My Big Idea: experiences and sports agency Mongoose

‍Hi Chris! What's your elevator pitch?

Mongoose is a global sports, lifestyle and experiential agency that helps brands connect with people through partnerships, communications and experiences. We’ve recently brought Bray Leino Events into Mongoose, combining its 50 years of experience delivering live events, exhibitions and brand experiences with our expertise in sports partnerships and communications.

We now have more than 175 specialists delivering over 250 experiences a year across more than 30 countries. For clients, that means access to a broader range of expertise through one agency, with the ability to deliver everything from sponsorships to major international events.

Why does the market need it?

Having a fully integrated, end-to-end offering is key for our clients. Our partnerships team advises on and brokers sponsorships, our communications practice promotes those partnerships through PR, advertising and social, and the experiences team brings it all to life through events and activations.

There are plenty of events businesses and sports marketing agencies, but far fewer that combine the full range of expertise across all three areas. Clients increasingly want that joined-up approach, with one agency that can develop the partnership, communicate it, and create experiences that bring people closer to the brand.

Where is the business today?

We’ve grown from four people in 2015 to more than 175 specialists today. The recent merger with Bray Leino Events is the next stage of that growth, giving us greater scale and a broader range of capabilities.

The global lens and resources the merger allows us to bring for clients is particularly important. We already have teams in the US, Singapore and Riyadh, and the merger gives us additional production, creative and account management expertise to support that international work. We’re now delivering over 250 experiences annually across more than 30 countries, giving us a strong platform to grow with clients across different markets.

What made you think there was money in this?

My background was in professional tennis, working internationally, and I wanted to move into a broader range of sports and event marketing. At the same time, The MISSION Group plc had a gap in its offering around sport and events, so I pitched the idea of building an agency to fill it rather than acquiring an existing business….and Mongoose was born.

The plan was to use the group’s infrastructure and support while bringing the specialist expertise. We started in 2015 with four people, found our niche and built relationships with clients who liked the work we were doing. 

What's your biggest strength?

For me, it’s the client relationships we have across the integrated offering of Partnerships, Communications and Experiences. The combination of these relationships and our offering allows us to combine sponsorship expertise with the scale and detail of live events, trade shows and exhibitions, to really draw maximum value from a customers sports rights.

The Communications team, largely covering PR and social, is the glue that holds it all together. Bringing Bray Leino Events into Mongoose strengthens that combination further. We can develop partnerships, promote them and deliver the experiences around them, with the right team built around each brief. That gives clients flexibility and means we can support them across the full process.

What is the secret to making the business work?

For us, relationships are number one, two and three. More than 50% of our clients have been with us for five years or longer, which is a stat I’m very proud of. That kind of longevity comes from understanding clients, delivering for them and building trust over time.

As you grow an agency, you need to maintain that personal approach. Having more people and greater capabilities is useful, but you still need to look after clients and deliver quality work. We put time into those relationships, including meeting and hosting people in person. Ultimately, that consistency is what keeps clients coming back.

How do you market the company?

We’ve made marketing much more of a priority this year. We’ve invested in dedicated marketing resource, strengthened our in-house creative capabilities, and work with Engage PR, part of The Ingenuity Group, who help build our profile in the press and communicate our offering to new prospects.

We also spend a significant amount on entertaining clients and hosting people in person. Relationships are at the heart of our business, and that investment helps us build and maintain them.

We’ve reached a size where marketing needs to be a core part of how we grow the agency, rather than something that gets left until the end of the to-do list. It’s now a much more focused part of our approach.

What funding do you have? Is it enough?

Mongoose is part of The MISSION Group plc, which has supported the business from the beginning. The original idea was to build a sports and events agency within the group, with MISSION providing the infrastructure and support while we developed the expertise and client relationships.

That backing remains valuable, particularly as we expand internationally and bring new capabilities into the business.

Mongoose is also a very profitable business in its own right and is fully self-funded. Being part of a wider group gives us a strong foundation, while the business has developed its own position in the market and the financial strength to support its continued growth.

Tell us about the business model

The three divisions of Partnerships, Communications and Experiences each have completely different business models. What’s consistent is the need to get the financial ratios right.

The first priority is over-delivering ROI for clients, while keeping the staff-to-revenue ratio and net margin at the right level. Partnership marketing and brokering is a high-margin business, while Communications is far more resource-intensive. The balance across all three works very well for us.

You need to understand how each part of the agency operates financially and manage those differences properly. Ultimately, it comes down to delivering for clients while running the business efficiently.

How is technology influencing the way Mongoose delivers events?

Technology is helping us operate more efficiently, improve the event experience and make our programming more data-informed without losing the creative and community-focused elements that make live events work.

The sector is moving towards connected experiences, supported by better operations, deeper engagement and continuous learning between editions. That’s where we see the biggest long-term impact.

We have AI integrated across all processes within the business, and we are currently reviewing how we implement it to improve operational efficiencies. The aim is to make informed decisions that improve how we operate and what we deliver for clients.

What is the future vision?

The merger gives us a much stronger platform for global growth. We now have greater depth across production, creative and account management, allowing us to deliver more complex work internationally.

The opportunity is to deliver global sports conferences, events and activations, while continuing to grow across Partnerships, Communications and Experiences.

My mantra is a Formula 1 analogy; we want to be at the front of the grid rather just in the pack.. We want to deliver ambitious work for clients and build our international reputation by working on the biggest and best opportunities in our sector. Bringing the two businesses together has given us the capabilities to pursue that ambition.