dio

What dio does

dio is a privately held, York, Pennsylvania-headquartered experiential marketing agency founded in 2001 by David Pridgen II and Regis Maher, with additional operational offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Las Vegas supporting national campaign execution. The firm designs, produces, and measures brand activations for enterprise clients, with a service catalog spanning multi-market mobile tours, college campus activations, trade show experiences, product sampling, PR stunts, pop-ups, sponsorship activations, AR/VR experiences, and NFC/beacon-driven interactive engagements. dio monetizes through project-based professional services fees tailored to campaign scope, markets, and staffing requirements, often under multi-year contracts with brand CMOs and via agency-of-record partnerships.

The agency's service delivery is anchored by a proprietary field marketing system in which national field managers and W2 brand ambassadors (background-checked and ServSafe-certified) execute activations, differentiated by GPS-tracked fleet access through sister company do it outdoors media (the largest national mobile billboard company in the U.S.). Technology is layered through partnerships with Blue Bite (NFC), Gimbal (beacons and proximity), Monster Media (digital interactive displays), and Tagkast (photo marketing), enabling real-time data capture, facial-detection audience measurement, and geofenced mobile display retargeting. dio reports campaign outcomes via client dashboards with daily metrics and downloadable media files.

dio serves consumer packaged goods, telecom, retail, tourism, nonprofit, and trade show exhibitor clients, with a named roster that includes McDonald's, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Disney, HBO, Walmart, Corona Premier, Lightlife, No Kid Hungry, Wendy's, and Eastern Alliance Insurance Group (a 13+ year strategic client). The company has accumulated industry recognition including a 2020 Event Marketer Ex Award silver for Best Sports Activation, multiple Telly, ADDY, and IMCA Showcase Awards, and has documented quantifiable outcomes such as a 244% sales lift for MetroPCS's Freedom Rings Tour and 136M+ media impressions for the No Kid Hungry Orange Carpet Road Show.

Name

dio

Legal name

dio USA

Website

https://diousa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

dio is a York, Pennsylvania-based boutique experiential marketing agency that designs, executes, and measures multi-market brand activations — including mobile tours, sampling, trade shows, and AR/VR experiences — for enterprise clients across CPG, telecom, retail, tourism, and nonprofit verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Advertising Material Distribution Services (54187), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (541850)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Brand Activations & Experiential Campaign Design (MPAAAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO)

Keywords

• Experiential marketing services
• Brand activation campaigns
• Mobile marketing tours
• Trade show marketing
• Product sampling programs

Headquarters

HQ city

York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Experiential Marketing Campaign Services: Full-service experiential marketing agency providing strategy, creative development, production, and execution of brand experiences. Revenue generated through project-based fees for campaign development and execution across various activation types including mobile tours, trade shows, pop-ups, sampling, PR stunts, and events.
2. Strategic Planning and Consulting: Experiential marketing strategy development, strategy review and evaluation, primary and secondary market research, buyer persona creation, and KPI development and measurement services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

dio is a full-service experiential marketing agency that plans, designs, builds, and executes live brand experiences for enterprise clients. Its offerings include mobile marketing tours, product sampling, trade show activations, PR stunts, pop-up shops, sponsorship activation at sports and music events, and campus marketing programs targeted at Gen-Z. The agency pairs these physical activations with measurement technologies such as NFC, beacons, GPS, facial detection, and real-time data capture to quantify consumer engagement.

Product overview

dio is an experiential marketing agency (not a software product company) offering a comprehensive portfolio of brand activation and experiential marketing services. The agency's core offering consists of strategy-driven experiential campaigns that create memorable consumer-brand connections. The service portfolio includes One-of-a-Kind Experiences (custom brand activations), Multi-Market Marketing Tours (mobile tour campaigns), College Campus Activations, Trade Show Marketing, Product Sampling, PR Stunts, Event and Festival Marketing, Pop-up Marketing, Splash Events, Sponsorship Activation, Brand Ambassadors/Flash Mobs, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Retailtainment, Social Integration, Near Field Communications (NFC), Beacon Technology, Mobile Billboard Tours, Mobile Display Advertising, and University Media. These services are delivered as strategic consulting and execution capabilities rather than discrete software products or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mobile Marketing Tours Strategy, fabrication, routing, staffing, and execution of multi-city mobile brand tours using custom-built experiential vehicles for enterprise clients, with measurement of consumer engagement at each stop.
• Product Sampling Programs Distributed product sampling campaigns staffed by W-2 brand ambassadors at high-traffic venues such as retailers, events, and tourist destinations to drive consumer trial for enterprise CPG and F&B clients.
• Trade Show Activations End-to-end trade show services including booth design and fabrication, staffing, and pre-, at-, and post-show engagement programs that turn trade show exhibits into measured lead-generation experiences.
• PR Stunts & Guerrilla Marketing Concept, production, and execution of publicity stunts and guerrilla marketing events designed to generate earned media coverage, social content, and brand awareness for enterprise clients.
• Pop-Up Shops & Experiences Design, build, and operation of temporary pop-up shops and immersive brand experiences for enterprise clients, including retail-style environments and limited-time experiential venues.
• Sponsorship Activation On-site activation of sports, music, and cultural event sponsorships including hospitality villages, fan zones, sampling, and VIP experiences for enterprise brand sponsors.
• Campus & Gen-Z Activations College campus, spring break, and youth-culture activation programs that build brand affinity with Gen-Z and millennial audiences for enterprise consumer brands.
• Experiential Vehicle Production In-house design and fabrication of custom mobile tour vehicles and other experiential assets that can be deployed across client mobile marketing tours and trade show programs.
• Hospitality & VIP Programs Hospitality and VIP program design and execution for enterprise brand sponsors at sports, music, and corporate events, including staffed lounges and hosted experiences.

