Paris-based agency OpinionWay has opened a new business unit focused on sport business, and appointed former Ipsos and MetrixLab researcher Samy Boudjedra to lead it.

Founded in 2000 and with offices in France, North Africa, Poland and Ivory Coast, OpinionWay works for B2B and B2C clients in areas including market understanding, brand issues and product and service development. Operating worldwide, it boasts particular expertise in China, the Middle East, the US, Japan and South Korea; and last September it joined forces with Italian opinion researcher SWG to launch Polling Europe, a Brussels-based institute researching public trends and opinions across the continent.

The firm says the new Sport Business unit is part of a strategy of 'hyper-specialisation and innovation in high-potential sectors', and reflects its ambition to position itself as a strategic player in a rapidly changing sector, facing challenges such as digital transformation, audience engagement, influence strategy, partnership performance and measuring social impact. Target clients include federations, clubs, leagues, the media, advertisers, sponsors and equipment manufacturers, in France and internationally.

OpinionWay has worked in the sports sector for a number of years but says the new Unit and the arrival of Boudjedra mark a key step in its development. He brings more than twenty years' experience in marketing research, data and business development, including ten at Ipsos where he rose to Head of Department. Earlier he spent five years at Research International, and since leaving Ipsos in 2015 his roles have included Director of Media and Communications at CSA Research, and VP Business at MetrixLab. Most recently he worked at Socio Data Management, where he structured the sports offering and developed strategic partnerships with major main players in the area. In his new role he takes responsibility for structuring the offering, supporting clients in their innovation challenges and expanding business in the sector.

Hugues Cazenave, President and founder of OpinionWay, comments: 'Sport mirrors changes in society. It is a field of opportunity for brands, institutions and the media. Thanks to Samy's expertise and our culture of innovation, we want to help players in the sector to better understand their audiences, measure their impact and steer their performance and marketing strategy.'

The firm is online at www.opinion-way.com .