How M&C Saatchi Sports & Entertainment Masters Culture Across Real and Virtual Worlds

When thinking of what is integral to Australian culture, sports and entertainment come straight to mind. Aussies love a good game filled with passion and mateship. After a nail-biting match and the season is over, they love going to the pub to listen to live music. They pride themselves on knowing that the likes of AC/DC and Jimmy Barnes were grown on Australian soil. It’s the unity of these things that keeps Aussies thriving.  

M&C Saatchi Sport and Entertainment have the enormous job of spanning across fields that often house very huge audiences. It’s a feat that alone is extraordinary; but Vanessa Tucker and Krystyna Frassetto make this job look easy. 

Vanessa Tucker, most recently appointed creative director of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, Australia is a recognised name in the advertising industry, and Krystyna Frassetto managing director of M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment is equally as unique and well respected. LBB’s Casey Martin sat with the pair to dive deep into what M&C Saatchi S&E is all about and why they are the pair for the job.  

When speaking to them both it was apparent that teamwork is at the heart of M&C Saatchi S&E, with Krystyna reassuring that M&C Saatchi S&E has “got some of the best minds in PR, Social, Influencer, Partnerships and Sponsorships under one roof.” It is a company driven by passion, with everyone having the opportunity to immerse themselves in all things sport and entertainment. 

“We’ve got the joy of helping them (brands) shape the culture of Australia through the passion of their fans”, Krystyna added. 

There is a culture of constantly knowing what's going on in the news. It is encouraged that everyone, regardless of their role within the company, reads the news everyday. In doing so, they can create informed decisions on how best to use what is current in their projects. 

“Being a sponge is key, soaking up everything in the real world and virtual world, then sharing it with our colleagues is what makes a huge difference. We can’t say we know culture if we aren’t immersing ourselves in it, getting my teams to get ‘out there’ together is of utmost importance.” Krystyna said.

Vanessa may be the new kid on the block but this certainly isn’t her first rodeo. During our conversation, she shared a touching story on how she worked around current events and turned something that was originally seemingly everyday, into something incredibly impactful. 

Adidas is one of the world's most famous sports brands, and one which believes that sport has the power to change lives. Vanessa noted that this motto isn't some words printed on the side of a box to look pretty and inspirational to customers. Instead, they are truly integral to everything the company does. No project leaves the four walls of Adidas without adhering to that promise. 

It was during the time of UEFA Champions League, that Vanessa had to rearrange the original concept on the fly. The tournament was set to be held in St Petersburg, with the official match ball designed around the city itself. This, however, coincided with the start of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. 

All of a sudden, Adidas was faced with a problem. The central focus of one of their biggest tournaments went directly against their core belief and values. The tournament was moved to Paris and the match ball was redesigned into a pure white ball named the “Peace Ball”. After the game, it was auctioned off to raise money to support refugees. There is a testament to be made about a brand and a company that sees what's happening in the world around them and adjusts so wonderfully. 

Along with this last minute change, Vanessa touched on the local grassroots clubs who had struggled with the effects of covid.

 

“We were given the partnership at a time when we were going through COVID. A lot of grassroots communities were missing out on funding that they would have normally received from physical support from local communities. It was estimated that 60% of grassroots clubs were going to shut down. That's a terrible thing to happen in itself for the sport. When you look at what grassroots communities do for their communities themselves, it's a lot bigger than just playing sport, they keep communities alive, it's a place to come and escape, it's a place to connect.”

“We did research into grassroots clubs who help refugees integrate into society through playing football, and we wanted to support them. So instead of creating a campaign with a budget that we had, we came up with a funding campaign that could go into these grassroots communities who were helping to support refugees. All of this was tied to the UEFA Champions League And that funding went back into refugees who were coming into other European cities. We went from a brand partnership that was about just the sport, to empowering refugees at a critical time.”

Krystyna mentioned that “the days of catering solely to sport fanatics and music lovers are long gone, we cater for everyone who loves the game and loves creativity. The mum of four in the shopping centre, the die hard cricket fan, and the muso travelling in pursuit of their music career. We extend our abilities to house all who will come in contact with our content, in the hopes it impacts them.” 

It is that integrity and that acknowledgment and understanding of their power that sets them apart - and it’s what makes Vanessa Tucker such a perfect match for Krystyna Frassetto and M&C Saatchi S&E.