Black Sparrow is an experiential agency with a proven track record creating and delivering impactful and award winning events, experiences & campaigns.We are specialists in creating lifestyle, action sports and music experiences - using our credible and impactful consumer knowledge & our strong global contact base to bring unique ideas to life. We pride ourselves on our obsessive attention to detail, our focus on consumer experience and our commitment to progression and creativity. We are proud to be one of the few female founded agencies specialising in our field. We provide both indepth strategic guidance and insight as well as creating, directing & delivering complex projects, activations & large scale brand experiences . Since 2009, we have led key brand experiential programme across action sports & music for Vans at a global level. Working on upwards of 175 projects per year and managing the brands' highest profile activations including the complete delivery of House of Vans London brand space covering all activations and operational considerations. We also execute various large scale brand activations for the brand across action sports and lifestyle including Vans Park Series, BMX Pro Cup, Vans Duct Tape Invitational , All Pop up House of Vans & many other consumer activations, events, product launches, retail and internal events. Other clients projects include working with The Marshall Group, Timberland, Amazon Music & others. We have successfully negotiated complex stakeholder relationships to gain maximum brand awareness and impact. Many projects in our portfolio have grown to become some of the largest youth lifestyle events globally and have substantially increased brand awareness, impact and share of voice for our clients.Based in London we operate globally.

House of Vans started as an emblem on the first Vans Shoe box and grew into a concept of creating a space where anyone and everyone could experience a free programme of events spanning across music, Skateboarding, Art, Culture and Community - everything that the Vans brand has stood for since 1966.Leading the way in global brand experience since 2014, the 30,000 sq ft beautifully designed space offered a solid platform for the local communities to experience and engage with - showcasing an art gallery, a workshop space, cinema, 850 cap live music venue, premium café and bars and bespoke concrete bowl, mini ramp and street course - always on and always FREE.House of Vans London was open to the public five days a week as well as hosting major live events, concerts and experiences. The space is ready for both work and play; with a wide range of educational & learning activities on offer as well as our cultural, music sporting events that attracted the best artists and talent from across the globe.Based out of the space in London, I led a team of 22 to deliver the project end to end with over 180 events and 300 operational days per year - attracting over 1 million visitors during its run. Full service curation and delivery of London notwithstanding; we also become the agency of record to work on the expansion of the House of Vans concept across the globe including the opening of the newest permanent House of Vans in Mexico City and pop ups in all corners of the world.

Responsible for the creation and implementation of sports marketing strategy across 14 different sports to deliver innovative and credible projects and events to a wider UK audience; meeting the target for at least 50% of all marketing activation to be based on new ideas year on year.Responsible for the selection, recruitment, relationship management and retention of all key industry stakeholders, athletes and ambassadors to drive brand credibility. Led the annual business planning process; working with athletes, senior management and commercial marketing to create the optimum event and athlete activity mix.Day to day management and leadership of a team of two sports project managers; setting team objectives, projects and managing the appraisal process. Led best practice within sports and events for fourteen national field-marketing managers.Key achievements:Red Bull Empire of Dirt’ (2007 and 08); Project manager of the world’s first BMX slopestyle event which took 35 of the worlds best riders and created a whole new sporting discipline in BMX.‘Red Bull Air Race’, London (2007); Red Bull event manager responsible for delivery of the event experience for 27,000 spectators.Strategic Development: Wrote and implemented a three year strategic plan for Red Bulls’ integration back into motorsports after a two year break.

Responsible for the recruitment, relationship management and retention of action sports athletes for the Red Bull brand. Role included talent scouting, contract negotiation and required excellent knowledge of the UK and global sports market.Key achievements:Reinvigorated the Red Bull UK athlete team; signing eight new athletes, three of whom went on to become world champions (Gee Atherton, Rachel Atherton and Aaron Hadlow).Development and implementation of Red Bull athletes’ complete performance management programme.Manager for both editions of the internationally acclaimed snowboard contest ‘Red Bull Rail Storm’ (2004/05). Responsible for the rider selection, format and all competitor management.Competitor and Contest Manager for BMX and skateboarding ‘Red Bull Vert Sessions’, ‘Red Bull 3 Degrees’ and ‘Red Bull Vertical Battle’, responsible for show calling, competitor and contest management. Producer on numerous cutting edge sports tours and film shoots which captured the aspirational nature of Red Bull sports; including UK snowboard movie ‘Showoffs’, ‘Red Bull Hike and Ride’ and ‘Red Bull Under Wraps’.

Responsible for growing the brand in its infancy as the main contact between Red Bull and its distribution partner. The role included day-to-day management of a student marketing team of twenty and three distribution agents.