[Wednesday, March 5, 2025] Gemba, the independent marketing agency advising brands and rights holders in sport and entertainment, has today announced an increased investment in its sponsorship services.
The move includes the hiring of additional staff and the development of new fan focused data tools to enhance the sophistication of sponsorship. The division will incorporate Gemba’s leading fair market sponsorship valuation solution, Turnstile.
Turnstile has evaluated over $5 billion USD of deals and transformed how sponsorship is measured since its launch in 2018. Its holistic and independent valuation methodology helps brands and rights holders transact more efficiently, transparently, and sustainably.
Under Gemba’s new structure, Rob Mills will move from his CEO role for the Tenka Group to assume the position of Global CEO for Gemba. Andrew Condon and Claire Kelly will lead Gemba’s Asia Pacific and European & Middle East regions, respectively. The Turnstile teams based in London, New York, Sydney, and Munich will report to Kelly.
Mills explained that Gemba’s independence and deep understanding of both buyers’ and sellers’ needs uniquely position the company to add value to the sponsorship transaction process.
“Gemba’s approach is to identify the best property for a brand based on fan insights and the client’s objectives. Then, we present the opportunity to a rights holder without expectation of commission. This has resulted in millions of dollars remaining with rights holders, instead of being taken as commissions. We believe in this model because it provides the transparency and independent advice that we know clients are craving,” said Mills.
Gemba currently works with major brands in the sports and entertainment industries, including Decathlon, Coca-Cola, Toyota, Diageo, HSBC, Ralph Lauren, and Google. The company also advises and provides valuations to major rights holders, including the ICC, Arsenal FC, the WTA, City Football Group, AC Milan, the Australian Grand Prix Cooperation, and Real Madrid. The company’s Sponsorship division is now fully operational and Gemba is actively recruiting for a Head of Sponsorship.
