the Year by PROMO Magazine, the promotion industry's leading publication.