OVG's Narrative Partners is now OVG Global Partnerships.
Narrative Partners has officially rebranded themselves as OVG Global Partnerships.
“I have spent many years on the brand side of the corporate world helping to build billion-dollar brands, and one attribute is consistent to every successful brand – simplicity.” said Dan Griffis, president of OVG Global Partnerships, in a statement.
“Tim [Leiweke] and Irving [Azoff] have built an incredible amount of equity already in the OVG brand and it makes perfect sense to rebrand at this time so all efforts are unified toward our common goal.”
In addition to the rebranding effort, OVG Global Partnerships is expanding their leadership team with the addition of sports and entertainment industry leaders, Ryan Brach and Evan Levine.
Brach will serve as head of global partnerships; Levine will serve as VP of global partnerships. Brach and Levine join OVG Global Partnerships following long careers across the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Soccer (MLS), National Hockey League (NHL) and live entertainment.
The news comes as OVG Global Partnerships is experiencing significant growth both internally and in recent deals across a broad range of industries, including sports, entertainment, the arts, tech and hospitality including recent partnership deals for The Broad Museum, Feld Entertainment, sbe, Atom Tickets, the Forum in Los Angeles and OVG’s Arena Alliance. OVG Global Partnerships is also currently brokering the naming rights for multiple arenas in North America.
“Every mentor I have had in my career has told me that the most important resource and reason for a company’s success is hiring and retaining good people,” said Griffis. “Bringing on leadership talent like Ryan and Evan represents another important step in our evolution. We will continue to build the team with exceptionally talented and creative marketing and sales professionals who can leverage their storytelling skills to align brands with world class sports and entertainment properties.”
“As expected, OVG Global Partnerships has quickly established itself as a leader in this space with the breadth of deals they have executed on behalf of its clients and the Arena Alliance,” added Tim Leiweke, OVG CEO., in the statement. “As OVG grows, so will OVG Global Partnerships as the sales and marketing arm of the company. The future is bright. With the addition of Ryan and Evan, we will be even better positioned to partner with professional teams to help them sell their most valuable inventory such as naming rights and kit sponsorships in MLS, NBA Jersey patches, etc.”
“OVG Global Partnerships has created something unprecedented in our business with a team whose talents and relationships span such a wide array of industries,” said Brach in the statement. “It’s an honor to join the group and leverage my background to help do what OVG Global Partnerships does best... helping our partners simplify complex problems with unique and creative solutions.”
“I am excited to join forces with Ryan to leverage our experience at the local, national and global level of professional sports and live entertainment to foster meaningful relationships between brands and OVG’s global properties and our 3rd party clients,” said Levine in the satement. “Our leadership team is comprised of over 50 years of collective experience from the league, team and brand side of the equation. Our point of differentiation is that we have both purchased and brokered large-scale strategic partnerships, providing a holistic view for our clients.”
Leading up to his time with OVG, Brach has served as SVP of partnership marketing and media sales for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment since 2012. Brach led the brand partnership team for sales and activation for the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth, Pepsi Center and Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Before his tenure at Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Brach served as SVP across partnerships, licensing, business development and broadcasting during the expansion phase of the Portland Timbers of MLS and is credited with leading the corporate partnership team to record-setting revenues for the league at that time.
Levine, who will open the OVG Global Partnerships New York office later this month, previously served as Senior Director of Business Development for Soccer United Marketing (SUM), focused on the commercial development and monetization for the MLS, U.S. Soccer, the Mexican National Team and the properties of CONCACAF. During his time at SUM, Levine executed partnerships with TAG Heuer, State Farm, Constellation Brands, as well as secured Target as the presenting partner for the league's marquee event, MLS All-Star. Prior to joining SUM, Levine was the Vice President of Business Development for Roc Nation where he brokered partnerships for the various business units under Jay Z’s sports and live entertainment company.
For Levine, this is an exciting opportunity to reunite with longtime friend and former colleague at the NBA, Amy Gaskin, VP, head of partnership activation for OVG Global Partnerships. In 2014, Levine and Gaskin collaborated on the groundbreaking partnership with JPMorgan Chase for Beyonce & Jay-Z’s On The Run tour. Gaskin and her team currently manage all partnership marketing and activation for OVG Global Partnership clients, most notably the recent large-scale Walmart/Arena Alliance partnership.
The OVG Arena Alliance is comprised of 26 of the busiest arenas in North America and home to over 50 major professional sports teams.
Oak View Group was founded in 2015 by Tim Lieweke and Irving Azoff to be a positive disruption in sports and entertainment and currently has offices in Los Angeles and New York. OVG’s business divisions include OVG Business Development, OVG Global Partnerships, OVG Media and Conferences, Prevent Advisors and the Arena Alliance.