UEG’s ‘inside-out’ approach fosters creative collaboration with insiders

Jarrod Moses built United Entertainment Group on a series of strong convictions, one of which is letting its work speak for itself. UEG’s work spoke volumes in 2024 and reflected a few more of the beliefs that frame the sports and entertainment agency’s success: utilizing industry experts in creative (or what Moses calls an “inside-out mentality”), emphasizing work that is culturally relevant and timely, and making certain its campaigns ring the cash registers for its clients. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here “For 17 years, it’s all been about building business in which we create best-in-class work that’s ahead of the marketplace,” Moses, the CEO of UEG, said in an interview. “Throughout this entire process, we’ve built relationships with people inside these industries we work in, so that we’re able to speak to our clients about what’s next, not just what’s now, so that you’re not buying in-market, you’re buying ahead-of-market. … It’s true partnership. Its creation versus just sponsorship.” UEG’s devotion to staying ahead of the cultural curve is no idle boast. Each of its offices includes a stage upon which emerging artists regularly perform for employees and talent agents. Billie Eilish is among those who’ve come up this way, Moses said. The “inside-out” approach brings industry insiders into the creative process at UEG and leverages the firm’s many relationships in the entertainment and sports worlds. “So instead of having a copywriter or an art director pretend that they are writing a screenplay, or a jingle, or a song, or social copy, we’re bringing in influencers and producers and actors and comedians into deals in the beginning, and having them create the concepts with us, and so that for our clients, they are actually becoming part of the zeitgeist of that cultural community,” Moses said. An example of this was visible last summer when UEG and Samsung created a three-part docuseries on the surfing, skateboarding and breaking events taking place at the Paris Olympics, co-created with the World Surf League, Street League Skateboarding and the Pro Breaking Tour, respectively. The films were a part of Samsung’s overarching “Open Always Wins” Olympic and Paralympic campaign and aired on Samsung channels, the leagues’ social channels and Eurosport. “It’s not about putting the patch on the uniform. It’s about introducing these sports to this whole younger generation of viewers,” Moses said. “We went deep into the organizations that created skateboarding and breakdancing, and engaged with them to help us create the content.” UEG also spent time on the podium in Paris, as athletes used the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 for “victory selfies.” Another UEG project helped 7-Eleven reawaken its coffee program for Gen Z—with a jolt of high-energy punk. Knowing that Gen Z loved coffee—but not the austere sensibilities of typical coffee marketing—UEG leveraged its music expertise and arranged a deal whereby Green Day’s Punk Bunny coffee brand would be brewed and served in 7-Eleven stores, and promoted it with an attention-getting tour. Fans in New York were offered 711 days of free coffee if they got a Punk Bunny tattoo (there were several takers). Fans in Detroit and Dallas enjoyed free samples and collaborative merchandise before the tour ended in Pinole, California, and the band’s hometown 7-Eleven. The earned portion of the campaign garnered 2.39 billion impressions, a 43% increase over the previous year’s marketing efforts. Store visits involving a coffee purchase were 1.5 times higher during the promotion, with 56% of the visits coming from new and non-loyalty members, according to the agency. See all of Ad Age’s 2025 Agency A-List winners here

UEG’s ‘inside-out’ approach fosters creative collaboration with insiders

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