• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, August 4, 2014

San Francisco-based experiential marketing agency George P. Johnson has launched a new unit that will specialize in sports marketing.

The sports sector isn’t new to GPJ. Earlier this year around Super Bowl time, the shop created the “Under Armour House of Innovation” in New York’s Grand Central Terminal to promote a new athletic shoe. It also created the Pepsi Fan Deck at the Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco and an event for Lexus at the U.S. Open.

Now, the agency’s new unit, GPJ Sports Marketing will focus on the development of sports-themed experiential campaigns for Fortune 500 firms globally, according to the firm.

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 in the sports industry. His work has included naming rights deals for AT&T Park and the Save Mart Center at California State University Fresno (said to be the largest university naming rights deal in the U.S.), and the development of the San Jose Grand Prix. He also consulted 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 is shifting to the sports unit from parent GPJ and will serve as executive director.  At GPJ he was responsible for the overall strategic marketing and client management for multiple clients, including MeadWestvaco, EMC, and Under Armour.

Commenting on the agency’s previous sports marketing efforts, GPJ CEO Chris Meyer said, ““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.”

GPJ is part of Project: Worldwide the mini agency holding company that made news last week with its acquisition of ad shop Pitch.