[PHOTOS] Marketing Impact Report 2016

A24

Image Credit: Courtesy of A24

Nicolette Aizenberg, publicity and communications; Graham Retzik, creative marketing
Oversee marketing functions.
The company showed that patience is a virtue with its measured theatrical rollout of “Room,” which got an Oscar nom for picture and a win for actress Brie Larson. To start buzz, a teaser trailer dropped in summer, further exposure was held back until the Telluride and Toronto festivals, where the drama made waves. Then, the marketing push resumed, including release of the full trailer using favorable critic quotes. Aizenberg joined A24 a few months after its founding in 2012, after previously working at 42West, Miramax Films, Samuel Goldwyn Films and Palm Pictures. Retzik, who joined in 2014, has worked at Razorfish and Fox Searchlight.
Amazon Studios

Image Credit: Courtesy of Bob Berney

Bob Berney, head of marketing & distribution
Oversees marketing and distribution in theatrical window for Amazon Original Movies.
Amazon Studios is committed to theatrical release of its titles for the critical and audience buzz it generates. At Sundance, it spent on such acclaimed films as “Manchester by the Sea.” With one film out, Spike Lee’s “Chi-Raq,” and 14 more scheduled this year, the task is to “figure out what media mix is correct for each package,” says Berney. Amazon Studios “designs the scope of the release and the marketing plan,” and partners with independent film distributors, he adds. Before arriving at Amazon, Berney worked at Picturehouse, FilmDistrict Apparition, Newmarket Films and IFC Films.
Bleecker Street

Image Credit: Courtesy of Bleecker Street

Myles Bender, president of marketing and creative advertising; Tyler DiNapoli, president of marketing, media and research
Bender oversees creative such as trailers, posters, newspaper and digital; DiNapoli supervises media planning and research.
Bleecker’s native advertising for Hollywood blacklist drama “Trumbo” in the New York Times referred to the mystery of the Oscar winner who did not appear for his 1957 award. The ad led readers to the newspaper’s archives. “It ended up looking like a piece you might see in the Sunday arts section,” says DiNapoli, adding the campaign also drove sizable traffic to Bleecker’s website. Bender joined Bleecker Street in 2014, having worked at Gramercy Pictures and USA Films. DiNapoli joined in 2014 from arthouse circuit Bow Tie Cinemas, Miramax Films and movie specialist Terry Hines & Associates. The two worked with Bleecker CEO Andrew Karpen at Focus Features.
Broad Green Pictures

Image Credit: Courtesy of Dylan Wiley

Dylan Wiley, president of marketing
Develops and executes marketing strategy for movies in all media and coordinates with foreign distributors.
While majors aim for broad four-quadrant audiences, Wiley says that “we were very happy to drill down on a half of one quadrant, which was older women” for “A Walk in the Woods.” The R-rated comedy starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte became an indie hit. The promo process starts with company execs projecting audience appeal, which is then audience-tested to refine target marketing. The aim is identify viewer segments with “intensity” for a film, not just awareness or interest, Wiley says. Before joining Broad Green last year, Wiley held marketing posts at Entertainment One and New Line Cinema.
DreamWorks Animation

Image Credit: Courtesy of Jim Gallagher

Jim Gallagher, head of theatrical marketing
Works with partners at Fox to create and execute the company’s global film marketing campaigns.
The former Disney marketing exec has overseen a slate that has included “Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and “Penguins of Madagascar.” “We were really happy with the custom content we created for our 2015 feature ‘Home’ and how it drove digital engagement around the world,” Gallagher says. “Most recently, we executed an unprecedented marketing campaign in China for ‘Kung Fu Panda 3,’ which is on its way to becoming the biggest animated movie of all time in that country.”
Fox Searchlight