Quantifiable outcome

• 244% higher lift in sales for MetroPCS Freedom Rings Tour compared to previous year's numbers
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers47 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• do it outdoors mediacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company and strategic partner providing out-of-home advertising assets and field marketing promotions network. do it outdoors media is described as the largest national mobile billboard company. dio leverages this partnership for fleet management, professional drivers, GPS tracking, and branded vehicle assets to execute experiential campaigns. This partnership enables cost efficiencies as dio doesn't need to lease assets from third parties.
• Blue BitecoreTechnology or IntegrationNFC (near field communication) technology partner enabling consumers to interact directly with static and digital displays using their smart devices. Blue Bite provides the technology infrastructure for NFC tap zones that deliver content, videos, and photo galleries to consumer devices. Also involved in rich media experiences bridging physical and digital worlds.
• GimbalcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner for rich media experiences bridging the gap between physical world experiences and digital engagement. Gimbal provides proximity-based technology enabling personalized consumer interactions and beacon marketing capabilities.
• Monster MediamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance with global leader for digital interactive media. Monster Media enables dynamic, engaging interactive brand experiences at high-profile venues through their digital display network and technology platform.
• Caskey GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner listed on website as part of dio's partner ecosystem. Nature of partnership not extensively detailed in available sources.
• Impressive SignsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for signage and visual display solutions supporting experiential marketing activations and branded environments.
• LAI VideominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerVideo production partner for campaign video creation. Collaborated on No Kid Hungry #Hangry campaign producing videos recorded by participants that were uploaded to a microsite and shared across social media.
• Vox MediamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Vox Media for Lightlife plant-based burger sampling tour. Collaboration included Vox Media and Eater properties for content amplification and audience reach. dio credits Vox Media as a great partnership in case study documentation.
• No Kid HungrymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign activations including #Hangry mobile tour, Orange Carpet Road Show, and Powered by Breakfast charity activation. Partnership spans multiple years and campaign activations to raise awareness and funds for childhood hunger.
• Sync (Creative Agency)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative agency partner for Optimum Nutrition VR gym competition at Arnold Sports Festival. Collaboration between dio, direct brand, and Sync creative agency to develop the VR experience concept.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MKTG: MKTG is a global experiential and lifestyle marketing agency delivering brand experiences, sports sponsorships, and mobile tours. Closely aligned with dio's experiential and sponsorship activation offerings.
• Sparks: Sparks is a global brand experience agency that designs and executes trade shows, mobile tours, pop-ups, and corporate events. It is a direct peer to dio because both deliver full-service experiential campaigns for enterprise brands with comparable service offerings.
• Mosaic Group: Mosaic Group designs and executes experiential marketing, sampling, and field marketing programs for major CPG and consumer brands. Directly comparable to dio's sampling, mobile tour, and brand ambassador services.
• MAS Event Design: MAS Event Design is an experiential agency producing brand activations, pop-ups, and custom event environments for consumer and lifestyle brands. Similar boutique-style experiential offering to dio.
• Allied Experiential: Allied Experiential is a mid-size experiential marketing agency producing events, activations, and brand experiences for enterprise clients. Similar positioning to dio as a focused experiential specialist rather than a full-service holding-company shop.
• MKG Experience: MKG is a New York-based experiential marketing agency focused on events, brand experiences, and pop-up activations for consumer brands. Comparable to dio in service mix and enterprise brand client base.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global experiential and sports marketing agency that executes brand experiences, sponsorships, and event activations. Directly comparable to dio on sponsorship activation and event-driven experiential services.

Broad incumbents

• George P. Johnson Experience Marketing: George P. Johnson (GPJ) is a large global experiential marketing agency known for major trade shows, launch events, and tech conferences. A broader incumbent comparable to dio's trade show and experiential work but operating at enterprise scale.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Jack Morton is a large global brand experience agency and part of the IPG network, offering experiential, digital, and content services. A broader incumbent that overlaps with dio's experiential offerings but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Doner Partners: Doner is a full-service creative agency with strong experiential, retail, and brand activation capabilities. A broader incumbent comparable in that it competes for the same enterprise experiential RFPs but offers integrated advertising and media services as well.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dio_usa
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/diousa3111farmtrail
• Facebookfacebook.com/dioexperientialmarketing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dio-strategic-marketing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

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 dio