LaSource 2021 in 21 facts
2021 has been super intense, with a lot of new projects, collaborations & partnerships happening. It has also been a year made of significant digital shifts with the rise of NFT, the development of Web3 and the creation of new digital worlds, called Metaverse.
In this article we wanted to bring you some of the most important moments that made our agency grow, as well as our clients, or that just helped us get to know each other better.
So let’s resume 2021 in 21 facts.
Fact #1: Team Building at Lacanau, France
It was impossible not to start with the meeting of the year!
As we were waiting for this moment since the beginning of the Covid crisis, we had the chance to get all together in-person near Bordeaux on the coast of Lacanau. Over 3 days we had a great time, we laughed a lot and expanded our common memories. It has also been the opportunity to look into the future, to talk about our ambitions and the development of LaSource. Also, we enjoyed playing golf a lot, we still have some progress to make but perhaps we will be able to create a competitive LaSource Team in the future!
If you want to know more about us, feel free to visit our team page here
Fact #2: Launch of LeCorner International
Let’s come back to the beginning of the year. January started with a blast and our first significant project was the release of our LeCorner - International Podcast. Over the entire year we recorded 18 episodes and the least we can say is that we had amazing times doing them.
Many thanks to all the guests that were kind enough to share with us their vision, their background, their experiences, and their anecdotes.
The podcast is available here
Our last episode of the year was released two weeks ago. It is a special episode, mixing all the discussions we had in 2021. You can listen to it here
Fact #3: Jean-Baptiste Alliot joined us full time as Chief Strategy Officer
We couldn't have wished a better way to start 2021! Though Jean-Baptiste co-founded LaSource alongside David and Sam, he couldn’t officially join us as he was still working for UEFA.
Planets aligned in 2021 as he finally joined us full time, being in charge of supporting rights holders, leagues, clubs and sports organisations in leveraging innovation, strategic collaborations and partnerships with startups while continuing defining and implementing the innovation strategy at UEFA.
PS: this announcement was one of the most performing posts of our LaSource LinkedIn in the entire year!
Fact #4: LaSource & ISPO Munich: our first event of the year
Later on in February, we were invited to moderate a panel as part of the ISPO Digitize 2021.
Our CEO Samuel Westberg discussed how Social Media was (and still is) propelling Sports Forward with Manu Leroy from Royal Belgian Football Association and Chris Sloane from G2 Esports. This opportunity wouldn’t have been possible without Sports Tech World Series. We are, again, very thankful for it.
Fact #5: A New Strategic Advisor
This one was huge! In our quest to represent the best sports tech in Europe and to surround ourselves only with top people and top professionals, we have been delighted to welcome Andrew Cox as Strategic Advisor.
Andrew has helped us to grow our agency as well as our startups LiveLike and Greenfly and we hope it will continue in 2022.
Press release here
Fact #6: Our First Industry Thoughts Article
All things come to those who wait. And it has finally come.
Checkout our first piece: The use of AR/VR: What does it mean for Sport & Entertainment? And what VCs and Investors are looking at?
Fact #7: Announcing one new teammate every 2 months
LaSource team has significantly grown in 2021, and we are so proud of it!
In March, we were very pleased to welcome Alexandre Bonneville as Sales Manager to develop and drive a sales strategy for our clients. Sports Management graduate, Alexandre has been working in the sports industry for the past two years (Garmin International, ESR 24/7 & Pelé Soccer).
Press Release here
Fact #8: Greenfly & DFL
This is why we love so much what we are doing at LaSource!!
Still in March, DFL implemented the Greenfly solution to create, centralize and distribute content to more than 60 international media partners. We are not going to lie, it is a very exciting collaboration for Greenfly as it perfectly showcases the power of their tech to provide fans and viewers with a new experience.
Official announcement: https://www.dfl.de/en/innovation/social-media-matchday-feed/
Fact #9: Digital transformation in Football Club series
2021 has also seen the launch of a new series of interviews: Digital transformation in Football Clubs. Focused on clubs' digital strategy (as its name indicates) we are tackling topics such as structural changes, fan engagement, sport performances, new revenue streams,
For this first season, we had the opportunity to discuss with Club Atletico Mineiro, Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C and, Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Be ready, there are more to come in 2022!
Fact #10: Like a Pokemon, LeCorner has evolved
Let's not kid ourselves, it really needed it.
We used our summer times to revamp its graphical chart and create visuals that would best fit with our identity. We don’t know your thoughts on it, but at least we are proud of it.
