Metajive 2024: A Year of Becoming

This was the year Metajive got one big step closer to the company we've been working toward for years – part of a transformation that we couldn’t have imagined when we first opened our doors 20 years ago. Building on an already strong foundation, we've pushed to improve ourselves in profound ways this year, all while staying true to our core values that continue to guide every step of our journey.

Let’s start with the (really) big news. In May 2024, Metajive joined The Together Group, a collective of creative consultancies and marketing, technology and production studios. A significant milestone for Metajive, this move has already sparked magic – we're working with partner agencies in ways that amplify everyone's strengths, creating work through collaboration. The alignment of our leadership teams has been remarkable, and our team's drive through transition speaks volumes about both our culture and the supportive group we are now part of.

Growth is one of our key values and Metajive continued to grow in every way this year, but particularly with strategic additions to the development side of our business. We evolved, sharpened, and doubled down on excellence. Jacob Fisher joined as Director of Development, while Sarah Barber stepped into the role of Associate Director of Production and Development, continuing the trend of seamless integration between Metajive and PXLP. With Doug Glover as an emerging leader at PXLP with Ben Paine joining the ranks of our development team, we've established our most refined internal processes yet.

Our commitment to creating great experiences – experience being another one of our values – extends beyond our clients to our own team. Erin Smith joined to lead HR initiatives, and among many other things helped formalize our specialty program that rewards team members with experiences based on how long they’ve been with Metajive. We're celebrating milestones too, with Matt Heidenriech and Katherine Bovee celebrating 4 years at Metajive while Rob Huti & Christie Wurster marking our longest tenure with 5-year anniversaries. We’ve hit our stride as a company, entering a new phase of maturity.

From a financial perspective, we’re now really starting to reap the benefits of having Luke Lau as our in-house CFO. He’s instilled an enhanced financial rigor and structure, while also building the infrastructure for our next phase of growth.

Our town halls have become a cornerstone of our culture, complete with the coveted (not quite gold, but almost) dinosaur trophy for our employee of the quarter.

Our Encinitas HQ is buzzing with creative energy and feeling increasingly like home. While our remote crew continues to be a big part of our success, we’re really enjoying the collaboration that takes place when we’re all in the same room.

Finally, on the team front, this year saw the first steps towards our co-founder and current COO April Benton’s shift to an advisory role. She’s working hard to set the groundwork for a smooth transition which will happen in the new year.

2024 saw us extend relationships with longstanding partners like HP, SoftBank and Acrisure while forging new paths with Edward Jones, Alterra, NEA, and GETRONICS. We also continue to grow our partnership with Google – a company that we admire at every level, from the technical innovations with Gemini to the scale of operations or just all around the best partners we could ask for.

When it comes to AI, we’re leaning in. Heavily. We've successfully deployed our first AI project for clients (launching in 2025) and are actively investing in an AI lab while seeking the right talent to drive the AI side of our business forward. Stay tuned for more.

Making the Inc. 5000 list for the third time (it would have been four, but hey, we forgot to apply one year!). This is more than just a number to us – it's a testament to our philosophy of growth. Speaking of growth Our Growth World Tour completed its first full year, bringing experts from Disney Imagineers to innovators like Claudio Guglieri and insights from the worlds best account leads and coaches on Life/LifeBalance. We do this to inspire and educate our team across all areas of life.

Our commitment to Kaizen – constant improvement – has never been stronger as we revisit processes across the organization. We have maintained our velocity delivering fast paced projects while keeping communication clear to create the company we aspired to be. These are the values that defines Metajive. This year was about meaningful evolution in how we create experiences for our clients and our team.

In an uncertain world where change is constant, Metajive has weathered the storms. 2024 was the year we slowly become increasingly like the world class company we know we can be. As we look to 2025, we have exciting new hires, investments in innovations, and amazing potential on the horizon.

Our journey of becoming continues, driven by our values, powered by our people, and guided by our commitment to creating great experiences. And as we continue to work towards the next great experience, the question we have on our minds is, “what's next?”