London-based Luscid, a software platform that helps brands deploy sponsorship and marketing budgets through data-driven insights, has secured $1.2 million in seed funding. The round was led by prominent angel investors including key figures from the sports, entertainment, and technology world, such as Craig Pollard, who has spent over a decade driving the success of Apple’s products and partnerships in the UK.
The funding will be used further to develop Luscid’s proprietary technology and support market expansion as the business grows at pace.
What challenge does Luscid tackle?
Today’s digitally connected world makes it easier than ever before for people to engage with their passions – and for brands, this leads to an Attention Economy that makes a sports & entertainment partnership a powerful route to the consumer. But this sector worth $100 billion has been heavily influenced by personal relationships and human bias, rather than transparent, data-driven judgements. And despite a level of financial outlay that continues to grow, the industry faces a lack of trust from brand marketers.
Luscid is addressing recognised the need for positive change to bring decision-making in line with other marketing verticals.
What does the company do?
Founded in 2022 by Harry Coe and Damien Gillman, Lucid empowers brands to make data-driven sponsorship decisions. The platform eliminates the guesswork, allowing brands to identify the most effective partnerships and find measurable outcomes from their investments. As per the company, it works accurately and efficiently than any other software available out there.
It is the largest global dataset for the sponsorship industry and utilises 500,000 historic and live partnerships from the last 15 years, analysed across 80 countries. It covers 88 sponsorship genres across soccer, rugby, cycling, cricket, and esports. This includes partnerships with federations, teams, leagues, events, and talent across sports and broader entertainment.
To date, the company is already working with key brands like Accor, Santander, and Binance.
Harry Coe, CEO and Co-Founder of Luscid said: “If you understand the interests of your customers and the best methods to communicate with them through those interests, combined with a pinpoint understanding of exactly which partnerships your marketing budget will allow you to create and which of those opportunities mirror the beliefs that you as a business want to project to the world, then you have the foundations of successful sponsorship.”
Damien Gillman, CSO and Co-founder of Luscid said: “Having been in the sponsorship industry for over 20 years, I’ve seen firsthand how an unhealthy reliance on personal relationships and gut feeling leaves too much room for error and inefficiency. Compared to other marketing channels, the sponsorship space has been left behind, with data and analytics not playing a key part in the decision-making process. Our platform allows brands to identify partnerships that are most likely to resonate with their target audience, achieve their objectives, and protect brand reputation and values.”
Stuart Wareman, Global SVP Experiences, Events & Sponsorships at Accor said: “Using data to make more informed decisions about our long-term approach to sponsorship is important. Having an aggregated view of all data into a single source that is tailored to a specific audience, market or segment is incredibly valuable.”
What do we think about Luscid?
With its recent $1.2 million seed funding, the company is poised for rapid growth. By refining its proprietary technology and expanding its market reach, it aims to revolutionize the $100 billion sponsorship industry. Through data-driven insights, Luscid eliminates bias, helping brands make informed sponsorship decisions. This innovative approach positions the company as a leader in transforming sports and entertainment marketing.
