What We Do

Forge is a sports sponsorship & event marketing agency that serves corporate clients by making sponsorship work for them – from both a financial and performance perspective.
Forge’s value proposition is simple:

  • Make sure you are in the right deals for the right reasons at the right price
  • Save you money by negotiating better deals – either lower price OR fewer assets. Most times, both.
  • Create activation programs that work, and realistic for you to execute, and are measurable against the original sponsorship goals.

Forge works for corporate clients. We do not sell anything, we buy.
We don't upsell, we maximize.

Our services are broken into main areas:  

CONSULTING

Planning & Negotiation

We apply 35+ years of sponsorship experience to your business to determine if your programs are providing maximum return, how to make them better and how to activate to your target more efficiently and effectively.

Forge helps you construct, or remodel, your sponsorship programs so that they do what they are supposed to, at the price they should cost.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

Relationship Oversight & Contract Execution

Not only do we set up the deals, but we ensure you get EVERYTHING you pay for and more. We hammer properties to deliver above and beyond for our clients. All while letting you enjoy the fun stuff.

We have experience with most any property you are considering or should consider. Let’s talk more about what we could do for you.

EVENT MARKETING

Development & Activation

We run incredibly efficient event marketing programs, and will put our expertise up against anyone out there. We keep the expenses low, employ creative solutions, measure everything that’s measurable and keep our eye on the details every step of the way.

Good event marketing starts with good planning and a solid budget. We pride ourselves on exceptional delivery of both.

Forge's approach is as straight forward as it gets.

We have a job to do, which is make our clients programs work, and make our client partners look good. We don’t always tell clients what they want to hear, but rather what they need to hear. We have seen every possible scenario as to why a company or manager wants sponsorship, and we can therefore, from experience, tell you the different scenarios of what the outcome can be. Forge will save you money – it is that simple.

THREE GUARANTEES CLIENTS GET FROM FORGE:

Negotiation Expertise

We have negotiated thousands of deals worth hundreds of millions. We have a process and approach that serves our clients well, and they win in the end.

Straight Talk

We deliver straight, correct counsel in a respectful but decisive way.

 

Hard Work

We really like the business of sports sponsorship, and we keep up on it more than anyone. We work hard to make things work like they should.

  • Forge has played a pivotal role in the STP brand’s return to racing through their in-depth understanding of the motorsports landscape and strategic approach to sponsorship marketing. They are able to leverage long standing relationships within the motorsports community to consistently deliver added value time and time again. Excellence is in their DNA and maximizing our assets across the marketing mix is always a top priority.
    Jamie Kistner, Brand Director, STP
  • After knowing and working with the partners of Forge for over fifteen years, I am quick to recommend them for their ability to develop or remodel a sponsorship portfolio to align with corporate objectives. They have created and negotiated innovative sponsorship deals with benefits and fee structures that clearly communicate the marketing metrics of the sponsor and reward the property for achieving partnership success. Forge excels at engaging and building relationships with local market managers while implementing national strategies at the local level.
    Ann H. Barker, Former Sponsorship Director
    AT&T Wireless and Director- Motorsports & Licensing, ChevronTexaco
  • Forge’s negotiation of our Houston Rockets team sponsorship was invaluable. Not only did they save us money, they helped us get inventory that we didn’t even know to be asking for. When Negotiating and Activating local deals, Forge knows the whats, whens, whys and hows, to make sponsorships really work for our business.
    David Bradshaw, Chief Information and Marketing Office, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
  • Forge has provided much needed subject matter expertise on the complex auto racing industry, when our brands were new to the Sponsorship business. They helped us identify the best possible relationship for us, optimize that investment, and maximize our assets, all while working with a limited budget, and complex ownership structure. We have found Forge to be an invaluable resource for Sponsorship Consultation and Sports Marketing advice.
    Rosanne Zusman, Chief Marketing Officer, Wyndham Hotel Group
  • Without Forge's understanding of not only the current sports marketing landscape, but also their innovative approach and expertise in managing the relationship between the sponsor and our premiere racing facilities, there is no way our team would have accomplished as much as we have. Forge ensures the synergy between all parties is flawless and everything possible is being done to leverage the assets and relationships. Partnering with Forge to deliver on all aspects of the sponsorship, from negotiation to execution, has been a fantastic experience. We are continuously challenged by Forge and their revolutionary sponsorship ideas, and we look forward to working with them for many more racing seasons.
    Jennifer Staton, Partnership Marketing Director, International Speedway Corporation

Six Areas Of Particular Expertise

...grown from our experience.