Image Credit: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Michelle Hooper, exec VP, marketing; Larry Baldauf, exec VP, marketing Hooper oversees marketing with emphasis on publicity, promotions and events; Baldauf supervises marketing with emphasis on advertising creative materials.While many want their movies to fit neatly in genres, Fox Searchlight favors “genre defying,” says Baldauf. Unpredictability is a catalyst for a theatrical experience, which can ignite marketplace buzz, Hooper says. When Variety called “Black Swan” a genre-busting “wicked psycho sexual thriller,” that description was used in marketing. Baldauf joined six years ago from creative boutiques Acme Trailer Co.., the Lounge and New Wave Entertainment. Earlier, he worked at Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures marketing. Hooper arrived in 2006 after working at Fox Broadcasting and CBS Entertainment.
Illumination Entertainment

Image Credit: Courtesy of Gail Harrison

Gail Harrison, president, marketing and branding
Oversees expressions of brands not on the movie screen.
Harrison translates the animation company’s characters beyond the silver screen with brand extensions in mobile games, social media, promotional tie-ins and consumer products, in partnership with Universal Pictures. She wants to foster “a freshness, relevance and an authentic experience each time our audience encounters properties like the Minions.” Her tasks included working with mints brand Tic Tac on a tie-in spanning 70 countries. She joined Illumination five years ago from 20th Century Fox Consumer Products.
Imax

Image Credit: Courtesy of Eileen Campbell

Eileen Campbell, chief marketing officer
Oversees global marketing.
In the past year, Campbell has driven several large-scale projects, including the launch of next-generation laser technology and a new global brand campaign and sonic identity. She also worked with studios to launch virtual reality experiences to promote Imax screenings of “Interstellar” and “The Walk.” For consumers, however, the big marketing message “isn’t about a technology arms race,” Campell says. “It’s about how that amazing experience makes you feel, and a reminder of why we love going to movies.”
Lionsgate

Image Credit: Gregory Zabilski

Tim Palen, chief brand officer and president, worldwide marketing
Oversees global team marketing individual brands, franchises, location-based entertainment and corporate branding.
The shareable digital world is a challenge with its speed of communications and shifty nature, but there’s also opportunity, Palen says. Marketers can directly connect to consumers, who are themselves connected to others. “The old convention was that ‘the media is the message,’ ” he says. “In this new world ‘the message becomes the media.’” Palen, who joined Lionsgate in 2002, personally takes some marketing photos. Palen started at Sony Pictures and Destination Films.
Open Road Films

Image Credit: Courtesy of Eric Charbonneau

Jason Cassidy, chief marketing officer
Oversees domestic marketing movies in all media.
Best picture Oscar winner “Spotlight” could have been marketed with shadowy images of crosses but instead shows the earnest journalists who are its heroes. “On the face of it, it’s not anyone’s idea of a sexy poster,” says Cassidy. “The moviegoers’ journey is with the reporters (who) keep viewers in the story and keep them engaged.” Positioning the film as a serious drama paved the way for its six Oscar noms and best picture win. A surprise research finding was that Roman Catholic Church members were curious about the film, despite its sensitive topic. Part of Open Road’s founding staff in 2011, Cassidy earlier worked at Miramax Films, USA Films and October Films.
Paramount

Image Credit: Courtesy of Frank Ishman

Megan Colligan, president of worldwide distribution and marketing
Supervises global marketing and distribution for theatrical films and home entertainment.
Sequels need fresh hooks to entice jaded moviegoers, and “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” found its hook by building on the copy line: “The stunts look real because they are real.” After Tom Cruise enchanted a private exhibitor dinner with stories about doing his own stunts, Colligan presented B-roll footage of Cruise’s derring-do and the actor himself to a large cinema convention. Press coverage followed, and online marketing and later TV commercials showed stunt outtakes to wider audiences. Colligan took over her current position in 2014.
Roadside Attractions

Image Credit: Courtesy of Dennis O’Connor

Dennis O’Connor, head of marketing
Oversees domestic strategy, budgeting and execution of materials for movie marketing.
O’Connor pioneered the “Roadside 350 release pattern” of premiering select independent movies on at least 350 screens nationally, instead of just in a few big cities, for films like “Mr. Holmes,” “Love & Mercy” and “Mud.” O’Connor says such a strategy is possible for films that are easily promotable, and have talent that attracts national news coverage, like Ian McKellen as Sherlock Holmes. “It’s an easy concept to digest in a 30-second commercial,” he says. Prior to joining Roadside nine years ago, O’Connor worked at Picturehouse, HBO, MGM’s United Artists and Focus Features. Lionsgate owns a minority stake in Roadside.
Skydance Media

