New York | August 21, 2024: Elevate, an award-winning, full-service consulting firm supporting high-performing organizations in sports and beyond, has today announced the acquisition of Zinc Agency, the market leader in developing and managing unique live, premium client experiences, utilizing dynamic talent and celebrities, across the world’s most renown sports, entertainment, and cultural events. The addition of Zinc Agency’s proficiency in premium, talent-based event solutions for fans and corporate clients further strengthens Elevate’s position as the leader in experiential premium hospitality for fans, properties, client hospitality, and corporate events, and more. Over the past five years, Elevate Experiences, the agency’s existing premium event and experiential hospitality division, has provided full-service programming across the entire fan journey for the world’s most exciting sports and live entertainment events.
The New York City-based Zinc Agency produces over 1,000 corporate events annually for its client roster of over 200 Fortune 500 companies, including Ferguson, SAP, Dell, ServiceNow, Lumen Technologies, Twilio, AWS, PNC Bank, Cigna, Constellation Brands, and more. Zinc Agency’s unrivaled access to major events and celebrity talent has enabled them to build once-in-lifetime experiences for many of the top brands globally. Zinc Agency aligns the experience and engagement goals of its clients with its active talent pool of over 100 celebrities, including professional athletes, celebrity chefs, titans in business and innovation, with client events.
Zinc Agency’s diverse expertise in curated premium hospitality - from the execution of large-scale corporate events and retreats for groups of more than 500, to the production of intimate virtual and in-person celebrity experiences - will empower Elevate with new, exciting offerings for its current roster of client properties. Prior to the acquisition of Zinc Agency, marquee, international sports properties for whom Elevate Experiences activated full-service hospitality, curated experiences, and travel programming include the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand, the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar, US Open Tennis Tournament, Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, The PLAYERS Championship (PGA TOUR), The Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway (NASCAR), the BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Tournament, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, Copa America 2024, and more. Over the past three years, Elevate Experiences and Zinc Agency have additionally produced corporate hospitality experiences across events in EPL, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, NWSL, The PGA TOUR and LPGA, USGA, USTA, NASCAR, professional horse racing, the NCAA and the College Football Playoff, the PLL, the CMA Awards, the Aspen Food and Wine Festival, MGM Music Hall, Fenway Concert Series and more.
“We are incredibly proud of the solutions our premium event and experiential hospitality division has delivered for both fans and corporate clients, and the sports properties, events, and venues we have been honored to represent over the past five years,” said Elevate CEO | Chairman Al Guido. “The acquisition of Zinc Agency bolsters Elevate Experience’s offerings and opportunities with access to an enviable talent and celebrity database; experience in the production of live, digital events; and a global roster of Fortune 500 corporate and brand clients driven to produce unique hospitality experiences utilizing the most renowned events in sports, entertainment, and culture.”
Elevate Experiences provides the following solutions to properties, fans, groups, global sports tourists, event planners, corporations, and more:
Premium Event and Experiential Hospitality for Fans, Groups, and Corporate Clients: Elevate Experiences develops, curates, sells, and manages unique hospitality experiences with personalized service aligned with premium seating opportunities at sports, entertainment, and cultural events. Guest-facing offerings may include personal concierge service; meet and greet experiences with renowned talent and celebrities; premium food and beverage; behind-the-scenes or backstage access; interactive experiences; access to premium clubs and restaurants; prime seats; private entry and egress points; event transfers; VIP access to associated exclusive and invite-only events, and more.
Corporate Event Management and Entertainment: Elevate Experiences offers bespoke and comprehensive event development and curation; programming and talent booking; guest travel, transport, and accommodations; technical support and production; and coordination and operation for large-scale corporate events. Building upon a successful record of event production for Fortune 500 companies, Elevate Experiences produces events that align relevant and engaging talent, interactive and memorable experiences, and exciting live sports, music, and cultural entertainment to inspire and connect corporate clients, partners, and employees.
