Justin Lefkovitch
Founder/CEOMirrored Media
Lefkovitch is founder and CEO of experiential marketing agency Mirrored Media, which specializes in creating 360-degree entertainment experiences for major brands and talent. Most recently the company created BMW’s Road to Coachella with Hans Zimmer, a unique partnership that paired the renowned composer and producer with BMW i to create a visually inspiring piece scored by Zimmer himself and enhanced with cameos of major Coachella performers. Mirrored also has partnered with VidCon’s largest brands including Awesomeness, Fullscreen and Live.me, amounting to 19 total activations. Prior to this venture, Lefkovitch was a professional magician. “Through a narrative woven with magic and illusion, I created moments of suspended disbelief and took people to a different place in time. I have harnessed this same storytelling ability through experiential marketing.”
What has been your biggest professional accomplishment to date?
I believe my biggest professional accomplishment to date has been the founding of Mirrored Media. While pursuing my undergraduate degree at Pepperdine University, I took a pie in the sky idea and wrote it out as a business plan. That plan became the seed of what Mirrored is today. Along the way, a lot of incredible people have believed in me, my vision, and my idea. I opened the doors to Mirrored Media 6 years ago and have had the absolute pleasure to call some of the best people in the business my partners, colleagues and clients. Since I started the company, Mirrored has ideated and executed award-winning, creative experiential campaigns for some of the largest brands and artists in the world. I’m extremely proud of the team I’ve built and the projects we continue to create.
What attracted you to this industry?
I was initially attracted to the industry of experiential marketing before I even knew what experiential marketing was. While working with singer/songwriter Ray Kennedy, I discovered the large gap between artists and the brands trying to work with them. I noticed each side was speaking their own unique language and had their own independent goals in mind. I saw the opportunity for a creative agency middle-man that understood both languages to help create campaigns that spoke to both sides and met both goals. That idea has since turned into Mirrored Media. While our scope of services has expanded, our basic purpose remains the same. We bridge that gap, helping brands connect to their target market through music and entertainment initiatives.
Before my work in music, my foundation in creating experiences was based in magic. As a young adult, I was a professional magician. Through a narrative woven with magic and illusion, I created moments of suspended disbelief and took people to a different place in time. I have harnessed this same storytelling ability through experiential marketing. The creative nature and the possibility for growth are what first attracted me to the space. It’s been exciting and rewarding to help shape the experiential industry as it come to the forefront of marketing and advertising.
Best piece of professional advice you’ve received?
Steve McBeth, my mentor and the founding president of Disney Interactive, once told me that it’s better to have a small piece of something large, than a large piece of something small. I have built my company with this in mind. I believe in creating a family that is emotionally invested in the company’s growth and future, bonded as a team who feels proud of each Mirrored success.