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GPJ and DARKHORSE, two agencies within Project, an employee-owned alliance of creative agencies, unveiled Binance Blockchain Week Dubai 2024 this week, producing the biggest ever flagship event for the world’s leading crypto ecosystem, Binance. The industry leading symposium brought together the brightest minds in Web3, blockchain, cryptocurrency and decentralized finance.

Experiential marketing is always evolving, and the industry is poised to outpace prepandemic spending this year. It’s no surprise, then, that 2024 has already proved to be a landmark year for experiential campaigns. With a wealth of impactful, original and delightful campaigns already in the books for 2024, Ad Age decided to bring back Ad Age Studio 30’s popular Best of Experiential roundup. This edition features insights from its esteemed panel of Amp insiders, including Motive, GPJ and OS Studios, shining a light on the year’s most inspiring and noteworthy work while showcasing the power of brand experiences that truly resonate.

You can probably surmise that someone is a bit of a creative visionary when they have a career that started in theater and moved to courting Gen Z and the exploding gaming culture. John Higgins has always had his finger on the pulse of what was cool, and now that insight is rewarding him and his company, OS Studios, with an impressive list of clients and wildly successful experiences for gamers.

The LA Clippers partnered with Spinifex, best known for crafting immersive fan experiences, to bring a fresh perspective on sports venues. Spinifex mapped every seat and pixel, ensuring that every fan has a comprehensive view of the Halo Board, and resulting in the most realistic motion graphics ever seen.

GRAND CAYMAN: The Cayman Islands Department of Tourism has named Praytell as its U.S. PR and influencer AOR and Grey as its global creative AOR. The appointment, following a competitive, multi-month procurement process, tasks Praytell with overseeing media relations, the organization’s visiting journalist program, influencer relations, thought leadership, issues and crisis consultation, travel trade and consumer publicity and events for the U.S., the organization said in a statement. The firm’s travel and tourism client list includes Destination Canada, the Singapore Tourism Board, Kampgrounds of America and Air New Zealand.

George P. Johnson (GPJ), the world’s leading strategic experience marketing agency and a member of Project, an employee-owned alliance of creative agencies, announces the hiring of an Executive Director of Sports Activations to lead its sports practice and address the growing desire of brands wanting to dive into the dynamic world of experiential sports marketing. With over two decades of experience, Jenn Houston is an expert in brand building, business development, and integrated communication strategy. She has collaborated with top global brands in the US, Canada, and Europe including Visa, Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Coca-Cola and Google to name a few.

Praytell has hired Sean Flynn as SVP of its new sports practice. Flynn joined Praytell this month, reporting to CEO Andy Pray. He will lead the practice, which has 10 staffers, alongside SVP Stephanie Shambo. Flynn will also play a central role in supporting the sports, gaming and entertainment initiative of Praytell holding company Project, which brings people from the network together in a “one agency” approach, Flynn said. Most recently, Flynn co-led Ketchum’s sports practice as SVP. He worked for the Omnicom Group firm in various roles since first starting there in 2009, but left for a brief stint working on global consumer PR at Netflix between 2017 and 2018.

In yet another example of how 2024 is shaping up to be a landmark year in the world of sports, sports marketing was one of the leading trends at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. With no shortage to choose from, Ad age polled experts from the Amp community on the year’s best sports ads thus far. "The campaign that stands out most for me this year has been Adidas’ ongoing launch of Anthony Edwards’ signature shoe, the AE1. Despite Edwards’ fame as an up-and-comer, it’s obvious that Adidas recognized early on that mainstream audiences might not yet be familiar with the rising NBA star. And even those who knew his name didn’t really know him yet. And so the campaign felt as much like an introduction to Edwards himself—a promising talent on the brink of superstardom—as it was a shoe release." —Casey Null, director of strategy, Wondersauce.

This year Project has earned a spot in Ad Age’s annual agency report, which lists the world's biggest agency companies based on revenue. The report uncovered that worldwide revenue for the 30 biggest agency companies, which includes Project, increased 5.6% to $148 billion in 2023.