Impact NextGen: Nicholas Ayoub

Nicholas Ayoub vividly remembers his first concert: Dolly Parton in Dallas. But as awesome as that might be, his earliest inspiration to work in the live industry comes from his family’s love of music. He grew up surrounded by stories of his grandmother singing in El Paso, Texas, nightclubs; his father played tuba in the El Paso Symphony Orchestra and was a DJ in his early 20s.

“Some of my earliest memories are driving to preschool with Dad, duetting on ‘Heartland’ by George Strait together,” Ayoub reminisces, adding, “Our EVP Kate McMahon says every Texan has a George Strait memory, and that one’s mine.”

Today, Ayoub oversees Messina Touring Group’s digital department and digital marketing strategy. That entails strategizing digital marketing for MTG’s pop and alternative clients, including Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, The Lumineers and Shawn Mendes.

“Our holistic digital strategies entail everything from tour content to partnerships, paid media to data analysis,” Ayoub explains. “My typical day-to-day may involve strategizing with artist management, working with partners to develop bespoke digital activations for our tours, honing our paid media strategies, facilitating a content shoot, analyzing data to inform our decisions or evaluating the overall impact of our campaigns. Internally, I lead growth strategy for my team, which executes digital partnerships, content creation, paid media and data visualization.”

He also develops operational strategies, workflows and tools to streamline processes across the business, helping MTG’s teams work more efficiently within their roles and together as a company.

Among Ayoub’s accomplishments are leading the digital strategy for Ed Sheeran’s largest North American tour. In 2022, he spearheaded the expansion of MTG’s digital department: pitching the vision, building out new roles, hiring, onboarding and implementing processes.

Ayoub says that within the past year, “It’s been so rewarding to not only have a built out the team, but to see everyone grow and thrive. We’ve accomplished so much together already, and I’m so excited to see where we go from here.” He adds, “Music has always found me. First with George, then Dolly Parton. When I was 10, my parents surprised me with tickets to see Dolly in Dallas. It was my first concert, and it blew my mind. Not only do concerts exist, but also I could go to them! From then on, I was hooked, whether it was playing music or going to countless shows. Like many in this industry, music has always been such a huge part of my life.”