The AME Awards Grand Jury represents some of the world’s most creative and strategic minds in advertising and marketing communications. The Grand Jury is the powerhouse behind the prestigious AME Awards, their high standard of excellence ensures that AME’s 26-year legacy is upheld and respected globally both by winners and industry reports measuring creative distinction.

2020 AME Grand Jury member Justin Lefkovitch is CEO/Founder of Mirrored Media, the award-winning experiential agency that sits at the intersection of music, entertainment, influencers, fashion, art, automotive, film, technology, and the fan experience.

Justin thrives on the ability to craft a narrative, tell a story, and create lasting experiences. His company portfolio includes BMW, NBCUniversal, Mattel, AT&T, Warner Bros., Acura, Ford, Reddit, mophie, Caruso, Marriott, AirBnB, Bacardi, and more. Mirrored Media has helped a multitude of brands reach their target markets through authentic, buzzworthy and memorable experiences that are a win-win for the brand, talent, and ultimately, the fans. 

AME Awards: Tell us about your process of creating and delivering effective results.

Justin Lefkovitch: Ultimately, our goal is to create something that the consumer actually wants. There’s multiple things that go into the mix of our process - we look at our client’s measures of success and what they are looking to achieve, what their target consumers want or desire, and then determine if it’s something that we’d want to experience ourselves. That’s how we approach our work and decide if we can create something that will move the needle for the brand, while adding value to consumers.

AME Awards: Why are effectiveness competitions like the AME Awards important?

Justin Lefkovitch: Effectiveness competitions, like the AME Awards, are important because they give creatives the personal validation from industry professionals, whose views and opinions are well-respected and trusted. We hear feedback from clients and see results from consumers, but it’s important to hear evaluation from colleagues in the industry on the creative side. Knowing that we will be judged by the industry’s leading creatives drives us to think outside the box in new ways to meet and achieve our client’s goals.

AME Awards: What campaign or campaigns are you most proud of and how did it move the needle for the brand?

Justin Lefkovitch: The Road to Coachella is a yearly campaign with BMW that has garnered us over four-dozen industry awards and accolades to-date. The ongoing campaign has allowed us to create innovative ways to reach Coachella-goers and fans worldwide, where we are met with new challenges every year to keep it fresh and unique. 

After conceiving the inaugural namesake in 2017 that sought to create an organic relationship between Coachella, a performing artist, and festival partner BMW i, Mirrored Media expanded that narrative in 2018 and shattered expectations in 2019 with a robust creative strategy targeting Coachella-goers and millennials. The annual campaign has featured artists such as Hans Zimmer, Marshmello, Portugal. The Man, and Khalid. Khalid, our 2019 artist partner, catapulted to global superstardom in the midst of our April 2019 campaign. This year’s initiative successfully reached over a billion people through social media, press, and marketing efforts.

This campaign took a localized festival sponsorship and has created a value proposition for BMW and our artist partners, utilizing the Road to Coachella campaign to create long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. The legacy of the campaign has continued with BMW sponsoring Khalid’s world tour and working with Hans Zimmer to design the sound of the brand’s new electric cars.

AME Awards: Any advice for entrants? Will you share your tips for entry success?

Justin Lefkovitch: I always look for passion and creativity in one’s work. I will also be considering what the client’s goals were and how the campaign met those goals in unique and creative ways.  Some of the things I ask: How did they take a new approach to find this solution? How did their approach make them stand out from their peers? What were the tangible results of the entry?

AME Awards: What cultural and/or social changes do you think will influence this year’s work?

Justin Lefkovitch: With millennials, and especially Gen Z, these generations have made it clear to brands that they want to support businesses that stand for the same things they do as individuals. Many brands have already launched campaigns to address this sort of social consciousness and make themselves appear “woke” to these consumers in a genuine way. The ideas of women empowering women and avoiding and calling out cultural appropriation within society are ways that I see these cultural trends displayed. I think it’s a positive change that is welcomed by all and the optics certainly help the brands as well.