Lagardère Plus acquires creative agency Brave

Caroline Paris, Creative Director; Ash Bendelow, Managing Director and Liam Fenton, Creative Director
who are part of the Brave team joining Lagardère Plus

Brave represents the creative cornerstone of the Lagardère Plus global mission to build unparalleled marketing platforms for global brand partners.

Lagardère Plus, the new global partnership marketing agency of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, has acquired London-based creative agency Brave. The acquisition expands Lagardère Plus’ capabilities and enhances the creative and consulting services it provides to current and prospective clients globally. Brave joins Lagardère Plus with an impressive track record in developing and delivering creative campaigns for global brands. Its services include advertising, content creation, and digital platform development.

Ash Bendelow, Managing Director, Brave said: “Following considerable growth over the past couple of years, we weren’t without approach. However, two things really stood out from our conversations with the Lagardère Sports and Entertainment team: an understanding of the value of the independent entrepreneurial culture hardwired into our business, and an aligned, progressive vision of the future of the industry. With global expertise and access to some of the world’s greatest sports and entertainment talent, events, media, and rights, we are excited by what we can collectively achieve on behalf of our brand partners. There are few, if any, who can genuinely offer such a compelling proposition that tailors to the shifting nature of how consumers choose to engage with brands and content.”

Bendelow will continue to lead Brave and work closely with Tim Frith, Head of Consulting in the UK for Lagardère Plus and Carl Woodman, Managing Director of Lagardère Sports. He will also work with the various international structures of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment and continue to build the Brave brand outside of the UK, with the Lagardère Plus US team scheduled to be the first to support recent client wins including Mattel.

Andrew N. Pierce, Global President, Lagardère Plus said: “As we look to expand our capabilities to provide brands with complete services around their partnership marketing efforts, adding quality creative resources was a top priority and one we think makes Brave an ideal match. They are an extremely talented team with a proven track record of doing exceptional work for their clients, and we think they will be a perfect fit both for Lagardère Plus and for global opportunities across Lagardère Sports and Entertainment.”

Tim Frith, Head of UK Consulting, Lagardère Plus said: “We are really excited to bring Brave into the family as they will further strengthen our offering and add significant strategic, creative and digital capabilities to Plus – both here in the UK and across our global markets. We have already experienced some big wins together and we are looking forward to continuing to grow the business in the UK, and help new and existing clients put brand partnerships at the core of their marketing strategies.”

Lagardère Plus moves beyond Lagardère Sports and Entertainment’s long-established strength in the worlds of sports and entertainment, connecting clients to partnership opportunities of all kinds. With established offices in Berlin, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong London, Manchester, Munich, New York, Paris, Singapore, Shanghai, and Tokyo, Lagardère Plus comes to market with a roster of blue-chip clients who are highly active in the partnership marketing space, including BMW, Bridgestone, Citibank, Danone, EA Sports, Epson, Hyundai, Lacoste, MetLife, MetroPCS, Veuve Clicquot, and ZTE.

About Lagardère Plus

Lagardère Plus is a global agency with a mission to transform traditional brand sponsorships into highly inventive and impactful marketing platforms. Plus has the expertise, experience and privileged access of a global leader in sports, entertainment, media and lifestyle. We understand brands, fans and properties – and the dynamics between them – better than anyone. Whether your business is new to partnership marketing or a highly-experienced player, we hope to take you somewhere new. Lagardère Plus is part of Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, a company with more than 1,700 employees worldwide and 50 years of experience. For more information, check us out at www.lagardere-plus.com, or on Instagram (lagardere_plus) and Twitter (@Lagardere_Plus).

About Brave

Brave is a creative agency that de-risks brave commercial decision-making by being creatively courageous, strategically forensic, digitally progressive, data smart and behaviour-driven. With an entrepreneurial spirit, Brave creates, crafts and champions brave ideas that win people’s hearts, inspire stories and innovations to blow minds and bring opportunities with the power to change lives.  

Brave creates advertising and digital experiences for a diverse set of global and local clients. The client roster includes Panasonic, Amazon, HP, Greenpeace, ThinkwithGoogle, Superdrug, John Frieda, Mattel, Feel Unique, Hyperoptic and Uber amongst others.

Brave’s team of industry experts have taken the stage at prestigious events all over the world, including the likes of Cannes Lions, Advertising Week, IAB Engage, Eurobest and Dubai Lynx.

• brave.co.uk/