Manu Leroy launches The Missing Link, a new data driven sponsorship agency

Former Royal Belgian Football Association CMO and CEO ad interim Manu Leroy announces the launch of The Missing Link, a new strategic sponsorship agency that helps brands turn sports and entertainment partnerships into measurable business impact.

A New Approach to Sponsorship

After more than twenty years at the intersection of elite sport, media rights and brand strategy, Leroy launches the agency together with Lisa De Croocq (ex-RSC Anderlecht, Bacardi) and Koen Bauwens (ex-Nielsen), two experienced profiles from the Belgian sports and entertainment ecosystem. The Missing Link approaches sponsorship from the brand side, starting from business objectives and translating them into partnerships that can be activated, measured and defended internally.

Research-Backed Launch

The launch coincides with the publication of State of Sponsorship in Belgium, a whitepaper based on research among more than one hundred Belgian marketing and sponsorship professionals. The study shows that more than one in three marketers feel misunderstood when discussing sponsorship, while nearly half struggle to properly evaluate its return on investment. The findings highlight a structural lack of data, measurement and senior level confidence as the main barriers to further growth.

A New Vision

"Sponsorship should no longer be a leap of faith," says Leroy. "Brands invest serious budgets, yet too often struggle to explain the impact internally. In challenging budget times, that pressure only increases. That is why, alongside our strategic work, we also offer sponsorship as a service, giving brands flexible access to senior expertise when they need it. Our ambition with The Missing Link is to bring structure, strategy and data into the heart of sponsorship decision making."

The Missing Link operates independently of rights holders and supports brands throughout the full partnership lifecycle, from strategy and benchmarking to negotiation, activation and evaluation. The agency works across sports, entertainment and culture, with a growing focus on commercial and HR objectives alongside brand impact.

From Visibility to Value

"Our goal is not to sell more sponsorships," Leroy concludes. "It is to make sponsorship more accessible and work better. When partnerships are built on clear objectives, activated properly and measured honestly, they can become one of the most powerful growth drivers in the marketing mix. No matter how big the brand is."