The name you are given will not necessarily continue to reflect who you are.
Sometimes time matures you, and other times you need to see yourself from the outside, to find out that you can do a little more, or are a little more.
It was already back in late January or early February, just a few months after RoSI Digital saw the light of day, that we realised we were much more than just a digital version of a Return Of Sponsorship Investment (RoSI) report.
Back then, we were a small team of five people with a strong dream and a clear plan to become the best player and contribute to increasing commercial performance in Danish clubs. We wanted to help lift the industry through a continuously validated and well-developed insight into the impact of sponsorships, providing actionable insights on a daily basis. We would be a workflow tool that saved clients oceans of time. We still want to do all that and we've come a long way.
Today, we are also something more than that.
More colleagues have joined
RoSI Digital was born at a time when the world has been marked by global challenges.
In the wake of the pandemic, it has become increasingly important for rights holders to be able to demonstrate impact and show brands that their product does indeed create value.
A bit like we saw after the financial crisis in 2008. So we were in a hurry to get started.
Through our start-up, we saw several companies put extraordinary effort into branding and positioning. Even before they got the fundamentals of their product right - we didn't want to go down that road. So we quickly found a good, solid, product-specific name, and put the work gloves back on.
We then developed our platform, and in the process of digitising data sources we could see far more interesting intersections in our data that could provide a much more useful and complete insight into the value of a sponsorship.
If we were to achieve the development we saw ahead of us, it would require an expanded team.
Yes, so much so that getting your own desk in the office has become a daily battle.
In six months we have gone from 5 to 17 employees, our development team has been significantly strengthened in parallel with the acquisition of both Nordic SportsLab and SponsorOptimizer.
All to help brands and rights holders stand stronger and get the most out of the partnerships they enter into.
RoSI has thus become one product of many services in our business, and is therefore no longer representative of who we are and what we do.
Today, we don't just work with the value return of an investment in sport. We work all the way around the sponsorship. We spar, provide insights and create knowledge, streamlining the entire sponsorship process - not just ongoing and accurate impact measurement, which remains a critical element of most processes.
So it was time to look a little further ahead.
Why Above Sports?
If RoSI was about what we did, Above is about who we are.
The name captures the essence of the goal we have: We want to sit on top of the existing data that is already out there in the clubs. We want to deliver the insights that enable you to make the right decision today, and thereby play at a higher level tomorrow.
We will see the whole playing board from above.
We collect and look at all the relevant data, and put it together across the board to create a holistic, accurate and transparent picture of the value and what creates it. Hence Above Sports.
As the innovative tech start-up that we see ourselves as, we're very aware that we're constantly evolving. That's why we needed a name that sounded good internationally - because even though we don't have much space in the office now, the dreams - and ambitions - continue to be big.
So let me conclude briefly:
We have optimised the surface, changed gears and expanded the crew, but we remain on the same track with the same commitment, drive, focus and mission.
I hope you will welcome Above Sports.
