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Now some agencies are kicking the tires of the idea to help prevent employee burnout and build a stronger employer brand. Praytell, which is owned by independent agency network Project Worldwide, started to pilot a four-day workweek on October 1. The pilot runs until the end of March when the firm will evaluate whether to continue it for the rest of the year. “One-hundred percent of our people have the same schedule: Monday through Thursday,” says Praytell CEO and founder Andy Pray. He says they have “built into our weekly schedule back-ups,” such as having people on-call for urgent client needs.

Gaming and eSports agency OS Studios hires Wayne Leonard as head of accounts. Leonard was most recently vice president, account director for gaming and esports at George P. Johnson Experience Marketing. Earlier in his career, he was part of the production team that launched the first PlayStation. At OS Studios, Leonard will be the liaison between the agency and such clients as Twitch, Nexon, Konami and eMLS. OS Studios CEO John Higgins said that Leonard has “an extremely rich and expansive history in gaming activations in North America.”

Gaming and Esports Agency OS Studios, a member of the Project Worldwide network, is delighted to announce the return of the Navy MWR Esports tournament series. The series kicked off earlier this year, as Navy MWR personnel (morale, welfare and recreation) were looking for ways to connect Sailors while avoiding physical contact during the height of the pandemic.

The “Own Your Ridges” campaign is designed to inspire people to embrace their own life obstacles, or their “ridges,” according to the company ads. A 60-second spot titled “Ruffles D.N.A.” will debut during the NBA’s Christmas Day broadcasts, with five games scheduled on ABC and ESPN. Pepsi worked with creative agency Motive and the production company Prettybird to produce the spot.

Partners + Napier is ending the year with another hiring spree. Costa Boudouvas joins as group creative director, creative technology. Boudouvas was most recently vp and associate creative director at MullenLowe. Jason Ziehm joins Partners + Napier as an associate creative director, copywriter, after six years at Digitas, while George Mazzoli has been hired as director of paid search after previously serving as associate director of paid search at MediaCom.

Partners + Napier is ending the year with another hiring spree, adding three of the industry’s top names in creative and media to its talent roster. Joining Partners + Napier as group creative director, creative technology, is Costa Boudouvas, who most recently served as VP and associate creative director at MullenLowe. Jason Ziehmjoins Partners + Napier as an associate creative director, copywriter, after six years at Digitas. And George Mazzoli has been hired as director of paid search after previously serving as associate director of paid search at MediaCom.

George P. Johnson (GPJ), the world’s leading event and experience marketing agency, announces the promotion of Jonathan McCallum to Managing Director of the London office. Part of a global network, GPJ has European offices in the UK, Norway, Germany, France and Belgium.

Shoptology, the award-winning shopper marketing agency based in Plano, Texas, continues to build its talent pool to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving retail market. “There’s been a massively accelerated shift in consumer behavior and what shoppers expect at retail over the course of the pandemic,” said Charlie Anderson, Shoptology CEO. “With our approach to kickstarting retail innovation and the talent we’re building on our team, Shoptology is uniquely positioned to help our clients identify and develop ownable innovations to win with shoppers.”

Robert G. Vallee Jr. founded Project Worldwide in 2010 when he was CEO of event marketing agency George P. Johnson, the largest of its 13 properties. Like a traditional holding company, Project acquires controlling stakes in companies. It seeks specialized agencies like entertainment-focused G7, retail firm Shoptology, and esports company OS Studios. Project is an ESOP business, with 10% of employees' earnings coming in the form of stock awards. Vallee Jr. said this structure encourages retention and collaboration among agencies that offer different services to shared clients like PepsiCo.