Marissa Kiersch, 38, is vice president of brand and experiential for 15|40 Productions. She's based in Los Angeles. A quote from her nomination: "Since joining the company in 2017, Marissa has earned a reputation as a trailblazer and force of nature within the experiential and branded activation space. She oversees the design and implementation of a diverse range of innovative approaches to event marketing for some of the largest global brands and companies."
My career journey: "My journey began studying public relations and art history in college, followed by internships in both the marketing and PR spaces, earning my stripes at renowned firms while also having fun working with Disney on Ice. Upon graduation, I had my eyes set on PR and quickly found a home at PCG, learning from two of the best corporate publicists in the game, Paul Pflug and Melissa Zukerman. During my tenure, I quickly rose from assistant to a junior publicist in mere months.
Yet, I didn’t find my spark until the first time I had the opportunity to run logistics for a client roster at San Diego Comic-Con. I took my learnings from my mentors and ventured out into the world without a plan for my next move. They supported me through this journey, introducing me to Atari, Legendary, and more.
"I grew up in a dual household—one was marketing and advertising heavy while the other was all things film. I think growing up with a foot in both of those worlds allowed for creativity to flourish at a young age," Kiersch says.Photo: Line 8 Photography
I consulted with Atari for a short stint and then found a home at Legendary Pictures, where I spent most of my time working in the marketing department as the director of event marketing, working on everything from red carpet premieres to convention booths to international mall tours across the world. Emily Castel served as the current CMO while I was with the company—her creative vision and expertise in experiential marketing was inspiring. She was a unicorn to me, and I look back at my time with her fondly without a thought of changing a thing.
In addition to my efforts with the films, I worked directly with CEO Thomas Tull on events for his foundation, getting myself involved in everything from small political donor dinners during the 2016 presidential campaign to events for the Baseball Hall of Fame (a personal dream of mine). In 2017, I departed Legendary and found my current home working with Craig Waldman and 15|40 Productions, where I have been given constant opportunities to not only challenge myself and my abilities but how we as a company continue to diversify our portfolio of incredible work and expand our efforts."
What inspires me: "This is a loaded question for me. What comes to mind first is that I draw inspiration from everything and everyone around me, particularly the team at 15|40, who constantly motivate me to be better at my job each and every day. Art, fashion, international trends, and social media (shockingly but probably not surprising) are also included in this list.
I minored in art history, so I have always been infatuated with the masters and photography. I grew up in a dual household—one was marketing and advertising heavy while the other was all things film. I think growing up with a foot in both of those worlds allowed for creativity to flourish at a young age. It showed me that inspiration can be unexpected and come from anything and that you should be absorbing everything you see, hear, read, and experience.
At the end of the day, the ultimate goal of what we do is for an individual to walk away with memories of a positive experience. While the conceptual inspiration comes from what I previously mentioned, I think a large reason I am inspired and continue to love what I do is because of those comments you hear when people leave happy or share a story with you about their experience that we helped to create, whether it is IRL or even via social media."
A recent memorable event for Kiersch that she helped produce? This Welcome to Chippendales experience for Hulu's show, "where we worked with professional dancers to create an immersive (and truly Chippendales-esque) experience," she says.Photo: Line 8 Photography
My most memorable event: "I really do have a lot, as is the nature of working in this industry. The most memorable to date for me are two in particular. I once put on an intimate dinner at a private residence for Legendary with the Baseball Hall of Fame. The dinner was attended by some of the greats. I don't get starstruck by actors, but famous baseball players—I can't move. I even once helped to plan a screening of the iconic film 42 at the White House and was next to President Obama, but being in a room with the likes of Goose Gossage, Dave Winfield, the late Tommy Lasorda—that was something I will never forget.
A more recent favorite was for the premiere of Hulu’s Welcome to Chippendales, where we worked with professional dancers to create an immersive (and truly Chippendales-esque) experience. During the finale number of the evening, we popped Champagne bottles as the dancers performed one last time. There was something epic about it; it felt like we were in the show with this extravagant showering of bubbles as our professional dancers did the iconic pants-ripping finale number for the attendees.
Impressive stats I'm responsible for: "All within six years, I started my journey as a client and have since risen the ranks from senior producer all the way to vice president of brand and experiential. During that time, I’ve been responsible for building an entire division within the company dedicated to brands and consumer activations that has since boosted our revenue by over 20%."
