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Disney Advertising Sales Announces Strategic Priorities and Senior Leadership Team for Newly Integrated Organization

Sep 28, 2018  •  Post A Comment

Press release from Disney, Sept. 28, 2018:

Disney Advertising Sales announced today it is reimagining the strategy and structure of its newly integrated organization to better serve the evolving needs of advertising clients. In addition to providing marketers and agencies with a single, integrated organization representing all of The Walt Disney Company’s entertainment, sports, news and kids linear and digital TV and Radio businesses, Disney Advertising Sales will enhance its role as an advisor to clients’ businesses through the realignment of sales teams with clients’ industries and supporting investments in incremental insights capabilities.

In making the announcement, Rita Ferro, president, Disney Advertising Sales, said, “Combining world class sales teams from across the Company will result in a more efficient and effective way for our clients to do business with us. Further, our focus on deeper, data-driven understanding of our clients’ businesses and media strategies will enable us to continue helping our clients maximize the value of their marketing spend and grow their businesses through our robust portfolio of platforms. I am confident that our renewed vision and the resulting structure positions our current offerings for maximum growth as our business and the marketplace continue to evolve.”

A part of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International segment, Disney Advertising Sales is responsible for advertising sales for the Company’s entertainment, sports, news and kids linear and digital TV and Radio businesses (including ABC Entertainment; ABC Daytime; ABC News; Disney Channel; Disney XD; Disney Junior; the ESPN portfolio which includes ESPN’s domestic networks, ESPN on ABC, ESPN.com, ESPN3, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPN+ and ESPN Mobile; Radio Disney; and Freeform), as well as National TV Ad Sales for ABC’s eight owned local TV stations.

The integrated ad sales organization will be structured into three areas: Sales, Client & Brand Solutions and Revenue & Operations.

SALES

The Sales organization will be led by six senior vice presidents of Ad Sales, each reporting to Ferro. Patricia Betron, Marco Forte, Flora McKiernan, Andrew Messina, Wendell Scott, and Jeremiah Tachna will be responsible for managing account teams organized under specific industry verticals, as well as managing dedicated agency teams. The new Sales structure will enable a deeper level of advisory relationships with marketers, while reinforcing the group’s collaborative efforts with key agencies. Rounding out the Sales leadership team is Adam Monaco who will oversee national TV sales for the eight ABC-owned local TV stations.

CLIENT & BRAND SOLUTIONS

The Client & Brand Solutions team will be responsible for providing clients actionable insights that help to grow their businesses, expertise on Disney’s unparalleled portfolio of global content brands, and custom creative solutions that leverage differentiated storytelling capabilities. The four teams within Client & Brand Solutions and their respective leaders who each reporting directly to Ferro, include:

  • Wanda Young will serve as senior vice president, Client Solutions – Insights & Creative.She will lead a team responsible for developing deep understanding of and insight into of clients’ consumers and industries through research and data, and will translate insights into compelling ad strategies, creative campaigns and customized solutions.
  • Sports Brand Solutions, led by Sean Hanrahan, senior vice president, Sports Brand Solutions. This function will act as the Group’s brand, sports, leagues and product experts, providing sponsorship and integration opportunities and supporting sales teams with deep expertise on the ESPN portfolio which includes ESPN’s domestic networks, ESPN on ABC, ESPN.com, ESPN3, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Radio, ESPN International, ESPN+ and ESPN Mobile.
  • Led by Jerry Daniello, senior vice president, Entertainment Brand Solutions, the Entertainment Brand Solutions team will serve as entertainment brand and product experts for the Disney Kids and Family Portfolio, ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Daytime, ABC Late-Night, Syndication, Freeform and The Disney Digital Network, providing sponsorship and integration opportunities and supporting sales teams.
  • International Alliances, led by Zach Chapman, vice president, International Alliances. This area will lead coordination with the Company’s portfolio of ad sales businesses around the world, and help to facilitate comprehensive relationships with the marketers and agencies who desire global marketing solutions with our portfolio of brands.

REVENUE & OPERATIONS

Led by Laura Nathanson, executive vice president, Revenue & Operations, this team will be responsible for optimizing and managing business opportunities across the portfolio and provide marketers with increased scale as viewing behaviors evolve. Key leaders within the Revenue & Sales team include Doug Hochstadt, Travis Howe, James Minnich, Laura Nelson, and James Vanderhoef.

Josh Mattison, vice president, Business Operations, will also report to Ferro and will be responsible for leading strategic initiatives across the organization.

About Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International

The Walt Disney Company’s new Direct-to-Consumer and International segment aligns high-quality content and innovative technology to expand the Company’s global footprint; deliver world-class, personalized entertainment experiences to consumers around the world; and provide advertisers with unique opportunities to reach diverse audience segments across all of the Company’s media properties. The recently announced segment is responsible for the Company’s direct-to-consumer businesses globally, including the ESPN+ premium sports streaming service; the upcoming Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service; and the Company’s ownership stake in Hulu.

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