OPTIMIZING EXISTING SPONSORSHIP DEALS

Many companies have significant sponsorship deals that sit relatively stagnant – and become a budget suck. We know how to supercharge those existing deals and get more bang for your already spent buck.

 

LOCAL MARKETING

Crafting a national  strategy that allows local markets to retain ownership of their own deals is an elusive goal. But we know how to do it with efficiency and excellence. With more than 65 markets all wanting to do “their own thing”, we’ve negotiated and managed so many team deals (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA), you’d think our clients had one national program instead of dozens of local ones.

ATHLETE PARTNERSHIPS

Athlete relationships can be tricky to navigate, with all of the rules and regulations between specific rights that athletes have, and the property that they work for.  Forge has had the pleasure of having negotiated and managed relationships for our clients with dozens of the best athletes in our lifetimes.  And their agents too.

 

AUTO RACING

Whether it’s NASCAR, NHRA or World of Outlaws, we have been in racing  longer than most traditional Sports Marketing agencies. We understand the environment from a marketing standpoint, not just a motorsports standpoint – an important distinction. We have some very strong opinions on what works where, what gets lost, and where the opportunities are.

GOLF

Since 2003, we have managed four official PGA TOUR sponsor deals, as well as negotiated and been onsite at hundreds of events. We know what tournaments to go to, where to be located on-site and what it should cost. Oh, and we know what to do once we’re there.

 

Retail

We understand how to take a sponsorship program and leverage it at retail. Sports Marketing is about utilizing the passion that people have for their favorite team, athlete or event, and getting consumers to DO something because of that passion. From a CPG standpoint, what better thing to DO than go to a store and BUY something? Whether it’s driving traffic or purchase, Forge knows how to turn that love into spending money.

We’ve Worked With

Leadership

Forge was started nine years ago by big agency refugees who wanted to practice sponsorship marketing without the hassles and cost/overhead that the big agencies bring to the table. We like the work, and are all about the work. No politics included. And as “students of the game” of sponsorship we know what has worked for both our clients as well as the industry as a whole, and as importantly, what has not worked.

  • Forge has played a pivotal role in the STP brand’s return to racing through their in-depth understanding of the motorsports landscape and strategic approach to sponsorship marketing. They are able to leverage long standing relationships within the motorsports community to consistently deliver added value time and time again. Excellence is in their DNA and maximizing our assets across the marketing mix is always a top priority.
    Jamie Kistner, Brand Director, STP
  • After knowing and working with the partners of Forge for over fifteen years, I am quick to recommend them for their ability to develop or remodel a sponsorship portfolio to align with corporate objectives. They have created and negotiated innovative sponsorship deals with benefits and fee structures that clearly communicate the marketing metrics of the sponsor and reward the property for achieving partnership success. Forge excels at engaging and building relationships with local market managers while implementing national strategies at the local level.
    Ann H. Barker, Former Sponsorship Director
    AT&T Wireless and Director- Motorsports & Licensing, ChevronTexaco
  • Forge’s negotiation of our Houston Rockets team sponsorship was invaluable. Not only did they save us money, they helped us get inventory that we didn’t even know to be asking for. When Negotiating and Activating local deals, Forge knows the whats, whens, whys and hows, to make sponsorships really work for our business.
    David Bradshaw, Chief Information and Marketing Office, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System
  • Forge has provided much needed subject matter expertise on the complex auto racing industry, when our brands were new to the Sponsorship business. They helped us identify the best possible relationship for us, optimize that investment, and maximize our assets, all while working with a limited budget, and complex ownership structure. We have found Forge to be an invaluable resource for Sponsorship Consultation and Sports Marketing advice.
    Rosanne Zusman, Chief Marketing Officer, Wyndham Hotel Group
  • Without Forge's understanding of not only the current sports marketing landscape, but also their innovative approach and expertise in managing the relationship between the sponsor and our premiere racing facilities, there is no way our team would have accomplished as much as we have. Forge ensures the synergy between all parties is flawless and everything possible is being done to leverage the assets and relationships. Partnering with Forge to deliver on all aspects of the sponsorship, from negotiation to execution, has been a fantastic experience. We are continuously challenged by Forge and their revolutionary sponsorship ideas, and we look forward to working with them for many more racing seasons.
    Jennifer Staton, Partnership Marketing Director, International Speedway Corporation