Image Credit: Courtesy of Anne Globe

Anne Globe, chief marketing officer
Oversees strategic marketing, branding, licensing, promotions, consumer products and franchise development.
Online TV series launches are front-loaded with digital marketing, trailers and outdoor advertising concentrated in the 30 days prior to premiere, says Globe. For the Skydance series “Grace and Frankie” with partner Netflix, “It’s amazing how fast the marketing process was,” she says. “But there are some similarities (to cinema). A whole season is posted at one time, which is like a movie.” Audience viewership data that Netflix collected was detailed and collated rapidly. Globe joined Skydance last year from DreamWorks Animation, where she held a similar post. She began her career in licensed consumer products and national promotions at Universal Pictures.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group

Image Credit: Courtesy of Josh Greenstein

Josh Greenstein, president, worldwide marketing and distribution
Supervises more than 500 executives in global marketing and distribution for all Sony Pictures film labels.
Box office typically erodes for sequels, but “Hotel Transylvania 2” posted an 86% increase in international. Greenstein credits “custom creative content for each territory with very relatable touch points not only for families and kids but for general audiences as well.” Mexico blossomed with the “Which monster are you?” social media campaign, and high-profile local talent voiced the characters. Sony also plugged into the personal social media of stars Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez. Global views of the sequel’s trailer surpassed 70 million. Greenstein joined Sony in 2014. Earlier, he held senior marketing posts at Paramount and Dimension.
STX Entertainment

Image Credit: Courtesy of Jack Pan

Jack Pan, president of marketing
Oversees all the marketing for the company’s films from theatrical to post-theatrical release, including advertising, social media and third-party endorsements.
Pan uses lessons from past marketing stints at Disney, Lionsgate and Summit to craft campaigns for the two-year-old company’s slate. With the film “Hardcore Henry,” a live-action sci-fi thriller that plays like a first-person shooter video game, Pan premiered the trailer on Twitch, a streaming platform popular with gamers. “You have pockets of very passionate, committed fans,” he says. “Today, to have that very strong commitment is ultimately much more valuable than having broad but weaker interest.”
20th Century Fox

Image Credit: Courtesy of Marc Weinstock

Marc Weinstock, president, domestic theatrical marketing
Supervises domestic theatrical marketing.
Weinstock finds that messaging increasingly should be narrowly crafted. Blockbuster “Deadpool” had multiple filters created for a Snapchat promotion during the Super Bowl, radio spots just for Pandora and Spotify, and an elaborate digital content giveaway to energize a trailer release. It’s “tailoring a lot of messages that are under the umbrella of one campaign,” he says. “It used to be if you cut a great 30-second TV spot, you were half-way done.” Weinstock returned to Fox last year, where he worked at Fox Searchlight from 1997 to 2000.
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Image Credit: Courtesy of Mary Daily

Mary Daily, president and chief marketing officer of worldwide marketing
Supervises creative, digital marketing, brand marketing, promotions, public relations and global media.
Fox’s drive to spur digital title ownership is in a second phase, where accumulated data illuminates consumer behavior and enables better audience targeting, says Daily. “The Martian” achieved 1 million such U.S. transactions in one week. “Prometheus,” from 2012, kicked off the studio’s digital HD ownership drive, which included a short exclusive window ahead of DVD and VOD. Daily says that improved audience data allows campaigns to be “adapted in real time,” making marketing more efficient. She started at Fox in the 1990s, and rejoined the company in 2008, after tenures at MTV and Universal.
Universal Pictures

