In a global sports marketing landscape defined by both consolidation and fragmentation, few agencies have charted a path as distinctive as Talisman.

Launched just four years ago, the agency has emerged as a standout, not through volume or visibility, but through a disciplined commitment to relevance, operational sharpness, and putting the right people in the right roles.

That foundation was intentional from day one. Before Talisman officially launched, its founding team already brought more than 150 years of combined experience from across the highest tiers of the sports ecosystem: McLaren Racing, Manchester City, LA Lakers, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool FC, New York Knicks; agencies like Dentsu, Wasserman, IMG, and Sportfive; major leagues including the NBA, NFL, UFC, Premier League, and Formula One; plus private equity, creative studios, and disruptive tech ventures. This baked-in expertise shaped the company’s DNA and helped establish a clear identity early on: a sports marketing agency built to engineer competitive advantage.

Operating out of New York and Dubai, Talisman functions within Project Worldwide – a network of 16 independent agencies with 3,000-plus employees across 42 locations. This affiliation provides a unique duality: the agility of a boutique, paired with the global delivery capabilities of a networked firm. In a post-pandemic era where many firms have either downsized or consolidated, that structure has been key to Talisman’s continued momentum.

“From day one, we built Talisman around people, not process. The idea was simple – if we brought in the best talent from across sport, business, and culture, the rest would follow. That bet has paid off in ways we couldn’t have imagined” – Dharpan Randhawa, Talisman founder

Following Covid, the industry saw a spike in smaller, specialist agencies – many launched by individuals navigating redundancies or shifting from consultancy work. While a handful found quick success, many struggled with scale and sustainability. At the same time, holding groups moved toward consolidation to regain margin and simplify delivery. Talisman, meanwhile, has taken a different path: not reacting to trends but building with deliberate intention.

Its model hasn’t followed the noise, it’s sidestepped it.

Today, the agency’s portfolio spans some of the most competitive verticals in sport: Formula One, Premier League soccer, tennis, sailing, and Major League Volleyball, where Talisman serves as the official agency of record. The client base also reflects the growing intersection between sport and emerging industries – gaming, wellness, fintech, and Web3 – all of which increasingly look to sport as a platform for visibility and cultural relevance.

Talisman’s success has also been shaped by its approach to younger audiences. While legacy agencies have struggled to keep pace with shifting fan behaviors, Talisman has invested heavily in platform-native storytelling, building content and activations that live where fans actually are: TikTok, Twitch, Roblox, and Discord.

The strategy is informed by data, but powered by creative fluency, allowing brands to connect in more resonant and culturally attuned ways.

Its ability to move between brand strategy, commercial sales, and creative execution has become one of its defining advantages. While some agencies specialize in a single lane, either consulting, creative, or sales – Talisman’s ability to integrate across all three has proven to be a winning formula, particularly for brands looking for end-to-end partnership delivery and sports properties seeking a broader commercial edge.

Through its consulting and insights division, Talisman helps brands understand not just where to show up in sport, but why. That often includes comprehensive market scans, audience alignment studies, commercial ROI modeling, and white-space analysis. This level of front-end strategy has enabled brands to make more confident investment decisions and ensured that sponsorships align with wider business objectives.

The agency has also carved out a distinctive role in B2B and credibility-led partnerships, where sport is used less for mass-market awareness and more as a strategic lever to open doors, drive investor trust, or reach hard-to-access audiences. This has proven especially effective in verticals like cybersecurity, fintech, crypto, and emerging tech – categories where Talisman has already delivered campaigns across Formula One and other global platforms.

Looking ahead, the agency is doubling down on two core focus areas: scale and capital. Through Talisman Ventures, it’s deploying funds alongside private and institutional investors into high-upside opportunities across sport and sports tech. At the same time, it’s stepping more deeply into operational partnerships, supporting small-cap leagues and franchises with commercial infrastructure, smarter business models, and long-term planning.

Talisman’s work with Major League Volleyball illustrates this shift. Rather than a traditional sponsorship brief, the partnership sees the agency embedded in day-to-day league operations, franchise development, and structural growth – marking a broader move into sports operations and investment. Talisman is supporting the build-out of key infrastructure, helping onboard ownership groups, shaping go-to-market strategies, and working closely with league executives to turn vision into scalable reality.

This isn’t new territory for Talisman, it’s a natural evolution. The agency has never operated as a traditional service provider, but rather as a growth architect for brands and rights holders alike. That positioning has not only delivered measurable impact, but also caught the attention of institutional investors and major agency groups looking to future-proof their commercial models.

It wouldn’t come as a surprise to see Talisman become part of a broader consolidation play in the near future.

Reflecting this evolution, the company recently transitioned leadership, with founder Dharpan Randhawa stepping aside as chief executive and appointing Charlie Evans to lead the next phase of growth. Randhawa continues to oversee the group’s strategic direction and lead its ventures arm, while Evans brings operational precision and commercial focus to the day-to-day business.

“Appointing Charlie as CEO wasn’t just a leadership decision, it was a strategic one,” says Randhawa. “He brings clarity, operational edge, and a different lens to the business. It’s one of the proudest moves I’ve made because it reinforces what we stand for: putting the right people in the right roles to win.”

Both leaders see the move as part of a wider strategy to build not just a great agency, but an enduring one. With talent at its core, a networked structure for global delivery, and a diversified model that spans consulting, capital, and creative, Talisman is increasingly setting the pace in a competitive category.

“Taking on the role of CEO at Talisman is an incredible honour,” says Evans. “This agency has always been about forward momentum, about setting the pace, not chasing it. My job now is to build on that foundation and scale it with precision, creativity, and purpose.”

In a crowded market where attention often favours noise, Talisman’s rise shows the value of doing things differently – of staying sharp, relevant, and true to a long-term strategy. It’s not trying to be the biggest agency in the world. Just the most impactful. And increasingly, that’s what clients are buying into.

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