May 10, 2007 6:02 AM, PROMO Xtra

Hawkeye Group has bought a sports marketing agency, The Squire Group, and used it to form a new division, Hawkeye Sports & Entertainment.

As part of the acquisition, Squires Group founder Merrill Squires joins Hawkeye as president of the new division. The transaction closed earlier this month. Terms were not disclosed.

Squires brings 14 staffers to Hawkeye, where he’ll build out three segments of lifestyle marketing: endurance sports, traditional team and league sports, and entertainment.

The agency has already hired Tami Rittberg to head up entertainment marketing. She had been vice president of integrated marketing at Warner Bros. Music.

Squires founded his agency in 2000; clients included Frito-Lay, Pepsi, Dr Pepper/Seven Up Cos. and Rodale Publishing, which hired Squires to reposition its magazines in the growing “healthy active” niche. The shop has collaborated with Hawkeye since 2005, Squires said.

Before the acquisition closed, Hawkeye and Squires pitched—and won—the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s sports marketing account, to better leverage its sponsorship deals with sports leagues that bring events to Hawaii, like the NFL Pro Bowl.

Hawkeye’s new division also will handle endurance-race tie-ins for Toyota and North Face. Last year, Squires ran North Face’s “50 Races in 50 Days in 50 States” campaign with endurance runner Dean Karnazes. Hawkeye now represents Karnazes in sponsorship negotiations.

Hawkeye ranked No. 54 in the 2006 PROMO 100 with 2005 net revenues of $56.7 million, up 19% from 2003.

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