You can listen our podcast here
Fact #11: The FanXP Innovation Challenge
In May we partnered with N3xt Sports around the FanXP Innovation Challenge, one of the biggest basketball startup competitions in the world. The competition challenges the latest generation of tech startups to join the sports fan revolution with creative and unique ideas.
And guess what: One of our startups, Slate, has been announced the winner of it!
Nine of the 38 entries were selected for the finals and faced a review by an expert jury, whose members concluded that the best entry came from Slate, with its platform that US pro sports social media teams have quickly adopted to create more engaging content. We are very proud to support Slate in its European expansion.
Press Release here
Fact #12: World Football Summit 2021
Over the World Football Summit 2021, Jean-Baptiste spent two days with William, co-founder at Slate and AJ, Account Executive. Quite an emotional moment to meet with the folks of Slate. It has been a real pleasure to onboard Slate from the US, as they reach Madrid, especially for the summit.
Fact #13: Why should sports organisations pay for a Proof Of Concept?
Want to know more about Proof of Concepts? This is one of our significant article wrote in 2021, and it’s just here
Fact #14: NFT, Metaverse, Web3: there is something for everyone
As we love to share our thoughts on the future of the sport and entertainment industry, it was IMPOSSIBLE to miss the craze around the new tech revolution that is happening. It all started with the creation of NFT before quickly being extended to the creation of Metaverses (digital worlds) and now the development of Web 3.0. These topics have been covered everywhere and on our website too!
Behind NFT: the real challenges and opportunities for sports organisations
Why the sports industry must be aware and understand the Metaverse
Metaverse: a new era for new generations
We are currently working on our last opus of our Metaverse series!! Stay tuned!
Fact #15: A big One For David
In November, we were pleased to share our vision with high-profile professionals in an online panel in collaboration with SportBizEurope Barcelona Edition.
David discussed next major innovations and technological advances in sports with Kyle Bunch, VP Managing Director, Global Sports Venture Studio AT R/GA, Arthur Bernard, Founder & General Partner at Athletico Ventures, Mathieu Lacome, Chief Performance & Analytics officer at Parma Calcio 1913 and Christian Lau, Chief Technology Officer at Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC)
Fact #16: SportsTech Belgium Partnership
In November, we partnered with SportsTech Belgium, a new ecosystem where sport meets new technologies.
We are now proud to be involved in the SportsTech Belgium accelerator program, contributing in several ways: supporting start-ups selection, Mentoring throughout the program, jurying during the demo day that will take place in early 2022. It’s always a pleasure to shape the future of sports tech with relevant partners and startups.
Press Release here
Fact #17: LiveLike Award OTT Summit
LiveLike placed GOLD in the 'Best in Fan Engagement' category at this year’s OTT Awards! This award is for companies who successfully built passionate and loyal communities around their OTT platforms and services. The judges felt it was an excellent entry showing true interactive fan engagement.
We are very proud to support LiveLike and are excited to celebrate this great achievement with them again this year.
Fact #18: Ignition by SportsPro
What an exciting collaboration to end 2021!
We are thrilled to have partnered with SportsPro Media to support them with the launch of their new initiative, Ignition.
Over two days, and through the Ignition Innovation Competition, sports tech start-ups will be able to demonstrate their product and impact in the sport. January 2022, will be an exciting starting year with the involvement of our team members during their main event, the Ignition Summit.
Press Release here
Fact #19: LaSource & Greenfly in Paris
Once again we have been able to meet in person one of our partners, and on top of that in Paris!
Greenfly, which we are supporting in their European expansion through our Advanced program, had to come to Europe to discuss with some sports organisations. It was the opportunity for David and Alexandre to meet in person Katie, Director of Customer Success at Greenfly.
Fact #20: From an internship to a contract
At LaSource we trust in youth!
Erwan joined LaSource in July as an assistant marketing product helping Alexandre to ensure that LaSource is the one of the first-choice partners for startups that need to develop their business in Europe. Recently, we decided to give him a chance by integrating him into our teams on a long-term basis.
Fact #21: Paris the meeting point
Here we are, our last moment of 2021, all together!
Over the past few months, we've partnered with some of the most important sports organizations, participated in summits in person and supported LiveLike, Greenfly, and Slate in their strategies. It's been a very exciting year, and to celebrate we've decided to meet in Paris at the end of the year.
We had the opportunity to discuss LaSource's future developments and goals for 2022, and we are now looking forward to the new year.
We wish you a great holiday!
