AE Live expands Ignite agency offering with new UK division

AE Live is expanding its creative offering with the launch of a UK branch of the company’s Ignite agency as part of the company’s ongoing expansion plans, which also include a focus on the US sports market.

AE Live has appointed Andrew Olley to the role of creative director of the company’s Ignite agency in the UK where he has been tasked with driving growth across Europe and further expanding AE Live’s global presence.

Andrew Olley: Creative director of UK branch of Ignite

Ignite works across a range of creative elements including on-screen packages, motion graphics, augmented reality, studio design and branding for clients such as Amazon Prime Video, IMG, DAZN, World Rugby.

AE Live chief executive Nick Baily said that the demands of live sports need to be considered from the outset when developing creative concepts.

Baily said: “We are specialists in sports graphics, and for us, it is all about having highly creative people who understand the unique demands of visualising high quality creative in the sports environment.

“Having an agency that understands what it means to deliver creative quickly in a very fast-paced environment is hugely beneficial. From the birth of any creative, it is important to think about it slightly differently when you’re applying it to live sport and the people in our business understand that implicitly; they know that you might be able to create the most amazing animation concepts around a lovely piece of creative data visualisation, but if it takes 15 seconds to reveal, it’s too late. That director has five or six seconds at most to get that data for viewers.”

Since it acquired Ignite in 2020, AE Live has integrated the brand as a global in-house creative agency within the AE Live group around the world, with offices in Auckland, Sydney, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Johannesburg, New Delhi and New York. AE Live said that establishing a presence in the UK under Olley’s direction would give the company a strategic position for expanding its creative presence across Europe.

AE Live’s plans for broadening its Ignite creative arm include using the firm’s existing offices in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore as a platform for expanding into southeast Asian markets and establishing a presence in the US.

Speaking with SVG Europe, Baily added that he expects AE Live to focus a lot of its attention on the US sports market over the next couple of years.

“We see that as a place where we can make a difference, and the market is telling us that there’s a place for us there so we’re very excited about making an entry into that market.”

Baily said AE Live would look to offer its “entire gamut” of services, including augmented reality and the firm’s core graphics and data provision services.

“This is an exciting time in the broadcast, media and sports industries,” added Olley, whose credits include creating channel brands, refreshes and relaunches for clients including Disney, Virgin Media, ESPN, Sky Sports Italia, FX, ITV, Global TV Canada and GLORY Kickboxing.

“Changing audience behaviours and emerging platforms are creating new opportunities for dynamic live graphics, branding and sponsorship experiences. With the combined depth and expertise of the global AE Live and Ignite brands, the possibilities for creative innovation are limitless.”