Indy marketing firm nabs Dallas company co-founded by Staubach

LST Marketing of Indianapolis has acquired Dallas-based PPI Marketing, a sports marketing firm that was co-founded in 1993 by NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Roger Staubach.

Roger Staubach

Staubach and his partner, Roz Cole, will be partners in the merged company, which will maintain the LST Marketing name, although the football great will not be involved in day-to-day operations.

"Roger's affiliation is a real point of pride," said LST CEO John Lopes, who lived and practiced law in Dallas before moving into marketing in Indianapolis. "Roger is a quintessential businessman. He's called Captain America for a reason."

Staubach also serves as executive chairman of JLL Americas, a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate. 

“It’s great to see the PPI staff seamlessly embrace LST Marketing, and I’m proud to remain involved in the company’s future,” Staubach said in a statement. “Roz has led the company to a point where we now are positioned to expand as an industry leader with LST Marketing.”

The acquisition will increase LST's revenue by about 25 percent and its staff by about one third, to 31. It also more than doubles the number of brands the firm represents. The deal closed last week and the staff already has merged. The firms did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

LST offers marketing, event production, content creation, digital promotion and sports and entertainment sponsorship strategies with a team that came together through their work in sports. About 50 percent of LST's work is sports companies and events. The firm also coordinates events, scheduling and marketing at the Grand Park Events Center in Westfield.

Its acquisition of PPI is part of the firm’s larger growth efforts and will create a new area of business—connecting celebrities with clients.

"That's a big part of what PPI does. It stands for personalities and promotions," Lopes said. "For many years—over 20 years—they've been matching talent, including athletes, astronauts, celebrities, to corporations for meet-and-greets, promotions and events. It's an exciting part of our business."

Starke Taylor, president of LST Marketing and a Dallas native, will lead the Texas office.

“I’m excited to launch our Dallas operations with the longstanding talent that’s already in place,” Taylor said in a statement. “Adding the new vertical of celebrity integration is a real plus and the capabilities of the Dallas-based staff we have in-house enhances our growing strategic consulting business. I’m ecstatic to move back to my hometown of Dallas.”

Cole will stay on in an advisory role. Mark Winneker, former president of PPI Marketing, will also stay on as managing director of LST Marketing’s Dallas office.

Combined, the companies have sold and managed more than $2 billion in sponsorships and the addition of PPI brings more than 50 clients to LST. The combined firm's client list includes Budweiser, Mary Kay, AdvoCare, PepsiCo, Transwestern, Robroy, BNSF, Chick-fil-A, Harley-Davidson, Lamborghini, 7-Eleven, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Advance Auto Parts, Volkswagen and Methodist Sports Medicine.

“This opens up a whole new world of relationships for LST Marketing,” Lopes said.

LST Marketing grew out of Andretti Sports Marketing, where Lopes and Taylor had been minority owners. ASM—formed in 2012—organized events and managed hospitality for racing and other sports.

In 2015, Lopes and Taylor sued Michael Andretti, who owned 60 percent of the company, claiming Andretti had improperly allocated money from the marketing company to help fund his race team.

As part of a settlement, Andretti agreed to sell his stake in the firm to Lopes and Taylor, who the renamed it LST Marketing.