Is Live Sponsorship Due for a Shake-Up? Mitch Strong, CEO and Founder of Pulse, discusses how his company is reshaping the sponsorship and live event marketing space, addressing inefficiencies, driving modernity, and ensuring that brands thrive in the booming live entertainment sector.

Founded in 2022, Pulse is transforming how brands connect with live entertainment, bridging the gap between sponsorships, media, and experiential marketing. In an industry still using outdated models, Pulse simplifies the process, providing a one-stop solution for everything from sponsorship management to content creation and media delivery. Mitch Strong shares why now is the perfect time for Pulse to lead this change in the UK, how the company has adapted to economic challenges, and the power of education in building trust with brands and agencies. He also highlights the importance of supporting UK festivals and the role Pulse plays in keeping the country's vibrant festival culture alive.

What problem are you solving, and why now in the UK?
I founded Pulse in 2022 with the goal of transforming how live entertainment partnerships work. In short, Pulse connects brands like Nivea, Heineken, lululemon and Henkel with a diverse network of close to 7000 festivals, plus thousands of venues and live events across the globe.

It started when I recognised that the sponsorship world was archaic. Traditionally, if a brand wanted to do something in live entertainment, they'd sign a contract with a rights holder, then have to go find an experiential agency to build and activate it, a production agency for the content, and a media agency to amplify it. It's fragmented, messy, and a nightmare for marketers to manage.

So, I founded Pulse to modernise that system. We're a centralised specialist team that delivers everything under one roof - sponsorship management, experiential build, content production, and guaranteed media delivery. That means consistency of message, clarity of execution, and much better results for the brand. We've become specialists in producing brand campaigns that appear native on festival and venue socials while still carrying the advertiser's message.

The UK needs this now because brands are demanding efficiency, accountability, and impact more than ever. Live entertainment is booming, but the old model is broken and we're here to fix it.

What's been your biggest turning point so far?
August 2024 was a real shift for us. For nearly two years, we were pushing against the industry norm, showing brands and agencies how media planning teams could work with festivals through us, and how sponsorship teams could expand their scope to include media, content, and digital.

It took time but the penny dropped eventually. Agencies and brands started to see that these worlds don't have to be separate. There was a clear understanding of the modern marketing value we could bring within this space.

At the same time, brands began coming directly to us. Not because we cold-called them, but because they'd heard about us. They knew we were the only agency that genuinely understands both sides of the fence - the culture of live entertainment and the precision of digital marketing. That reputation was definitely a turning point. It took us from being "the new kids trying something different" to being the go-to partner for modern live entertainment campaigns.

How are you adapting to the current UK climate?
In tough economic climates, partnerships and sponsorships are often the first thing brands put in the "luxury" bucket. But we see it differently, and instead educate marketers and advertisers that live entertainment isn't a luxury. It's one of the most powerful ways to build culture, loyalty, and conversion. And the data backs that up, live experiences paired with digital extensions, results in higher engagement, deeper brand love and higher purchase intent.

So our adaptation has been to double down on proving value. We're not pulling back - we're showing clients how to use this space to not just survive a tough market, but to grow in it. It's about reframing sponsorships as a must-have growth channel, not a nice-to-have.

What's one underrated move that made a big impact?
Education. So many businesses rush to sell their services. We took a step back and said: let's make sure people actually understand the market first. Rather than "pitch pitch pitch", we actively spend time teaching brands and agencies what works, what doesn't, and why live entertainment is such a powerful medium.

We walk them through the entire ecosystem. Then we show them the data: things like "there's a 10x uplift in brand perception when live experiences are paired with digital campaigns" or "52% of live event partnerships with social extensions deliver 35% higher brand recall."

Our slower, consultative approach has been transformational. It builds trust and shows that whilst we're of course here to sell, we're also looking for a greater understanding of the power of live entertainment. It also shows that we're here to elevate the industry. I believe this underrated style / move is a big reason we've grown 5x year on year.

What's one lesson you'd share with new founders?
Don't underestimate how long it takes to shift a market's mindset. You might see the future crystal clear, but the people you're selling to are often stuck in the past.

My number one message is persistence wins - ask anyone I've worked with. Stick to your vision, even if it feels like you're talking to a brick wall at the start. Keep educating, keep proving, keep delivering results. The turning point will come - and often when it does, many of those early "no's" turn into "why didn't we work with you sooner?". I've proved this many times in my career, especially in startups - it was the exact same when I was asked to join the founding team at Jungle Creations as employee number 5 to lead the commercial department. Look at them now!

And another one I can't help but highlight - build with integrity. There's always a quicker way to make money but if you cut corners, or mis-sell, or put your bottom line ahead of your client's results, it will catch up with you.

What excites you most about building in the UK?
Honestly our festival culture is unlike anywhere else in the world. I grew up going to every gig, every festival I could. This culture is in my DNA.

And it's also clearly in the DNA of millions of people here as the UK festival market is growing 5.7% year-on-year and is expected to hit £3.2bn by 2026. Beyond the numbers, there's this deep emotional connection people here have with live music and culture.

What excites me even more is the role we can play in keeping that culture alive. 60 independent festivals closed in the UK last year – a heartbreaking figure. These are festivals with loyal communities, the exact kind of audiences brands dream of connecting with. They just need financial backing to survive. So we're making it our mission to not just help brands grow, but to help independent festivals thrive and survive. If we can direct marketing budgets into those festivals, we keep the culture alive, we help advertisers build meaningful connections, and we create a win-win for everyone. So what excites me is building a business that isn't just commercially successful, but culturally essential –and remembered for doing good by everyone we work with.