When Adult Swim tasked XD Agency with promoting the launch of its new show “Royal Crackers,” a spoof on the HBO drama “Succession,” the agency knew it wanted its marketing stunt to capture the outlandishness of Adult Swim’s new series. XD Agency ultimately landed on “something equally ridiculous and unstable”—a billboard display constructed entirely out of crackers. 

But the absurdity didn’t end there, as the agency then brought in a group of raccoons to feast on the edible billboard and unearth details about the show’s premiere hidden beneath the crackers. And, once the raccoons had finished snacking, XD Agency set the entire thing up in flames. That stunt, which drove millions of Google searches for “Royal Crackers billboard” and helped the show become Adult Swim’s most-watched new series in 2023, embodies the 25-year-old agency’s dauntless approach to brand activations. 

XD Agency similarly took an out-of-the-box concept and ran with it for Lego's activation at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con. The agency’s team traveled to Bend, Oregon, to visit the last operational Blockbuster store and gather inspiration for its own full-sized “Lego Brickbuster Video” pop-up at the comic book convention. Attendees could build their own VHS tape covers out of Lego bricks, browse a display of “employee picks” and enjoy the smell of buttered popcorn wafting through the activation (though the only popcorn available at the pop-up’s “snack stand” was made out of Legos). 

Nearly 50,000 Comic-Con attendees visited the Lego activation and spent an average of 14 minutes engaging with the pop-up. The Blockbuster-inspired activation also garnered more than 1 billion total social media and PR impressions.

XD Agency’s unorthodox approach to experiential marketing is also reflected in its workplace environment. The agency last year eliminated the traditional 40-hour workweek structure and allows its employees to work from any location. Perhaps due to that flexibility, XD Agency grew its team by 24% with 18 new hires in the first few months of 2024.