How Cartwheel uses partnerships to drive experiential marketing success

Since debuting in 2021, Paramount+ has taken its “Mountain of Entertainment” campaign to plenty of places, including the Super Bowl. But when the streamer approached Cartwheel for some new ideas, the experiential marketing agency suggested some territory that involved actual mountains and streams. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here The agency helped broker a deal with the National Park Foundation that resulted in a week-long livestream event that debuted on Earth Day 2024 and involved seven national parks, including Yosemite. The effort included a PR campaign and media partnership with The New York Times using the tagline “Yes, You Can Literally Stream a Stream.” It drove new attention to both brands and left Paramount+ with valuable evergreen content that it uses to promote “Moments of Zen.” The campaign is an example of how the four-year-old agency is using partnerships to push the boundaries of traditional experiential marketing. “You really get two brands to essentially share audiences, share credibility, unlock new reach on behalf of one another,” said Cartwheel founder and CEO Robert Drury. “And the best part—and this is what our clients lean into—is when done right, it doesn’t cost any money. A lot of this is barter-based.” The agency in 2024 generated 20% of its revenue from its partnership work, helping to drive a total revenue increase of 44% to $10.5 million. Drury founded the agency after a lengthy career at LeadDog Marketing Group, where he started and ran the entertainment division, striking up relationships with media companies that now account for the majority of Cartwheel’s client list, including Amazon Prime Video, FX and NBCUniversal. The agency does not have a central office. Its 15 full-time employees are spread across the country and it uses an “accordion-style” approach to staff up based on project needs. “We have a really deep bench of trusted people, some of whom we work with every month, some of whom we talk to twice a year,” Drury said, noting the approach keeps overhead costs down. One of its most successful partnership campaigns was for FX. Cartwheel brokered a deal with luxury restaurant and hotel brand Nobu Hospitality for a campaign to promote the launch of “Shōgun,” FX’s acclaimed series about feudal Japan. The effort also included a collaboration with Bokksu, a subscription service for authentic Japanese delicacies. The campaign involved outfitting hotel lobbies with “Shōgun” costumes, with guests getting Bokksu amenity kits as well as branded room keys. It was amplified with a PR, influencer and social media campaign starring Nobu co-owner and celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa. It all led to 307 million impressions from PR coverage. Participating Nobu hotels and restaurants enjoyed a surge in foot traffic with more than 31,100 visitors and 7,900 hotel bookings, according to Cartwheel, while “Shōgun” went on to become one of the best-performing streaming titles on Hulu. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here

How Cartwheel uses partnerships to drive experiential marketing success

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