George P. Johnson Launches New Practice - GPJ Sports Marketing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Aug 4, 2014) -  George P. Johnson (GPJ), one of the world's leading experience marketing agencies, and part of the Project: WorldWide network, today announced the creation of GPJ Sports Marketing. The new practice will specialize in the development of compelling and memorable sports experiences for Fortune 500 firms globally.

GPJ Sports Marketing will offer an unparalleled range of services, from strategic consulting, to concept, design, fabrication, and on the ground management. With a 100-year history in event and experience marketing, the new practice will build on what is already an area of concentrated expertise within GPJ.

"Through our experience producing widely acclaimed projects in the sports marketing arena; including Under Armour House of Innovation during Super Bowl XLVIII, Pepsi Fan Deck at the new Levi's Stadium in San Francisco, and Lexus at the US Open; the creation of GPJ Sports Marketing is a natural progression for the agency," said Chris Meyer, CEO of George P. Johnson. "These programs demonstrate the deeper level of consumer engagement that is possible when the experience marketing professionals at GPJ are able to leverage premier sporting events."

The practice will be led by industry veterans, Kevin Bartram and Jon Hickey. Bartram joins GPJ Sports Marketing as SVP after more than 20 years of sponsorship consulting and representation work in the sports industry. His work has included naming rights deals for AT&T Park and the Save Mart Center (the largest university naming rights deal in the U.S.), development of the San Jose Grand Prix, managing PG&E's relationship with the San Francisco Giants, the creation of a sustainable sponsorship program for Sonoma Raceway, and consulting the City of San Francisco on various programs including the America's Cup. His clients have included Pepsi, Wells Fargo, NASA, MLB, Panasonic, and Cisco.

Hickey joins Bartram on the leadership team as Executive Director and has 20 years of experience in strategic sports marketing and business management with Fortune 500 companies. He most recently served as an executive director at GPJ and was responsible for the overall strategic marketing vision and client management for multiple clients, including MeadWestvaco, EMC, and Under Armour.

"The combined client expertise and leadership experience of Kevin and Jon, paired with the history and sports marketing capabilities of GPJ and Project: WorldWide's agencies, GPJ Sports Marketing will offer unmatched sports experience value to our clients," said Meyer. "We couldn't be more excited to make this announcement public and welcome Kevin to the GPJ team." 

Highlights of other GPJ sports marketing work include the Chobani 2012 U.S. Olympics sponsorship campaign, the Lenovo Olympic Pavilion for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and the Cisco House for the 2012 Olympics in London. Plans are currently in development for global experiences with the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and Super Bowl XLIX.

About George P. Johnson (GPJ)
GPJ is one of the world's leading experience marketing agencies. It enables top brand marketers to benefit from integrated experiential programs that leverage online, physical and mobile brand interactions. Clients in technology, health care, consumer goods, finance and other fields rely on GPJ to help them compete more effectively on a global basis by creating and accelerating relationships with customers, employees, partners, media and other influencers. GPJ is part of Project: Worldwide, an independent, global network of wholly-owned agencies delivering engaging experiences that drive business results for clients (project.com). Follow GPJ at twitter.com/GPJExpMktg.