George P. Johnson Experience Marketing Launches National Brand X Student Design Competition

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The number one ranked event and experience marketing agency, George P. Johnson (GPJ), today unveiled an open challenge to the nation’s top undergraduate design and marketing students with the launch of Brand X, a groundbreaking competition featuring sports performance brand Under Armour, and with support from industry publications Event Marketer magazine and Event Design magazine. More details are available via the online hub: www.facebook.com/brandxchallenge.

“Brand X will expose future industry practitioners to the magic of live experiences and we are thrilled to support this initiative.”

The first-ever national competition of its kind, Brand X (“experience”) will expose college students to the emerging multidisciplinary approach to brand marketing that emphasizes richer, more meaningful interactions between brands and consumers. Experience design unites every marketing channel around a powerful and consistent brand promise, including digital, public relations, advertising, social media, direct, experiential and more. The competition is intended to be a platform that will bring industry attention to the growing importance of experience design as an exploding discipline within the marketing field and to introduce talented students to its practice.

Brand X will challenge student teams to develop a hypothetical Under Armour event campaign that begins 100 days out from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia and will include digital, mobile and physical experiences that will deliver on Under Armour’s brand values in compelling, memorable ways, culminating at Olympic Park in Sochi. The winning team will be flown to the annual Event Marketing Summit (May 6-8 in Chicago) for a special awards ceremony in front of industry leaders, receive a cash prize and will be offered prestigious paid internship positions with a GPJ creative studio. Special coverage of this historic program will appear in Event Marketer, Event Design and on their web sites.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have the Under Armour brand play a central role in a competition we feel is helping to shape the future of brand marketing,” said Shana Gritsavage, Director of Global Events at Under Armour. “Brands today are looking for new methods to elevate the customer’s experience across all touch points, and experience design is a growing discipline driving that shift.”

Reflecting the multidisciplinary nature of experience design, Brand X student teams will be comprised of talents from four core areas: environmental design, graphic design, digital and copywriting. Students will come from programs at universities and colleges nationwide, forming teams through crowdsouced elements and via partnerships with colleges and universities.

“The really exciting part of Brand X, for me, is the fact that we’re uncovering the best up-and-coming design talent in the country and challenging them to get outside their comfort zone,” said John Trinanes, Senior Vice President of Creative with GPJ. “Students who might have never heard of experience design before are going to come together, learn and compete on a truly national stage with one of the world’s great brands.”

Rolling out in early February nationwide, Brand X will allow student teams to enroll until February 28. After the enrollment period an all-star judging panel made up of leading brand marketers and representatives of major design associations will select the finalists and then determine the first, second and third place teams.

“For the explosive growth of experiential marketing to continue for many years to come, it’s critical to develop the next generation of experience marketers,” says Dan Hanover, Editor and Publisher of Event Marketer and Event Design magazines. “Brand X will expose future industry practitioners to the magic of live experiences and we are thrilled to support this initiative.”

About George P. Johnson (www.gpj.com)

GPJ is the number one ranked experience marketing agency, enabling brand marketers to create great ideas and bring them to life through integrated experiential programs that leverage online, device-driven and physical brand experiences. Brands in technology, healthcare, CPG, finance, automotive and other markets 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 audiences. GPJ is part of Project: WorldWide, the leading independent engagement marketing solutions network (www.project.com). Follow GPJ at www.twitter.com/georgepjohnson.

About Under Armour

Under Armour® (NYSE: UA) is a leading developer, marketer, and distributor of branded performance apparel, footwear, and accessories. The Company's products are sold worldwide and worn by athletes at all levels, from youth to professional, on playing fields around the globe. The Under Armour global headquarters is in Baltimore, Maryland, with European headquarters in Amsterdam’s Olympic Stadium, and additional offices in Denver, Hong Kong, Toronto, and Guangzhou, China. For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.ua.com.