REPUCOM

In 2004, a fundamental shift was happening in sports marketing. Decisions once driven by emotion were starting to yield to data-driven insights. Seizing this moment, Paul Smith founded REPUCOM in Sydney, Australia, to answer a critical question for brands: what is our sponsorship truly worth? The company specialized in measuring and valuing sports sponsorships, moving beyond simple “logo counting” to provide a more sophisticated view of return on investment. REPUCOM developed technologies to monitor and analyze brand exposure across media, providing analytics for top-tier rights holders, brands, and broadcasters. The company grew from its Australian roots into a global force in sports intelligence. A key moment in its expansion occurred in 2016 when the global measurement and data analytics giant, Nielsen, saw the immense value in what REPUCOM had built. With the global sports sponsorship market nearly doubling to $60 billion since 2010, Nielsen acquired REPUCOM to become the premier provider of sports analytics worldwide. The acquisition, valued at around US$195 million, validated REPUCOM's business model and marked a turning point for the sports marketing economy, cementing data as the new currency of sports.