A commercial approach
to talent ID
Predicting future commercial value through player performance
Challenge
Player representation agency Roc Nation wanted to find a way to predict the future commercial value of players to inform their approach to talent ID. We were tasked to find a way to help them predict football’s future stars to inform their talent ID strategy.
Solution
We underwent a consultation exercise to fully understand Roc Nation’s strategy, and to identify the key criteria that characterise a ‘Roc Nation Player’ before defining an approach to help us predict which players would meet these criteria in the future.
Through our analysis we were able to show that player performance is a key predictor of future commercial value. We combined the performance intelligence in our Intelligence Engine with key metrics relating to player commercial value, such as social media following and engagement. Through analysing key performance and commercial indicators, we were able to identify the relevant factors influencing the future commercial value of players, including the level of their performance, the teams that they represent and the competitions that provide the biggest global platform.
We used these findings to predict which young players had the best chance of progressing through the game and becoming the ‘Roc Nation Players’ of tomorrow.
Impact
Our analysis helped to inform Roc Nation’s player acquisition strategy. The agency has since grown from a modest portfolio of footballers to a substantial stable of over 25 players with significant commercial value.
