Rory Natkiel launches Box Count

Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum founder Rory Natkiel has founded Box Count, a consultancy that aims to improve sponsorship effectiveness. 

Natkiel, who was previously Sid Lee Sport chief strategy officer and has spent over two decades in the industry leading strategy for the likes of Adidas, UEFA, Tommy Hilfiger and Pizza Hut, aims to bring a more scientific approach to sponsorship and the content produced for partnerships. 

Box Count will advise brands on how to make their content more effective and evaluate its impact, as well as being involved in creative development and storytelling. It works on the idea that companies should focus on commercial objectives, integrated campaigns, and robust attribution, rather than engagement and reach - an idea backed by Natkiel’s propietary research, The Sponsorship Effect. 

There are four services that Box Count will offer: Sponsorship Strategy, Activation Planning, Measurement & Evaluation and Effectiveness Transformation. 

Natkiel said: “The sponsorship industry has built itself around the deal. Shift the rights, divide up the inventory, worry about the rest later. Activation’s an afterthought and measurement gets cut because nobody wants to pay for it. The end result is brands with billions on the table and no real idea what’s working. That’s not a measurement problem, it’s a strategic one.”