KORE Software Expands Sponsorship & Engagement Marketing Solutions with Two Transformative Acquisitions

KORE Software Expands Sponsorship & Engagement Marketing Solutions with Two Transformative Acquisitions

KORE Software's acquisitions of Hookit & SSB strengthens its position as a global leader in sports and entertainment solutions

February 9, 2022

KORE Software, a Serent-backed, global leader in engagement marketing solutions, announced two major acquisitions in the sponsorship & engagement marketing space. With the increasing importance of social and digital media, KORE has acquired Hookit, a leading AI-powered sponsorship analytics platform. This acquisition extends KORE’s capabilities into the social space, strengthening one of the first true end-to-end solutions in sponsorship management and evaluation while adding a number of high-profile global brands to the KORE platform. KORE is also bolstering its position in the rights holder’s market by reaching an agreement to acquire SSB’s Sports and Entertainment business.

Hookit is a pioneer of sponsorship technology and has partnered with the world’s most valuable brands whose logos are seen at sports and live entertainment events around the world. With athletes, teams, and leagues now engaging over 50 billion followers across social media, social and digital strategies have become a critical component for the modern partnership. By adding Hookit’s unparalleled expertise in sponsorship performance tracking across social and digital media, KORE will dramatically enhance the capabilities of its already market-leading sponsorship management platform.

“We’ve been working on the same market problem to improve sponsorship effectiveness from two sides,” said Hookit CEO Scott Tilton. “We’ve built a leading sponsorship analytics platform in collaboration with some of the world’s largest brands. Together with KORE, we’ll be able to more accurately attribute total sponsorship value for our respective clients.”

KORE CEO Jason Fletcher agrees, stating, “This is a monumental step forward for our market. We are stronger together and are excited to start this journey with a partner like Hookit. We believe KORE is one of the only software companies that can offer an end-to-end platform for rights holders and brands to maximize the efficacy of their marketing spend.”

Stewart Lynn, Partner at Serent Capital, added, “Hookit and SSB, our second and third add-ons since Serent’s investment, signal our further commitment to this market-leading platform and management team. We’re thrilled to support KORE with these two acquisitions as KORE continues to capture the expansive opportunity within its market.”

KORE’s agreement to acquire SSB’s pro sports business comes as SSB dedicates its focus to collegiate athletics and the higher education institutional advancement market. KORE will be adding over 50 professional sports and entertainment customers to its portfolio whose needs deeply align with KORE’s software offerings. This investment reflects KORE’s ongoing commitment to sports & event properties and their specialized needs across ticketing, fan engagement, and sponsorship management.

KORE received a significant investment from Serent Capital in 2018 and acquired Australian-based SponServe in 2019.

 

About KORE Software

KORE Software is a global leader in engagement marketing solutions. KORE’s intelligence platform is trusted by over 850+ of the largest organizations in the sports and entertainment industry to provide data-driven intelligence quickly and securely. Through one connected ecosystem of solutions, data, and insights KORE helps accelerate and enhance organization’s ability to make the right decisions for their business. KORE’s platform drives excellence across sponsorship activation, fan engagement, ticket sales, partnership analysis, data analytics, and innovative marketing journeys, so organizations can build stronger connections with their fans, maximize returns, and spend time where it matters. For more information, please visit www.KOREsoftware.com.

 About Hookit

Hookit is one of the leading AI-powered sponsorship technology platform empowering brands to evaluate & optimize their athlete & sports partnerships. The best CMOs & sports marketing executives realize that social media is now central to maximizing the value of sponsorship marketing spend. As a pioneer in the Spontech space and strategic partner of the world’s largest brands, Hookit empowers marketers to impact the bottom line by measuring sponsorship spend and partnerships against a standardized set of KPIs. We combine real-time dashboards with insights and recommendations that can be leveraged across your organization to positively impact your sponsorship strategy and results. To learn more, visit www.hookit.com.

 

Serent Capital invests in growing businesses that have developed compelling solutions that address their customers' needs. As those businesses grow and evolve, the opportunities and challenges that they face change with them. Principals at Serent Capital have firsthand experience at capturing those opportunities and navigating these difficulties through their experiences as CEOs, strategic advisors, and board members to successful growing businesses. By bringing its expertise and capital to bear, Serent seeks to help growing businesses thrive. Learn more about our portfolio companies.

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