Occurrence, the research and communications consultancy and subsidiary of the Ifop Group, announces the creation of its Sport, Art & Culture Division, a new strategic initiative designed to help players in the sports, e-sports, art and culture sectors understand their audiences, manage their performance and enhance their impact.
To support this ambition, Occurrence has appointed Samy Boudjedra, an expert in research and the sector, to head up the division. With over twenty years’ experience, he has held management positions with leading research and consultancy firms, including OpinionWay, Ipsos, CSA Research and Socio Data Management, where he helped structure offers dedicated to sport and develop partnerships with numerous players in the ecosystem.
A new stage in development
The creation of Occurrence marks a new stage in the company’s development, and is part of the Ifop Group’s broader ambition to focus on brand issues, influence, commitment and societal transformation related to sport, culture and new uses.
As a mirror of social change, an arena for civic engagement, a space for marketing innovation and a field of opportunity for brands, institutions and the media, sport is today a strategic ecosystem in its own right. In a French market estimated to be worth almost 80 billion euros (source BPCE L’Observatoire, December 2025), organizations have to deal with new usages, the digital transformation of the fan experience, the rise of CSR issues, changing business models and the growing demand for impact measurement.
With this new division, Occurrence aims to support players in the sports, e-sports, arts and culture sectors in understanding their audiences, measuring their impact and managing their performance. In particular, the offering will cover measuring the effectiveness of partnerships and sponsorship, analyzing brand equity and audiences, and assessing the economic, social and territorial impact of events.
It will also provide a gateway to the challenges of investment, commitment and visibility in the worlds of art and culture.
“This cluster is born of a strong conviction: sport, art and culture are today major areas of connection, commitment and social transformation. Like other ecosystems, they need to rethink their business models, marked by new marketing challenges such as “sportainment”, customer experience and new habits in the consumption and practice of sport and culture. In this changing context, Occurrence and the Ifop Group aim to help organizations anticipate developments, limit risks and detect the weak signals that will drive the future.”
Samy Boudjedra
Director, Sport Business Arts & Culture
A dynamic supported by a collective of expertise within the Ifop Group
This initiative draws on the expertise already developed within the Ifop Group. Through its various entities, the Group has been working for several years with numerous sports players, institutions, media and brands, both in France and abroad, on issues linked to major events, brand strategies, new uses and societal transformations.
The Ifop Group is present at major events in sporting and institutional history, including the Olympic Games, international championships and major events, and regularly conducts benchmark studies on changes in behavior, the place of sport in people’s lives, and new cultural and digital practices. He has also pioneered new technological and conversational usages, notably around e-sports and online communities.
With the arrival of Samy Boudjedra, Occurrence and the Ifop Group have taken a further step in structuring an integrated offering dedicated to players in the fields of sport, culture and new areas of engagement.
“The creation of the Sport, Art & Culture Division marks a new stage in the development of our offering. We are capitalizing on our already solid experience, notably through our latest studies conducted for SPORSORA, and we are strengthening this expertise with the arrival of Samy Boudjedra. His knowledge of marketing research, data and sports players will enable us to provide organizations with more detailed support in measuring their performance, understanding their audiences and enhancing their impact.”
Assaël Adary
Managing Director, Occurrence