At GPJ, our Integrated Production (IP) team is the connective tissue of the agency—bringing strategy, creative, and logistics into alignment with flawless execution. Whether it’s a global brand launch or a high-touch proprietary event, IP ensures that everything—from signage to custom fabrication—shows up on time, within budget, and at an exceptional level of quality.
Integrated Production isn’t just a job function—it’s a mindset. This week, we chatted with Marina Royston—a perfect example of a GPJer who embodies that mindset—to gain insight into the expansive world of IP.
From Black Tie Galas to Corporate Activations
Marina joined GPJ nearly four years ago, hired during the early rebound from COVID when live events were finally coming back online. But her path into experiential marketing was anything but conventional.
“I used to actually work with horses professionally,” Marina shares. “There’s a lot of money in that world, so I ended up volunteering at black tie galas, VIP events, tailgates…and I realized how much I loved that aspect.”
After moving to Austin and working on social events like weddings and high-profile birthdays, she pivoted to digital events during the pandemic. But she missed being part of the planning process—the strategy, the creativity, and the real-time execution that make live experiences unforgettable.
That’s when she found GPJ.
“It hit all the aspects I was looking for,” she says. “International work, creativity, sustainability—I was hooked.”
Owning the Chaos
If there’s one thing Marina thrives on, it’s momentum.
“I’m an adrenaline junkie,” she says. “I definitely thrive in the go-go-go aspect of it all.”
Her first on-site event was KubeCon in LA—just one month into her time at GPJ. She hadn’t worked on the event but stepped in when someone else couldn’t make it.
“It was also my first time seeing a booth build and dismantle. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, that’s what Aluvision is!’”
The mad dash didn’t stop there. That same event, she had to run across LA during rush hour to pick up gear from Best Buy—an introduction to the real-life improvisation that defines so much of what IP does.
Marina’s proudest moments, however, aren’t the big reveals or headline activations. They’re the quiet wins.
“Success comes in small moments. Like staying up until midnight to install a 70-foot banner. Or stapling pipe and drape together because it keeps coming apart but needs to look seamless,” she says. “It’s those little things I walk away from and I’m like, I did that. We made that happen.”
Integrated by Nature
Over her time at GPJ, Marina has been steadily pushed to grow—first by taking on more proprietary, C-suite-level events, and later, being challenged to take on the role of IBM’s Inventory Manager.
Her manager saw an opportunity to expand her understanding of fabrication, logistics, and team orchestration. That opportunity led her to run fabrication for Think, IBM’s flagship event, for two consecutive years—an experience she completely owned from start to finish.
Now, she sees her role through a broader lens.
“We’re the ultimate middleman who helps connect all of the various pieces that go into an event, organize them, and get them all onsite at the right time in the right place,” Marina explains.
She also notes how the producer role at GPJ is evolving.
“We’re the sand that fills the gaps,” she says. “We’re being challenged to get more involved in other areas like strategy and creative. We’re not just executing—we’re integrating.”
A Career Built on Curiosity
Marina is currently finishing her degree in Cultural Anthropology—a field that perfectly aligns with her passion for people, diversity, and meaningful experience design.
“I love understanding what makes up a people,” she says. “I wanted to combine that and events to make it a more meaningful goal.”
That drive toward cultural understanding, sustainability, and hands-on problem-solving makes Marina a force within Integrated Production—and one of the reasons this team is so vital to the success of every program GPJ touches.
“I can never take credit for something without tagging the 20 people that made it happen,” she says. “We’re all in this together—it’s really that sense of community.”
It’s people like Marina who make Integrated Production the workhorse it is for GPJ. From fast-moving fixes to long-term strategic growth, she shows how adaptability, grit, and collaboration power the experiences that define our clients’ brands.