Image Credit: Courtesy of Universal

Josh Goldstine, president of worldwide marketing; Michael Moses, co-president of worldwide marketing
Supervising marketing, including creative advertising, media, publicity, promotions, digital and home entertainment.
Basking in Universal’s No. 1 box office ranking last year, Goldstine marvels that “each marketing discipline is more interdependent than it was ever before.” An example: Launching “Straight Outta Compton” with TV advertising showing Dr. Dre and Ice Cube visiting Compton that aired during the Grammys. That spot conveyed “hometown pride and celebrated where you come from” while also driving viewers to digital media, says Moses. A tie-in with Beats by Dre allowed users to personalize and share the movie’s logo. Goldstine joined U in 2011, after two decades at Sony Pictures. Moses advanced to his current job in 2010.
Walt Disney Studios

Image Credit: Courtesy of Alex J. Berliner/ABImages

Ricky Strauss, president, marketing
Supervises marketing strategy for creative, media, digital, promotions, publicity, research and synergy for movies worldwide.
Marketing “Star Wars — the Force Awakens” started early with fanboys. A trailer for “The Force Awakens” was presented exclusively at the annual Star Wars Celebration event last April in Anaheim, with director J.J. Abrams and stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels and Mark Hamill. That trailer quickly went into wider circulation, as did video of the crowd’s reaction. “Many people in the audience were crying and stamping their feet,” says Strauss. “It was very rousing and emotional.” The studio also worked with other Disney units: retail, games, publishing and TV. Strauss joined Disney in 2012 after seven years as president of Participant Media.
Warner Bros. Pictures

Image Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Sue Kroll, president, worldwide marketing and distribution
Supervises creation and implementation of movie marketing and distribution globally, and also input on strategy for movie slate development.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” marketing activates and interconnects the Lex Luthor character (Jesse Eisenberg) in the real world to highlight his back story and motivations, Kroll says. Fictional company LexCorp sponsored free Wi-Fi at a real comic convention, and launched a website. Luthor himself is profiled in a sponsored Fortune magazine profile online, was interviewed in Wired and tweets. “It’s designed to fit within the fabric of a broader campaign for the film,” says Kroll, a 22-year veteran of the studio. Earlier, she worked at Turner Broadcasting (before its acquisition) and also at Viacom TV channels for seven years.
The Weinstein Co.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Francois Martin

Francois Martin, president of marketing strategy
Supervises media buying, media promotion, digital marketing and marketing operations for movies domestically.
Martin finds that social media is a game-changer for film distributors, by delivering plenty of bang for the buck among audiences that can be finely targeted by hobbies, purchasing habits, viewing histories, demographics and other characteristics. Another benefit comes via talent leveraging their millions of online media followers. Traditional media, with broader focus, doesn’t target so precisely. “Social media and digital, in conjunction with having a strong presence on TV, is still very effective,” Martin says. A 15-year veteran working for Bob and Harvey Weinstein, he joined TWC at its inception in 2005. Before that, he worked at Disney-owned Miramax Films for the Weinsteins.
ABC Entertainment Group

Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC

Marla Provencio, chief marketing officer
Oversees marketing for primetime, daytime and late night.
Provencio likes “stunt eventizing” of highly promotable individual episodes of TV series to foster live viewing. The messaging “makes viewers feel that they want to be in that moment … in very communal viewing,” which means live, she says. Hooks include the “Dirty Dancing” tribute episode of “The Goldbergs” and the episode in which Meredith was attacked in “Grey’s Anatomy” — events that turn heads and are easy to capsulate, she says. Provencio feels broadcast network shows are suited for group viewing, while consumption of many cable shows is individualized, like binge viewing. She joined ABC TV network in 1979 as production coordinator in on-air promotions.
AEG Global Partnerships

Image Credit: Courtesy of joseph moran photography

Scott Carlis, VP, digital, social media & marketing
Develops multiplatform interactive sales and other digital initiatives.
Carlis plugs sponsors into AEG concerts, sports and other events so “brands are the heroes to enhance the fan experience.” With proximity-based technology, event-goers download apps on their personal devices and opt-in for messages. At a festival, a beer brand provided navigation, information on food and directions to its sponsored oasis. For the brands, a key goal is to get fans to share their sponsored experience in social media. Event-goers, meanwhile, get what Carlis calls “surprise and delights with immediate benefits” like seating upgrades and express-lane access for participating. He joined in 2011 from the magazine world where he worked for GQ and Vibe/Spin.
AMC and SundanceTV