Official Premium Hospitality Strategy, Sales, and Management for Properties: Acting on behalf of rights holders, Elevate Experiences develops authentic premium hospitality programs and experiences - including comprehensive VIP travel services - for global professional sports, cultural, and live entertainment properties, events, venues, and organizations. Tapping into the agency’s Insights Division, Elevate Experiences generates, delivers, and analyzes guest and stakeholder feedback to develop optimal premium hospitality offerings, spaces, pricing, and more; creating premium opportunities that anticipate and exceed guest expectations, priorities, and passions. Elevate Experiences supports client properties through the lifecycle of their premium needs - from product research and development, to staffing and sales, to customer and concierge service, to event-day production and operations.
Cultural, Culinary, and Lifestyle-Based Event Curation and Execution: Elevate Experiences will design, curate, and manage cultural, culinary, and lifestyle-themed events for groups, corporate hospitality, and large-scale corporate events. Building upon Zinc Agency’s successful history of producing more than 100 live and virtual culinary-themed events annually, Elevate Experiences will continue to partner with the most dynamic cultural, culinary, and lifestyle talent to produce memorable experiences that incorporate themed venues, talent, food and beverage, music, ambiance, and more. Notably, Elevate Expereience’s private live and virtual culinary events provide a unique, engaging, and connective atmosphere and feature the most renowned and colorful names in food, wine, and spirits.
Comprehensive Premium Travel, Transport, and Accommodations for Fans, Groups, and Corporate Clients: Elevate Experiences offers solutions and coordination of premium travel, transport, accommodations, and more for individual, group, and corporate event clients aligned with global professional sports, entertainment, and cultural events. Guest-facing offerings fuse ultra-VIP event day seating and premium hospitality; distinctive dining and exclusive culinary events; behind-the-scenes experiences; luxury travel and transport; five-star hotel amenities and unique accommodations; exclusive pre-and-post event entertainment; personal concierge services; and more.
Talent Procurement for Events, Engagements, and Experiences: Elevate Experiences will identify and secure world-renowned talent for speaking engagements, interactive experiences, and private events; amplifying premium experiences with award-winning leaders from across industries including sports, entertainment, culinary, business, science, and innovation
Live-Streamed, Private, Virtual Experiences: Elevate Experiences produces talent-led, interactive digital experiences featuring global content creators, industry leaders, and celebrities to encourage connectivity and engagement for private online audiences. From large-scale corporate events to intimate client gatherings, Elevate Experience’s virtual experiences match audience passions with a top industry performer from its global roster of talent, develop unique programming and audience interactivity level, and orchestrate and produce the backend technology to host the event. Diverse, memorable opportunities range from fireside chats with professional athletes and world-renowned thought-leaders to cooking demonstrations, wine and spirit tastings, unplugged musical performances, to celebrity-led health, fitness, and wellness classes, and beyond. Elevate Experience’s Digital Production Team will support on-site AV, production, operations, and technical needs, as well as capture, produce, and live-stream programming to remote audiences.
Individuals and fans, global sports tourists, groups, brand and corporate event planners, and more may visit elevatexperiences.com, email Sales@elevatexperiences.com, or call 1-888-804-0704 to request information or book experiences. Follow Elevate Experiences on LinkedIN , Instagram, and TikTok.
Reporting to Elevate President of Property Sales, Flavil Hampsten, Elevate Experiences will be led by Zinc Agency Co-Founders, Elevate Experiences Managing Partner and Co-Heads Will Steinberg and Zachary Yabroff, alongside Elevate Experiences Senior Vice President, Dan Rosenthal who will oversee growth and management for property rights.
“The acquisition of Zinc Agency reinforces the power of Elevate Experiences as one of our agency’s most dynamic divisions, and one driven by the desire to create new, dynamic experiences for global sports, entertainment, cultural event enthusiasts, fans, corporate hospitality, event planners, and more,” said Elevate President of Property Sales Flavil Hampsten.
“Joining the team at Elevate unlocks a significant amount of growth and opportunity that will continue to help us support our corporate clients with premium corporate hospitality and bespoke experiences,” said Elevate Experiences Managing Partner and Co-Head, Will Steinberg. “We see two very complementary businesses coming together to create an industry-leading, solutions-driven agency with unmatched potential. I look forward to Zinc’s expertise in curating highly memorable and unique experiences with Elevate’s track record of delivering successful results through property partnerships. We are proud to share today’s announcement with our passionate client base of over 300 diverse corporate organizations, groups, and fans.”
