WPP Sells Sponsorship Analyst IEG to Engine Shop

In the US, WPP's GroupM has sold its sponsorship valuation, research and measurement business IEG to sports and entertainment marketing agency Engine Shop. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Founded in 1982, and acquired by GroupM in 2006, IEG provides metrics which allow companies to plan and asses their participation in sports, arts, entertainment and related fields. In addition, its IEG Sponsorship Conference has been an annual fixture on the industry calendar for 35 years. Under the new deal, IEG will operate as an autonomous affiliate of Engine Shop and continue to be headquartered in Chicago. Future plans include a complete 'reimagination' of IEG's content and event platforms, and a new set of research and valuation services.

Engine Shop CEO Brian Gordon (pictured) comments: 'We are striving to build Engine Shop into the model, global engagement marketing agency. IEG's proprietary services and events have made brands smarter for more than three decades, and we are going to build on that with more tools, platforms and bold thinking to serve the industry at a time when it craves well-synthesized data to make the best, most effective decisions'.

Web sites: www.engineshopagency.com and www.sponsorship.com .