Gravity Road: Purposeful Storytelling in a Year of Impact

At the Summer Olympics in Paris this year, Gravity Road partnered with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to create a campaign for the Refugee Olympic Team (ROT). Its moment of crowning glory this year. In the words of the agency's co-founder Mark Eaves: "It was work that mattered, had scale and made a genuine global impact." Work that genuinely showed how creativity can drive real-world change.

Led by founders Mark Eaves and Mark Boyd, the agency has been busy working with a diverse range of brands including Mars, Unilever, Peloton and TikTok. A showcase of of its understanding of how to create crafted pieces of work - accelerated by new technologies such as AI - to produce new ideas and experiences. Part of the Brandtech Group, the agency is rapidly cementing its position at the heart of global conversations and setting the stage for an exciting future.

We caught up with founder Mark Eaves to discuss the agency's 2024 achievements, its evolving creative approach and the exciting opportunities on the horizon.

Mark Eaves, founder at Gravity Road, on the agency's 2024

What have been the major highlights for your business in 2024?

Our continued global growth, especially across North America. The trend is accelerating for global marketers wanting fresh and faster partners that understand audiences and technology and that can, crucially, orchestrate both to creatively grow brands.

Things like the launch of our partnership with TikTok for Peloton having a direct positive impact on the market cap of the company. It shows the commercial gain of bold, creative moves by marketers.

Being crowned Global Social Media Agency of the Year - alongside Global Digital Innovation titles - was a special moment for us too and was the culmination of years of work to grow our footprint.

It’s satisfying to see a lot of UK founded businesses years really succeeding at a global level now. Our export market in the creative industries is something that needs to be given ever greater spotlight and celebration.

What is your proudest achievement from the last 12 months?

It has to be the work we did in partnership with the International Olympic Committee to launch the Refuge Olympic Team for Paris 2024. “1 in 100 Million” was a campaign that the whole group got behind, pushing every potential avenue to make it as big as possible.

It was work that mattered, had scale and made a genuine global impact. When the Refugee Olympic Team got the biggest cheers at the opening ceremony, we knew we’d done our job. And when Cindy Ngamba went on to win the first ever medal for the team, history was made. What an athlete!

What are you most looking forward to next year?

It’s not just the technology, it’s what you do with it. We’re rapidly moving into a phase where the novelty factor of something simply utilising Gen AI is “so what” ? Let’s ask, is it any good!? Is it something that couldn’t have happened before? Is it an exceptional thing done in an exceptional way ? The commoditisation of output across the industry will rapidly accelerate. But for us what’s exciting is those highly crafted pieces of work that technology provides a new opportunity to create. That’s 2025’s agenda for us.

We’ve also got some great big entertainment-led projects coming up and that’s always been Gravity Road sweetspot.

Has the addition of any AI solution made the profound impact on your business that was expected?

I get slightly amused by all the talk about the impact that AI will have on our industry. The big declarations of future investment by the big holding companies to keep market analysts happy. Look around. The change has already happened. If the use of Gen AI tools (responsible tools with the proper governance) aren’t already deeply engrained in your company’s creative workflow - and I don’t just mean pre-visualisation, I mean right through to output - you’ve lost ground.

As I’ve said, anybody who is still doing “the everyday” of work in manual ways will get beaten to the finish line by sharper, tech-powered folk.

What this allows is fresh space for bright restless minds with great taste and judgement, thinking irrationally, to use these tools to create all kinds of new ideas and experiences. It’s not just about moving image.

Creative Salon on Gravity Road's 2024

The Brandtech Group agency's 2024 has been a year of thoughtful growth, meaningful campaigns, and leadership shifts. With a move to The Shard, the agency signaled its deepening roots in London’s creative landscape while pushing its own blend of tech-forward storytelling.

A notable change was the departure of Jacinta Faul, who spent ten years shaping Gravity Road, especially in her role as managing director since 2019.

This year, the agency’s work was recognised with two major wins: Campaign Agency of the Year Global and Campaign Global Social Media Agency of the Year, both with gold awards. Katie Halajko, global head of production, was also featured in Campaign’s UK 40 Over 40, a testament to Gravity Road’s steady hand in leadership and impact in the industry.

Among its recent work, Gravity Road took on social causes that resonate deeply. During Pride month, the agency collaborated with LGBT+ anti-abuse charity Galop and the ADOT Foundation to launch a campaign addressing the rise in anti-LGBTQIA+ hate crime, encouraging a spirit of allyship that extends well beyond June.

For the Olympic Games in Paris, Gravity Road teamed up with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the “1 in 100 Million” initiative, sharing the stories of 36 refugee athletes who have overcome enormous challenges to compete on the world stage. The short film, which highlights their journeys, brings a hopeful narrative that resonates across cultures and backgrounds, honoring the resilience and spirit of displaced communities.

Creative Salon Says: Gravity Road's work for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) showcasing the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2024 Games in Paris this summer was a brilliant illustration of the agency's scale, its ambition and its distinct approach.

From socially conscious campaigns to its reliable leadership to its mantra of 'it’s not just the technology, it’s what you do with it' - Gravity Road is keeping things interesting and impactful. With a new home in The Shard and a fresh wave of work, the agency's 2025 is promising to be another influential year. Expect more elements of great.