Honda urges CDP to start sports unit

Honda is pushing its advertising agency CDP to launch a sports marketing division in the next three months.

Honda is the agency’s largest account, and is the driving force behind the move because it wants to increase its sports sponsorship opportunities.

The agency will initially work with Honda but will look to work with other CDP clients as well as clients in the parent Dentsu network. Other clients in the CDP roster include Gallaher Tobacco, Scottish Courage and Panasonic.

Johnny Hornby, a senior board account director at CDP, says: “We want to take on some people by the end of the summer, including someone to head it at senior account director level. We will be looking to create our own events because this way we can add our clients values to the event.”

The development is part of a wider movement among advertising agencies which are looking to bring sports marketing divisions in-house. Last year, M&C Saatchi brought in Matthew Patten to run its sponsorship division, M&C Saatchi Sponsorship.

And earlier this month the Interpublic Group bought out US sports agency Advantage International and a 60 per cent stake in British agency Alan Pascoe International.