Image Credit: Courtesy of Linda Schupack

Linda Schupack, exec VP of marketing
Handles strategic oversight, management and implementation of brand identities, multiplatform consumer and trade marketing.
One element nailed down early in the broad marketing launch for drama TV series is the design of key art. Schupack says that means communicating “both story and emotion. That’s the hallmark of immersive content, which is the emotion you feel for the story and characters.” The New York-based Schupack may add a sense of mystery to key art to hint what viewers might feel — like something lurking in the background — and for returning TV series to suggest “what may happen, though not overtly.” She joined in 2005 from the parent company now called AMC Networks. Earlier, she worked at Nickelodeon.
Apple

Image Credit: Courtesy of Eddy Cue

Eddy Cue, senior VP of Internet software and services
Oversees iTunes Store, Apple Music, iCloud and other company businesses.
Involved in content at the tech giant, Cue had the personal industry contacts to take quick direct action when Taylor Swift announced in an open letter last summer that she would withhold streaming rights to her music from Apple. The singer objected to Apple’s no-royalties policy for artists during a free-trial period for Apple Music. Cue got Apple to reverse course and pay artists royalties. The postscript is that Swift made her new concert film an Apple Music exclusive in December. Cue joined Apple in 1989 and played a key role in establishing the landmark iTunes store in 2003.
A+E Networks

Image Credit: Courtesy of Gemma Day

Amanda Hill, chief creative officer, international
Oversees the international brand, marketing, communications, creative and programming teams.
Hill puts audiences under her microscope in each country to get a big-picture handle on how its TV channels can deeply connect to viewers. “If we compete show by show by show, it’s not going to work,” she says. “We have to build engagement and a relationship.” That requires scouring focus group, trend reports and social media data. For Lifetime Television, a finding is that women want self-empowerment, prompting the TV channel to message audiences that Lifetime hires women to direct many of its TV programs.
Hill joined last year from BBC Worldwide, and earlier worked at L’Oreal and Added Value.
Bravo & Oxygen Media

Image Credit: Courtesy of Ellen Stone

Ellen Stone, exec VP of marketing
Oversees consumer advertising, ad sales, on- and off-air creative, digital/social marketing and licensing/merchandising for both network brands across all platforms.
Stone has been using both traditional and out-of-the box promotions to change the image of the networks, helping Bravo transition into original programming with last summer’s launch of the half-hour comedy “Odd Mom Out,” and executing the rebranding of Oxygen as a destination for millennial women. For the Bravo series “Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce,” she had beat-up high-end luxury cars, plastered with posters featuring star Lisa Edelstein holding up her bare ring finger in an expression that resembled a cruder version of the hand gesture, cruise Manhattan, creating many double-takes. “It created a social media whirlwind, says Stone. “It touched on every woman’s core, and it did it in a way that got people really talking about the show.”
CBS

Image Credit: Courtesy of George Schweitzer

George Schweitzer, president, CBS Marketing Group
Leads strategic and creative marketing for CBS Television, CBS Entertainment, CBS News and CBS Sports.
Long before anyone knew what teams would play, Schweitzer began promotions for Super Bowl 50 a year before kickoff, pushing “a cultural event,” CBS’ history as broadcaster (with NBC) of the first Super Bowl and the broadcaster’s Tiffany image. CBS even adopted the game’s gold and black motif for its TV season campaign. “We were totally integrated in look and feel,” he says, embracing “entertainment with our stars, affiliates, news, sports, corporate, interactive and radio.” In 1988, he became chief marketing executive at CBS, where he first worked in 1972. He’s marketed six Super Bowls at CBS and launched the successful “Thursday Night Football” package.
Comedy Central

