AbelsonTaylor Group hires Antonio Rivera as director of engagement strategy
AbelsonTaylor Group hires Antonio Rivera as director of engagement strategy
CHICAGO, Sept. 24, 2024 – Leading healthcare advertising and marketing firm AbelsonTaylor Group has hired Antonio Rivera, a seasoned omnichannel engagement expert, as director of engagement strategy. He will create dynamic engagement strategies for a diverse range of clients, building powerful connections between brands and their audiences and helping provide measurable business success for clients. He reports to Amy Restko, group director of engagement strategy.
“Antonio is a dynamic and insightful engagement strategist who loves diving into data to uncover the stories that inspire the imaginations of his team and his clients,” Restko says. “His dedication to his work, combined with strong leadership skills and a compassionate curiosity about the human condition, make him an outstanding addition to our team and company.”
With 18 years of agency experience in various social media and engagement strategy roles, Rivera has promoted a wide range of pharma brands as well as several global consumer brands. He has strong multicultural marketing experience and has also directed diversity and inclusion programs at an agency-network level.
Rivera joins AbelsonTaylor Group from New York-based Hero Collective, where, as social media director, he directed strategy and execution for numerous engagement initiatives, including social listening, content development, social posting, influencer, and social networking campaigns. He also led a specialized healthcare team that engaged with select online communities to build awareness of specific disease states.
Rivera broadened his work experience significantly during five years with Intouch Solutions and Intouch Group (now EVERSANA INTOUCH). He began as a senior social media strategist, where his achievements included developing the plan and content strategy for a Facebook campaign designed to generate understanding and empathy for immigrants by revealing their personal journeys and contributions.
This experience, which resonated deeply with Rivera and coincided with a period of personal introspection about his roots and the forces shaping his life and career, helped guide his path to becoming associate director of inclusion and diversity for Intouch Group and then director of inclusion strategy. In these roles, he leveraged his engagement strategy skills to launch a wide range of educational programs advancing the company’s DE&I objectives.
Rivera’s earlier agency experience includes digital strategy roles with Chicago-based TRISECT (now part of Match MG) and Commonground Marketing. At the latter, he worked closely with the agency’s experiential team in support of campaigns sponsored by world-renowned beverage brands, including Pepsi’s Black History Month campaign and Bombay Sapphire’s Artisan Series competition for emerging artists.
A gifted communicator and storyteller, Rivera participates in podcasts, panels and workshops on a variety of topics. He also contributes to editorial coverage of issues related to healthcare marketing and advertising. In 2021, he was named to MM+M’s 40 Under 40, which recognizes young talent poised for leadership in medical marketing.
Rivera earned a Bachelor of Arts in business from Ithaca College, with a concentration in marketing. He is a Gallup-licensed engagement coach and graduate of the eCornell certificate program in diversity and inclusion.
Outside of work, Rivera likes to explore Chicago by bike and pursue a compulsion to bake sourdough bread. He and his wife are the doting parents of two daughters.
About AbelsonTaylor Group
AbelsonTaylor Group is the independently owned parent company of four healthcare marketing business units headquartered in Chicago, with employees nationwide. The largest unit, AbelsonTaylor, is a full-service health and wellness advertising agency that has been creating award-winning work that drives clients’ business success for more than 40 years. AT Nutrient is an agency for challenger brands and competitors with existing AbelsonTaylor clients. AT Activate is a full-service media agency providing one-stop, data-driven media services for healthcare clients. Dose is a full-service production company with a state-of-the-art production studio. All AbelsonTaylor Group agencies are dedicated to helping clients achieve measurable business success, an ROI the company calls Return on Imagination.
Source: AbelsonTaylor Group
