DC Universe: The Source

I’m a suit.

At more than one Comic-Con, someone from the crowd has complimented my performance as a session moderator by saying “You’re pretty cool…for a suit.”  At least I think it was a compliment…

It’s this suit’s extreme pleasure to join the DC sales, marketing, and business development team.  I’ve known Cheryl and Steve for years (partly from my first tour of duty at Warner Bros a decade ago), and am so impressed with all they and their talented colleagues have accomplished.  It’s an exciting new age for DC Entertainment, across all media and lines of business.

For 20 years, I have had the good fortune of working only on stuff I’m very passionate about – from commercials to television to movies to websites.  And for classic brands that refuse to rest on their laurels – from McDonald’s to Miller to Disney Channel to ABC.  It’s great to be keeping these streaks alive - back again at Warner Bros., back again in the DC Universe. I am told I was hired because of my experience in entertainment marketing - to kids and families, to young women, to the urban market, across multimedia, with trade partners, with a limited budget, etc.

I have already been identified as an insider fan with an outsider POV. So here’s my POV - there is so much going so well for so many things across DC. An unequaled collection of characters and stories. A commitment to quality content that’s nothing short of inspiring. I see no publisher serving the needs of the Direct Market better, and no publisher with a more extensive catalogue of books and trades in the mass market channel. These imperatives are not possible without our cherished retailer partners, with whom I look forward to working most closely.

What has kept me from a good night sleep so far is the issue of Balance – balancing what’s best for the traditional business channels with what will be best for the future of the business and the art form, balancing what superserves the current superfans with what will serve an entirely new generation of fans, balancing promotion with profit, etc.

At Disney/ABC, I had a fun 10 years in the Digital space, working on some exciting web, social networking, promotional, and multiplatform windowing strategies. One of my missions is to work with the new executive team to take DC storytelling and promotion to the next level.  We see it as a sacred obligation to you – to unleash our characters and stories and news across all platforms that matter to you.  You’ll soon see us at DC Entertainment making big news in Digital, in the short- and long-term, from mobile strategy to a suite of publishing products. Digital is a dialogue, so I look forward to keeping in touch with you during this crucial evolution.

I hope you feel the passion across all of our blogs today.  What an inspiring and accomplished team Diane has assembled in Jim and Dan and Geoff and Patrick.  They formed a rock supergroup, for whom I look forward to being the roadie. I jumped at the chance to work for Diane, in whom all DC fans should put their trust wholly.  Our talks to-date have been so fearless and exciting – just you wait.

Thank you all very much.  See you in the stores and at the Cons.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 10:30 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.