Richie Butterworth has joined M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment as head of sponsorship, effective immediately.
In his new role, M&C Saatchi explained, Butterworth will take ownership of clients that span sport and entertainment sponsorship, working in close partnership with Krystyna Frassetto, who joined the business in early 2020 as head of communications.
Joining from TLA Worldwide, Butterworth most recently acted as general manager, Sydney, leading sponsorship and sports marketing programs for brands such as Woolworths and Ampol.
His experience in sponsorship, sports marketing, and experiential activation has been gained having spent the past 16 years working across agency, rights holder, and brand marketing roles that have incorporated sponsorships and campaigns across Olympic Games, World Cups, and Australia’s leading sporting codes.
“It has never been more important for brands to connect with consumers’ passions to allow them to create and maintain authentic relationships with their customers,” Butterworth said in a statement.
“Sport and entertainment are at the heart of these passions. I’m very excited to be joining such an iconic agency and look forward to working closely with our clients to achieve their business objectives by delivering strategies and campaigns that connect them with their consumers through their passions.”
Steve Martin, global CEO of M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment, said Butterworth’s appointment couldn’t come at a more relevant time for the company’s Australian business.
“Over the past few months our Australian team has gone from strength-to-strength, gaining real momentum in Q4 and adapting to what will be the ‘new normal’ in sports marketing,” Martin said. “Bringing Richie’s talent and experience on board will only build on this and I am personally looking forward to seeing what’s to come.”
Last year, M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment Australia was the first of the businesses’ global markets to launch its new lifestyle marketing division, M&C Saatchi FABRIC.
The division came in response to increased demand from brands looking to connect with audiences in the emerging ‘hyper-passions’ era, including the rapid evolution of Australians’ passion points that were traditionally considered hobbies, including fashion, food, beauty, health and wellbeing.
M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment is a communications agency that delivers creative, experiential, media relations, influencer engagement and social.
In Australia, M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment clients include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Optus, Woolworths, JUST Water, Sonos and SMEG. Globally, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment has offices across the world in cities including London, New York, LA, Berlin and Johannesburg, with clients such as Heineken, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Reebok and Red Bull.