Image Credit: Courtesy of Walter Levitt

Walter Levitt, chief marketing officer
Oversees marketing efforts to drive consumption of Comedy Central content anywhere it’s seen, and promote the public’s engagement with the brand.
In the past year, Levitt and his team have executed multiplatform marketing campaigns for such shows as “The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Key & Peele,” “Drunk History” and “Broad City.” His proudest moment was prior to the launch of “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” when he seeded the Internet with videos of Noah providing answers to questions covering everything from his age and his girlfriend to whether or not he is a member of the Illuminati. “It was one of the tactics that really helped us make Trevor a success out of the gate,” Levitt says. “Half of the audience that tuned in the first week (with Noah) had not watched ‘The Daily Show’ in six months.”
The CW

Image Credit: Courtesy of The CW

Rick Haskins, exec VP, marketing and digital programs
Oversees marketing, promotions and digital strategies.
Haskins crafts the TV network’s social messaging to “talk to the audience the same way they talk among their friends.” That means using acronyms like OMFG and WTF (in this context, it means “watch this fall”), helping make the marketing “part of the zeitgeist and conversation.” Another payoff is promoting returning series only in social media, such as “The Vampire Diaries” leveraging its large online following, which avoids costly ad buys. He joined 10 years ago as CW’s first outside employee, previously working at Lifetime Television, his own consultant shop and various Disney positions.
Fox Broadcasting Co.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Angela Courtin

Angela Courtin, chief marketing officer & exec VP
Oversees marketing strategy, creative materials design and on-air, media buying, content and social marketing, & affiliates marketing.
Fox Broadcasting stoked “Grease Live” buzz via a Sunset Boulevard billboard sporting live dancers and pre-telecast Facebook streaming from the set. “We used social media to drive early awareness, and then leaned on (social) paid, owned, earned and shared media in the last two weeks,” says Courtin. “Grease Live” became the network’s No. 2 non-sports show of the season with more than 14 million viewers. The campaign capped with 350,000 unique authors tweeting during the telecast. Courtin joined Fox Broadcasting in August after serving as CMO at Relativity Media and president of Dentsu Aegis Network U.S.
FX Networks

Image Credit: Courtesy of Stephanie Gibbons

Stephanie Gibbons, president of marketing, digital media marketing and on-air promotions
Oversees all digital, mobile, cross-platform and emerging media creative and marketing initiatives for FX Networks.
An insomniac with seven TVs and seven DVRs, Gibbons consumes large quantities of what she sells. She’s especially fond of her work for the series “Fargo.” It included an outdoor campaign depicting quilts and knittings that subtly wove in depictions of guns, murder and mayhem alongside the expected homey images of snowflakes, flowers and deer. “The juxtaposition is really powerful,” says Gibbons, conveying the message that “when evil that’s so deep and dark encounters something that’s so good and wholesome, ‘Fargo’ is what happens.”
Home Box Office

Image Credit: Courtesy of Visko Hatfield

Pamela Levine, chief marketing officer
Oversees all aspects of program and brand marketing including digital/social and multicultural, including licensed merchandise.
A key element in launching series “Ballers” was star Dwayne Johnson’s hefty social media presence, says Levine. HBO created 50 digital assets that premiered on his social media. The “Ballers” pilot that posted on Johnson’s Facebook page after premiere was viewed by 5.6 million. “It was an amazing opportunity to embrace his fans and on a mass scale,” Levine says. Johnson benefits too with 108 million fans on social media, up from 76 million at the start. Levine joined in 2011, after 16 years at Twentieth Century Fox.
Hulu

Image Credit: Courtesy of Jenny Wall

Jenny Wall, chief marketing officer
Supervises marketing strategy, creative messaging and implementation for the brand, subscriber acquisitions and content.
Wall observes that TV viewers “have a deeper relationship with TV than ever before. We have to acknowledge that and ‘lean’ into that emotion.” To connect emotionally, Hulu employs the branding phrase “Come TV With Us,” which Wall notes uses the word TV as a verb. With the business awash with data and algorithmic analysis, she cautions that it’s easy to get impersonal so marketers need to “connect in a human voice and not just be like a vending machine.” She joined Hulu in 2014, previously working at Netflix, HBO, and also ad agencies DDB Needham and BLT Communications.
National Geographic Channels and Fox Networks Group

