NEW YORK, May 24—A year after creating a specialized entertainment public relations group, Ketchum has added another new unit, this one focused on sports and sponsorship. The Ketchum Sports Network will be dedicated to helping clients gain the maximum value from their sponsorship marketing dollars and will be headed by Ann Wool, who joins the firm from Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, where she was executive VP and deputy director of sponsorship marketing.

As senior VP and director of the new group, Wool will split her time between the New York and Atlanta offices, reporting to Ketchum’s recently appointed global brand marketing practice director, Barri Rafferty. At the same time, the firm is adding sports marketing expertise in London, where it recently hired former adidas global public relations manager Steve Martin to head its sport marketing division.

“Ketchum is currently a leader in sports marketing with clients such as FedEx, Nokia, Wendy’s, Cingular, Frito-Lay and Pfizer, “ said Barri Rafferty.  “Our goal is to expand our leadership in this area to better meet the needs of our global clients.”  

In 2000, Ketchum supported client sponsorships of the International Olympic Committee; the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney; the Super Bowl, Nokia Sugar Bowl and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl; the PGA, NASCAR, and the Triple Crown.
“The core value of sponsorship marketing is the chance to build a relationship between brands and target audiences through an emotional connection with a sport or event,” says Wool. “KSN’s mission is to develop programs that will bring a client’s sports sponsorship to life in a meaningful and memorable way.”