Joe Marchese, a veteran ad exec and investor who once headed up sales at Fox Networks Group, has joined the board of directors at live entertainment firm Breakaway.

As a director for the owner of the largest domestic touring music festival, Marchese plans to help shepherd an upfront process aimed at experiential marketers. Breakaway’s experiential upfront is in the works for 2026, likely for the early spring before the major blitz of TV and streaming upfronts in mid-May.

The live music business in recent years has shown an ability to break through the overall clutter of media and achieve consumer engagement with brands well beyond the traditional realm of “spots and dots.” Sports is another, with surging growth demonstrated by the Olympics and other major events.

In an interview with Deadline, Marchese pointed to American Express’ longtime sponsorship of the U.S. Open tennis tournament as an example of experiential success. Fans not only glimpse the financial institution’s logo during TV broadcasts; they take part in a number of activations onsite at the tournament and in other locations.

“As the world races toward AI, automation, and remote everything, brands and fans alike are looking for authentic, in-person experiences,” he said in a statement. “It’s challenging enough to reach the live music-festival audience, and nearly impossible to do so at the depth of engagement that Breakaway does. They’re not just throwing festivals—they’re building cultural moments, and I’m excited to help them reach their next level of growth and success.”

Marchese’s advertising, media, and consumer engagement background will help Breakaway as it expands its live entertainment platform in North America and internationally beyond its flagship 12-city music festival. Breakaway also currently runs a concert series in New York, Miami, Las Vegas and other major markets, as well as a record label and artist management company. Breakaway recently signed with CAA for representation.

While details about the experiential upfront are scant as of now, it will bring together a collection of stakeholders in a range of in-person events and look to match brands with them. Marchese, who is also a board member at National CineMedia, sees movie theaters as being part of the experiential conversation, with last weekend’s box office bonanza showing that theatrical moviegoing still has a pulse.

Breakaway co-founder Adam Lynn called Marchese “a rare blend of visionary and operator, and he gets where the world – and marketing – are heading. His instincts for attention, storytelling, and brand value creation are already pushing us to think bigger.”

Marchese arrived at Fox after selling 21st Century Fox his ad tech firm true[X] in 2015. He is co-founder and general partner at Human Ventures and Casa Komos Brands Group, where he is co-CEO. He is also the Chairman of corporate philanthropy technology platform Groundswell.io.