Image Credit: Courtesy of Liz Dolan

Liz Dolan, global chief marketing officer
Supervises brand development, consumer and trade marketing for Nat Geo and Fox Nets internationally.
National Geographic channel is carried in 171 countries, providing unparalleled clout to premiere TV programming worldwide. That vast distribution enables Nat Geo to attract 240 million fans globally on social media platforms, for a scale that facilitates “event television,” she says. Synchronized release means marketing buzz isn’t dissipated by the traditional uneven rollout of TV programs territory-by-territory. Further, day-and-date premieres push back pirates because there are no regional delays. In her post since 2012, Dolan joined from OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. Earlier, she worked in marketing at Nike and produced syndicated radio programs.
NBC Entertainment

Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC

Len Fogge, president, marketing & digital
Leads strategy, branding, creative, media, digital/social and partnership marketing initiatives for primetime, daytime and late night.
Fogge says that there were three marketing pillars that helped make the live broadcast of “The Wiz” a ratings hit: families, African-Americans and Broadway aficionados. Endorsements from African-American celebs Tyler Perry, Quincy Jones, Oprah Winfrey and others created heat in cyberspace. Though many endorsers were not involved with the all-black cast “Wizard of Oz” adaptation, “they jumped on the social bandwagon because they loved the property or the people in it.” Fogge joined in 2011, after working at Showtime Networks and ad agency Grey Entertainment.
Netflix

Image Credit: Courtesy of Kelly Bennett

Kelly Bennett, chief marketing officer
Oversees global marketing.
The Los Angeles-based Bennett markets international launches for Netflix that stream in 130-plus countries. To overcome media clutter and cultural barriers, Bennett embraces short messaging: “We’re trying to figure out ways to sequentially deliver smaller pieces of video across multiple channels.” Audience data is analyzed to fine-tune the sequencing of messages, because oddly enough, Netflix sometimes finds that delivering marketing communications out of order is most impactful. Bennett arrived at Netflix in 2012 from Warner Bros..
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Image Credit: Courtesy of george burns

Harriet Seitler, chief marketing officer and exec VP
Oversees marketing of all things Oprah, including the network as well as other Oprah-branded initiatives.
Seitler, who’s worked in Oprah Winfrey’s organization for more than 20 years, knows the talk show legend’s brand inside and out. “We’re exploring and learning about nurturing various audiences with content that brings them in and builds their engagement before we ever ask them to do anything,” Seitler says. That strategy was in effect last fall, when she promoted OWN series “Belief” with a cross-platform campaign that included print, radio, TV and digital, as well as sponsored posts on social media and a Web series in which Oprah shared her personal thoughts on belief.
Showtime

Image Credit: Courtesy of Showtime

Don Buckley, exec VP and chief marketing officer
Oversees all marketing divisions, including consumer promotions and digital media.
Buckley helped make “Billions” the highest-rated premiere in Showtime history with a multi-platform campaign that had him reaching out to the New York financial community in which the show is set. He screened the first episode at Goldman Sachs and created a custom content experience with the Wall Street Journal, and also tapped into the digital space with an animated video for Vimeo. “There’s no one component that can work completely,” Buckley says. “It’s the mosaic you create using television, outdoor advertising, radio and some digital and print.”
Sony Pictures Television

Image Credit: Courtesy of Sheraton Kalouria

Sheraton Kalouria, exec VP and chief marketing officer
Oversees marketing and publicity, social media and talent relations for network, syndication, cable and new media programming worldwide.
As president of broadcasting for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia from 2005 to 2008, Kalouria launched “The Martha Stewart Show” in national syndication and exec produced more than a dozen series and specials. He’s brought that sense of show to SPT, most notably with his recent campaign to raise the profile of the syndicated TV airings of “Seinfeld” over the holidays, which included a dedicated “Festivus” station on Pandora. “We got some free coverage from USA Today, and then we were able to share it, which made people even more aware of the existence of the station,” Kalouria says.
Starz

