By Gary Symons
TLL Editor in Chief
Authentic Brands Group has entered into a partnership with Flywheel that will have major implications for dozens of major brands.
Flywheel, a division of Omnicom Integrated Media, is a leader in ecommerce and technology solutions.
The company has just announced a strategic partnership with Authentic Brands Group (ABG). The deal will see Flywheel engaged to support the accelerated growth of Authentic’s portfolio across global digital marketplaces through advanced retail media and advertising via Flywheel’s global commerce capabilities.
ABG is, of course, one of the largest brand and licensing companies in the world, owning dozens of top brands in the categories of sports, media, entertainment, and lifestyle.
Authentic’s portfolio spans more than 50 brands and reaches nearly one billion social media followers worldwide. ABG also works with more than 1,700 licensing partners across 150 countries, so this major change in its marketing and retail strategy will impact on a vast number of licensees, licensors, and their agencies.
In total, Authentic’s brand generate more than $36 billion in annual retail sales globally, making it a top player in the global licensing industry.
Flywheel is a major player in retail as well, describing itself as the world’s largest end-to-end commerce agency with over $10 billion in retail media under management across 400+ digital marketplaces.
Flywheel employs more than 1,900 dedicated commerce specialists, who will now be tasked with boosting Authentic’s broader marketplace growth strategy.
Essentially, Flywheel will be enhancing ABG’s marketing efforts by improving the ways its brands connect with consumers across digital commerce channels through media investment, performance marketing, and data-driven optimization.
“This partnership represents an important opportunity to help scale media exposure for some of the world’s most recognizable brands through smarter, more connected commerce strategies,” said Simon Cooper, Chief Strategy Officer at Flywheel. “By combining Flywheel’s commerce intelligence and retail media expertise with Authentic’s unmatched portfolio and partner network, we’re creating a more integrated approach to marketplace growth, performance marketing, and consumer acquisition.”
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The partners say this collaboration reflects the increasing importance of retail media and marketplace advertising in driving modern brand discovery and consumer engagement.
“Our role at Authentic is to build global brands and deepen the connection consumers have with them across every touchpoint,” said Tim Derner, Global Head of Marketplaces at Authentic. “As marketplaces continue to play a critical role in retail discovery and conversion, having the right strategic capabilities in place is essential.
“Flywheel brings deep expertise across retail media, commerce analytics, and advertising optimization that will help support our existing partner ecosystem and unlock long-term growth opportunities across the portfolio.”
Through the partnership, Flywheel says it will work alongside Authentic and its vast network of partners to support marketplace media strategy, advertising effectiveness, audience insights, and commerce optimization initiatives across key global retail platforms.
Flywheel also said its initial efforts will focus on expanding retail media performance and accelerating marketplace visibility across select brands and categories, with broader international expansion planned over time.