Over a lovely fresh brew, we sat down with the newest addition to our team, Joe Rivers. As our US Brand Experience Director, Joe brings over a decade of experience within the experiential marketing realm.
He is passionate about bringing others together, meeting new people, and travelling; the quintessential ingredients that make up a down-to-earth, experience-hungry people person.
Tell us about your perfect morning brew
I have had the pleasure of drinking some amazing coffee throughout South Africa, Vietnam, Italy, and beyond. Anything that is crafted and artfully roasted.
My favourite would be a robust and dark roast pour-over from Brazil, Colombia, or Argentina!
What is your most memorable brand experience or campaign?
Hmmm, a great question. Probably 29 Rooms NYC back in December 2019. My favourite part was a room full of desks which invited guests to sit down in pairs and stare at each other for 60 seconds. A blink for some, and a lifetime for others. Once the time was over, the pair would pick a card from a deck on the table, and ask a very deep and thought-provoking question. The staring had already broken down the pair’s defences, and the questions would exploit that lack of barrier.
The overly simplistic but complex nature of this experience deeply resonated with me, so much so that I still talk about it now, years later. I think that a genuine and multi-sensory brand experience has the potential to stick with you, and that is what we should aim for in each event and activation we do.
Why did you decide to join Cheerful Twentyfirst?
I have known Jules (Global Brand Experience Director) professionally for years and as a result, kept up with Cheerful Twentyfirst for just as long. Recently, a series of events and experiences in my life personally and professionally made me want to shift from fabrication and production to the more strategic side of experiential.
Cheerful Twentyfirst is at the top of the industry, acting as a storyteller of emotional engagement for brands. And that was certainly a plus. But what truly convinced me, was the hard-working and brilliant people that make this company’s culture so inviting.
Tell us more about your role.
Part of my role is to support the agency’s growth and to find the opportunities that serve our mission to champion and inspire audiences, everywhere. I’ll be supporting our business development and marketing teams, and (hopefully) taking our world-class services further in North America.
The other part (the best part), is to be an ambassador for the agency. Catch me at CES and SXSW Austin next!
If you could grab a coffee with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Too hard a question! It’s like asking a parent who their favourite child is.
I will give you three answers.
– Marcus Aurelius
– Anthony Bourdain
– My parents and grandparents
I am so excited to be joining the amazing Cheerful Twentyfirst team. I love that we do something so unique and tangible in this world focused on digital. The agency has a heavy lean toward storytelling and innovative experiential activations. Both of which are great passions of mine.
I was once told by a mentor and strategist that is pertinent to ask “why”. The art of storytelling revolves around an arc, theme, and stakes. I believe that to be the same for an event and experience. Creating a memory and reinforcing it through interactive play.
As corny and cliche as it may sound, I can’t wait to collaborate with my new colleagues in showing the world what experiential means. Not the corporate jargon and RFP definition, but the unfiltered response.
