Beyond the Numbers: Why Business Intelligence Is a Growth Area at SPORTFIVE
Published on
by Kristin Podewils
Gut feelings driving sponsorship decisions? Deals based on a board member’s personal ties to a club? Those days are gone. Today, brands and rights holders rely on data, analytics and insights to make informed partnership decisions.
For SPORTFIVE Senior Director Friederike Pape, that is exactly what makes the job so exciting: turning complex data into clear recommendations for brands and rights holders.
In this interview, she explains what fascinates her about Business Intelligence, why the field is growing at SPORTFIVE, and what candidates should bring to the BI team.
In this Insight:
Friederike, how did you come to join SPORTFIVE? What did your career path look like before that?
I studied Sports Management and realised early on that I was particularly drawn to analytical work. An internship led me into sponsorship performance measurement, where I quickly became fascinated by the combination of sport, data and strategic decision-making. I was especially interested in understanding the real value sponsorship can create for brands.
I went on to spend more than ten years at Nielsen, a market and media research company, working in a variety of roles and advising major international rights holders and brands. That gave me plenty of opportunities to work with SPORTFIVE over the years.
After my second parental leave, I joined SPORTFIVE in 2022 as part of the still relatively new Business Intelligence team. Soon afterwards, the opportunity arose to take on a leadership role, which I now share with Thomas Bohn.
What exactly does the Business Intelligence department at SPORTFIVE do?
At its core, our job is to help drive better business decisions through data, analytics and insights. We look at questions such as which sponsorship platform is the best fit for a brand, how rights holders can increase commercial revenue, or which companies could be promising sponsorship prospects for our sales teams.
We also conduct nationally representative market research studies, ranging from sponsorship performance measurement to broader research on sports, audiences and fan behaviour. In areas where reliable data is limited, we create our own research to fill the gap. A recent example is our whitepaper on football fans in the United States, published ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. We are currently working on a comprehensive study of tennis.
The market research side of the business, which includes around 200 proprietary studies each year, is led by my co-lead Thomas Bohn. This strict division of responsibilities works very well in practice, as it ensures ownership and accountability are always clear.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
What I enjoy most about Business Intelligence is the opportunity to shape and develop the function. When we took over the team, we had the chance to build and refine many things from the ground up. Seeing that work pay off, with growing demand for our services and a tangible impact on partnerships and business outcomes, is incredibly rewarding.
For me, it is important that my work is both meaningful and intellectually stimulating. I want to do something that I genuinely enjoy and that challenges me. Thanks to flexible working hours and the option to work from home, I have a high degree of autonomy, which makes it much easier to balance career and family life.
At the same time, I take great pleasure in leading and developing our young team. Supporting our young talents as they grow professionally and helping prepare them for the next steps in their careers is a real privilege.
Leading and developing our young team is something I truly enjoy. Supporting our young talents as they progress in their careers is a great privilege.
Why is BI a growth area at SPORTFIVE?
Business Intelligence is becoming increasingly important because sponsorship decisions today need to be backed by data. Ten years ago, a sponsorship deal might have been driven by a board member’s personal connection to a club. Today, brands want to understand which platform best fits their business, what value a partnership can deliver and whether it ultimately achieved its goals. At the same time, we help rights holders identify opportunities to optimise areas such as pricing, partnership structures and target client strategies. In short, we support our sales teams, brands and rights holders in making better-informed decisions.
Our expertise is also increasingly being sought beyond traditional sales mandates. Brands and rights holders are looking for data-driven advice on topics such as sponsorship strategy, partnership evaluation and commercial optimisation. To meet this demand, we are currently expanding our new Analytics & Advisory business internationally and establishing it as a standalone service offering within SPORTFIVE. As part of this growth, we are looking for new colleagues in Germany, the UK and France who combine a data-driven mindset with strategic thinking.
What qualities are you looking for in candidates for the Business Intelligence team?
We have people from a wide range of professional backgrounds in our team, which is one of our greatest strengths. The most important qualities are strong analytical skills, a passion for working with data and the willingness to dive deep into complex datasets. Just as important, however, is the ability to translate data into clear, actionable insights for colleagues in sales, clients and partner clubs.
Ideally, candidates combine analytical expertise with industry knowledge and experience in sports business. That said, we are also interested in talented individuals from fields such as management consulting who are keen to develop their sports industry expertise over time.
Our team is fairly decentralised because Business Intelligence in sports is a highly specialised field and relevant experience is important to us when hiring. As a result, our colleagues are based across Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Cologne, as well as with our partner clubs in Dortmund and Stuttgart.
As BI is a global focus area at SPORTFIVE, and Germany is home to our largest unit, we increasingly support teams in other markets as well. That is why we are particularly excited about candidates who bring an international perspective and mindset.
Are you interested in a job at SPORTFIVE? Explore our current opportunities on the careers portal.