“We’ve dedicated our careers to delivering memorable experiences for corporations. The client entertainment space has become ultra-competitive over the last several years, with corporate event planners and buyers endeavoring to create the most impactful, unique, and memorable experiences for their clients, partners, and employees,” said Elevate Experiences Managing Partner and Co-Head, ZachYabroff. “Fusing Zinc Agency with Elevate strategically positions Elevate Experiences as the client entertainment leader for unique experiences in sports, music, culture, culinary, lifestyle, thought leadership, and more. We look forward to creating and delivering new, diverse, and expanded offerings to live events - including the US Open Tennis, Formula 1, The PGA TOUR, and more - with our Fortune 500 clients.”
“A signature hallmark of Elevate Experience’s approach is how we leverage fan-driven insights to develop unique and authentic hospitality packages on behalf of properties which add value to the fan experience and also attract new fans to an event. Our goal is to make attending an event seamless and memorable for fans through bespoke experiences, premium hospitality, prime seating, and elevated services,” said Senior Vice President, Elevate Experiences, Dan Rosenthal. “Elevate has a strong track record of delivering official hospitality, experiences, and travel programming for fans at the biggest events in the world, including the FIFA World Cup, US Open, Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, and more. From takeoff to kickoff, we are proud to take care of every detail of a fan’s journey.”
Steinberg and Yabroff bring a combined 35 years of premium hospitality, event management, and deep relationships with a robust client roster to Elevate Experiences. Prior to founding Zinc Agency, Steinberg’s proven track record in premium hospitality includes Co-founding experiential agency Goviva. Formerly Goviva’s leading Sales Executive, Yabroff’s career has been focused on aligning Fortune 500 companies and brands with dynamic events across sports, entertainment, and culture.
For the past five years, Rosenthal has supported the commercial direction and revenue generation for Elevate Experiences and its clients, including marketing and sales strategy; new premium asset ideation and creation; operational management; business development and dynamic partnerships; P&L forecasting, pricing, and scaling strategy; market research and more. During his time with Elevate, Rosenthal, the nearly 20-year NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, NCAA, Motorsports, global football, and professional golf veteran, led record-breaking efforts in premium hospitality strategy, sales, and service with the US Open, FIFA World Cup 2022, and more. Building upon a career that has included senior positions in Premium Hospitality with On Location, The Madison Square Garden Company, the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and more; Rosenthal has additionally led multifaceted and record-breaking sales and event campaigns for the Super Bowl and NCAA Final Four.
The acquisition marks the third for Elevate in 2024. In February 2024, Elevate acquired global executive search and talent optimization firm SRI, concurrently launching Elevate Talent, the agency’s new executive search and global talent advisory practice supporting ambitious organizations across sports, entertainment, media, lifestyle, technology, and gaming. Elevate acquired Fenway Sports Management’s Consulting Group in April 2024, bolstering its successful global brand consulting and activation practice, which utilizes Elevate’s powerful data and insights engine to create convention-defying partnerships and activations for brands in sports and entertainment.
About Elevate:
Elevate is an award-winning, full-service consulting firm supporting high-performing organizations in sports and beyond with innovative, data-driven, revenue-generating solutions. Elevate’s unparalleled combination of agency and operating experience, along with proprietary technology solutions, data sources, and software products, maximizes efficiencies in Consumer Insights, Research, Strategy and Analytics; Brand Consulting and Activation; Partnership Sales and Consulting; Executive Talent Strategy, Recruitment, Performance, and Organizational Optimization; Creative Consultancy and Experiential Design; Property, Premium Hospitality, and Ticketing Strategy and Sales; Feasibility and Revenue Consultation for New and Renovated Venues; and more. Established in 2018 to provide comprehensive solutions to organizations across the global sports and entertainment ecosystem; today, the agency supports over 1,000 of the world’s most ambitious organizations across sports, entertainment, media, technology, gaming, lifestyle, and consumer sectors. For more information, follow Elevate Experiences on Instagram and TikTok and Elevate on X (@OneElevate_), LinkedIn, and Instagram.