Image Credit: Courtesy of Alison Hoffman

Alison Hoffman, exec VP, marketing
Spearheads all consumer and affiliate marketing for the network and its original productions.
Hoffman joined Starz in 2012 from AMC, where she was a key architect of campaigns for “Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.” At Starz, she’s helped create innovative promotions that have included dueling “Black Sails” and Captain Morgan rum billboards, an “Outlander”-themed holiday yule log video and an “Ash for President” campaign for “Ash vs. Evil Dead.” “It’s not building a brand and marketing to the same audience over and over again,” Hoffman says. “It’s saying, ‘How do I build these fandoms that look very different from one another?’ ”
TBS & TNT

Image Credit: Courtesy of Jeremy Freeman

Jeff Gregor, chief catalyst officer
Oversees all consumer marketing while also working on innovation, efficiencies and supporting ad sales.
The Atlanta-based Gregor is building a new data-centric marketing organization that will mesh with traditional marketing at the cablers. This adds strategic planners, data analysts, an audience development team and an always-on content group. The latter works 24/7 issuing waves of creative messaging that is evaluated and can be refined, based on audience reactions. The data orientation helps identify audience segments that become “bull’s-eye targets,” Gregor says. For series “Angie Tribeca,” a 12 million-person target is identified. He joined Turner in 2000 as senior vice president of sports marketing and programming, and earlier he worked at Coca-Cola in sports marketing.
USA Network

Image Credit: Courtesy of Alexandra Shapiro

Alexandra Shapiro, exec VP, marketing & digital
Oversees consumer and strategic marketing, digital and social strategy, brand initiatives, promotions and business development.
Last year, Shapiro generated a big buzz (and 26 million views) for the USA series “Mr. Robot” by making the show’s first episode available on dozens of digital platforms from Amazon Instant Video to Xbox, and screening it at festivals such as SXSW and to Google employees around the world. “With the technology we have today, micro is the new macro,” Shapiro says “We have to now customize our messages by platform, by audience and cultivate relationships with audiences in a very orchestrated, consistent and thoughtful way.”
Warner Bros. Television Group

Image Credit: Courtesy of Lisa Gregorian

Lisa Gregorian, president and chief marketing officer
Oversees studio marketing worldwide for 75 TV series.
Supporting marketing by local stations that carry WBTV Group’s off-network syndicated series like “2 Broke Girls” is exciting for Gregorian. The patchwork nature of syndication means “you do not have a consistent tune-in message,” like you do with network telecasts, she says, other than the generic “five nights a week.” For “2 Broke Girls,” Warner delivered customizable campaigns to local stations including talent delivering call-outs, digital, print, outdoor, radio and experiential — events sometimes featuring oversized cupcakes, which are a big part of the series.
WGN America and Tribune Studios

Image Credit: Courtesy of Andrew Rog

Brian Dollenmayer, exec VP, marketing and promotions
Develops and executes marketing strategies outside of publicity for WGN America and the production studio; advises Tribune-owned stations.
With original TV series mushrooming, Dollenmayer turns up the attention-getting stunts to stand out. For drama “Outsiders,” WGN America created a website for the show’s fictional newspaper, circulated a video of real politicians claiming outsider status intercut with scenes from the show, and launched a staged surveillance-like video of ATV vehicles that are iconic to the series crashing into a big-box store. “We brought the world of ‘Outsiders’ to life online,” says Dollenmayer.

A24

Amazon Studios

Bleecker Street

Broad Green Pictures

DreamWorks Animation

Fox Searchlight

Illumination Entertainment

Imax

Lionsgate

Open Road Films

Paramount

Roadside Attractions

Skydance Media

Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group

STX Entertainment

20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Universal Pictures

Walt Disney Studios

Warner Bros. Pictures

The Weinstein Co.

ABC Entertainment Group

AEG Global Partnerships

AMC and SundanceTV

Apple

A+E Networks

Bravo & Oxygen Media

CBS

Comedy Central

The CW

Fox Broadcasting Co.

FX Networks

Home Box Office

Hulu

National Geographic Channels and Fox Networks Group

NBC Entertainment

Netflix

OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network

Showtime

Sony Pictures Television

Starz

TBS & TNT

USA Network

Warner Bros. Television Group

WGN America and Tribune Studios