What Gail & Rice does

Gail & Rice is a privately held experiential marketing agency founded in 1931 and headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The company designs and produces large-scale live and virtual brand experiences for Fortune 100 clients, with a deep specialization in the automotive industry. Documented service offerings include product launches, media experiences, consumer activations, virtual events, electric vehicle consumer education, and business meetings — delivered through in-house capabilities spanning creative, strategy, management, production, and staffing.

The agency's technology stack centers on event production rather than software. Notable technical capabilities include drone choreography, LED wristbands, augmented reality, holograms, large-scale audiovisual systems, and bilingual event team coordination. Example productions referenced include the Audi e-tron Global Debut (featuring an Intel drone ballet and 50,000 sq. ft. content-rich environments) and the Ford Escape the Room activation combining a drivable board game with vehicle technology. The firm has adapted its production model to include virtual and hybrid event formats (documentary films, interactive cooking events, remote product experiences with home vehicle delivery) demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The business model is project-based professional services revenue, with custom-quoted engagements scoped per client requirements. Go-to-market is exclusively direct enterprise field sales, with no self-serve, e-commerce, or volume distribution. The client base is concentrated in automotive (Ford, Audi, Kia, Lincoln, Volkswagen, FCA, Electrify America) with selected work for sports organizations (Major League Soccer). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Gail & Rice is a private company with no disclosed parent, institutional investors, funding rounds, or M&A activity.

Name

Gail & Rice

Legal name

Gail & Rice

Website

https://gail-rice.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1931

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Gail & Rice is a Farmington Hills, Michigan-based experiential marketing agency founded in 1931 that designs and produces product launches, media events, consumer activations, virtual events, and EV education programs primarily for Fortune 100 automotive clients including Ford, Audi, Kia, Lincoln, Volkswagen, and FCA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Farmington Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Experiential Marketing Services: Gail & Rice provides comprehensive experiential marketing services to Fortune 100 companies, including product launches, media experiences, consumer activations, virtual events, and business meetings. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees for creative, strategy, management, production, and staffing services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Gail & Rice is an experiential marketing agency that designs and produces live, virtual, and hybrid brand experiences for Fortune 100 clients. Its service portfolio spans product launches, media experiences, consumer activations, electric vehicle education, and business meetings, delivered through creative, strategy, management, production, and staffing capabilities under one team.

Product overview

Gail & Rice is an experiential marketing agency offering a unified portfolio of event-based services rather than a software product platform. Their core service offerings include Product Launches (global product reveal events), Media Experiences (comprehensive media engagement programs), Consumer Experiences (consumer activation events), Virtual Events (online event production), Electric Vehicle Education (automotive EV launch and support services), and Business Meetings & Events (corporate meeting production). The company, founded in 1931 and headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, specializes in the automotive industry with clients including Ford, Audi, Kia, Lincoln, Volkswagen, FCA, and Electrify America. Services encompass creative development, strategy, management, production, and staffing for live and virtual experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Product Launches
• Media Experiences End-to-end media event management from invitations through publication, encompassing all brand touchpoints including hospitality, venues, and journalist interactions. Targets enterprise communications and PR leads.
• Consumer Experiences Informative and memorable consumer activations for 20,000-plus consumers annually, designed to identify and attract high-value participants and create events that drive consideration and purchase. Targets enterprise brand and product marketing teams.
• Virtual Events Online event production in various formats including prerecorded, live, interactive, one-and-done, on-demand, open, or private events. Targets enterprise marketers needing virtual or hybrid alternatives to live activations.
• Electric Vehicle Education Specialized automotive experience services for EV technology launches, consumer education, and zero emission vehicle debuts across North America, including bilingual consumer education programs. Targets EV manufacturers and EV charging infrastructure operators.
• Business Meetings & Events Creative, strategy, management, production, and logistics for business meetings designed to excite key stakeholders and communicate company vision. Targets enterprise sales, dealer network, and association audiences (e.g., annual dealer meetings, league meetings, executive awards).

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ consumers reached annually through dozens of activations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• Amazon (Home Charging)supportingTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with Amazon for home charging demonstration scenarios as part of Audi e-tron media events. Amazon served as a technology partner for showcasing EV home charging solutions integrated with the e-tron ecosystem.
• Electrify AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerElectrify America partnered with Gail & Rice for multiple EV education programs including the Discover & Drive Tour. Electrify America provides charging infrastructure demonstration as part of EV consumer education experiences.
• Marvel (Audi Partnership)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerAudi's partnership with Marvel was leveraged during e-tron events, with giveaways featuring Marvel branding. Gail & Rice incorporated this partnership into event experiences.
• LEE InitiativesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit supporting sustainable farmers and local restaurants. Gail & Rice designed virtual campaign for Audi e-tron Sportback launch centered around LEE Initiative partnership, including cooking events with Chef Edward Lee.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MKG: MKG is a creative experiential and brand storytelling agency producing immersive consumer experiences and large-scale brand moments for major brands, sharing agency-style creative and production services with Gail & Rice.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports and experiential marketing agency with deep automotive and brand activation work (including similar Major League-style partnerships), making it a direct functional peer to Gail & Rice's automotive and sports league clients.
• Sparks: Sparks is a specialized experiential marketing agency (part of Publicis Groupe) producing large-scale live brand experiences, consumer activations, and product launches — directly comparable to Gail & Rice's core offering.
• 160over90: 160over90 is a global creative agency producing brand experiences, content, and campaigns for enterprise clients, with comparable production scale and storytelling-led approach to Gail & Rice.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton is a global brand experience agency (owned by Interpublic Group) that produces product launches, media events, and immersive experiences for Fortune 500 brands, directly overlapping Gail & Rice's automotive and enterprise work.
• GES (Global Experience Specialists): GES delivers global event experiences, expositions, and brand activations and is heavily embedded at auto shows and major consumer events, directly comparable to Gail & Rice's automotive show and consumer drive work.
• Momentum Worldwide: Momentum Worldwide is an IPG-owned experiential marketing agency focused on brand experience, consumer activation, and product launch campaigns, overlapping heavily with Gail & Rice's automotive experiential work.
• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: George P. Johnson is a global experiential marketing agency and one of the longest-standing competitors in the automotive launch and consumer experience space, making it a closely comparable peer to Gail & Rice.

Emerging players

• CSM Sport & Entertainment: CSM delivers sport-led brand experiences and experiential programs for global brands, with adjacent league-level event production capabilities comparable to Gail & Rice's MLS and corporate event work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gail-rice
• Instagraminstagram.com/gailandrice
• Xx.com/gailandrice
• Facebookfacebook.com/gailandrice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gail & Rice