Hollywood’s Top Marketers of 2025

Hollywood’s Top Marketers of 2025

Nothing is certain when it comes to predicting if a marketing effort — a trailer, an activation, merch — will stick with audiences. To that end, the past year has seen studios, streamers and record labels sign on more promo partners than ever before, says Disney chief brand officer Asad Ayaz, to help “break through the clutter,” combining the power of the brand and the project to grab attention. Who did it best? While Disney gets major props for selling three $1 billion-plus pics, a THR survey indicates that rivals were most impressed with Universal’s Wicked campaign — they had major doubts as to whether the film would work — which really took the (pink and green) cake with its seemingly infinite number of partnerships, from Walmart’s green mac and cheese to a special version of Monopoly. Dune: Chapter Two: Chapter Two sandworm popcorn buckets answered the call when the “internet needs a moment just to have fun,” as one source puts it, but so did a Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Xbox controller shaped like Deadpool’s arse, Sabrina Carpenter’s avatar in Fortnite and the many viral moments in the marketing case studies below. As the marketing world convenes for Cannes Lions on June 16-20, these leaders from across entertainment share their innovative ways to cut through the culture.

SUE KROLL, GLOBAL HEAD OF MARKETING, FILM AND SERIES; GREG COLEMAN, HEAD OF INTEGRATED MARKETING; STEPHEN BRUNO, HEAD OF FILM MARKETING; ALEX MARINESCU AND JARED GOLDSMITH, HEADS OF SERIES MARKETING

As Amazon MGM, the new home of James Bond, began morphing into a full-fledged film studio, Kroll and her team closed out 2024 selling Christmas pic Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans and Lucy Liu. Having secured such heavyweight partners as M&M’s, Farmers, LG, Duracell and Pillsbury, Red One racked up $176 million in global ticket sales despite its limited theatrical run. Ben Affleck’s The Accountant 2 was among the first high-profile titles getting a proper release per the studio’s new mandate. Affleck — who has long worked with Kroll at Warner Bros., including on his Oscar-winning Argo — was a key asset in promoting the film, which grossed $101.9 million globally following its April release.

On the TV side, season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was preceded by activations across 31 territories worldwide, including social videos of Orc armies invading major cities. Beverage company Liquid Death featured The Boys‘ The Deep educating kids about the dangers of sugary beverages before (gulp) handing out tobacco products. An “in-world” public apology quickly followed, and within 72 hours, the video reached 8.4 million accounts on Instagram alone.

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KROLL “The Dove Real Beauty campaign — we are similarly committed to showcasing real stories about women around the world.”

For the Christmas actioner Red One, the candymaker had its own red M&M insist on being in the movie while “interviewing” The Rock and cast in a promo reel. The campaign included a red Snack Jacket puffer that sold out in three minutes.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Jane Hwang, GM global M&M’s; Lily Akerman, global M&M’s experience ecosystem lead; Rankin Carroll, chief brand officer

KIM GRANITO, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Handling both brand work and integrations — see all those Mercedes-Benzes on Mayfair Witches and the Whole Foods-ified In the Kitchen With Harry Hamlin — Granito is one of the rare marketing execs who also oversees a studio. Content Room, AMC Networks’ award-winning branded-entertainment studio, collaborates with brands on campaigns that integrate the portfolio’s programs and talent. That includes a Home Depot spot pegged to December’s Best Christmas Ever, AMC’s month of holiday programming that lured more than 20 other brands.

For shoppable ads promoting this event, Home Depot looked for a real family. The only requirement: They had to be newbies to holiday decorating. The award-winning ads led to improvements in purchase intent and brand opinion.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Marshall Weiss, senior director, category & enterprise marketing, The Home Depot; Brandon Helrich, executive director, OMD’s The Content Collective

MATT PLOTNIK, HEAD OF MARKETING

In February, 133.5 million people tuned in for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, making it the most viewed ever. It’s a major win for Apple Music since it took over from Pepsi as sponsor in 2023. Apple worked closely with Lamar’s pgLang and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, the latter of which has booked and executive produced the halftime show since 2019, to devise a spectacular event. Apple Music also made waves last year with its much-debated 100 Best Albums of All Time list, celebrating that with a luxe $450 coffee table book.

Sometimes marketing is free. Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show prominently featured a 1987 Buick Grand National GNX on the field, for no reason other than the rapper is a fan of the car (his latest album is called GNX, and this one was found at a used lot in Riverside. Searches on eBay for the Buick GNX skyrocketed after the show.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Kendrick Lamar, Dave Free, Cornell Brown, Anthony Saleh, Mike Carson, Jared Heinke – pgLang + project3; JAY-Z, Desiree Perez, Roc Nation.

SHANNON WILLETT, GLOBAL HEAD OF MARKETING

She may have only been on the job for a few months, but Willett now commands the film and TV marketing for the globe’s most valuable brand. The Peacock alum’s team executed the particularly ubiquitous State Farm ad featuring Severance star Adam Scott, set in the series’ distinctive office and directed by Ben Stiller. Apple TV+ marketing also worked with the publicity and awards teams to pull off the biggest guerrilla marketing stunt in recent memory — a glass cube in Grand Central Station containing the Severance stars, in character, going about their days.

Scott, as severed Mark S., met up with Jake from State Farm in the halls of Lumen Industries to highlight challenges that can arise when young adults, ahem, sever from their parents’ insurance and get their own. State Farm also launched a Severance micro-site with sections for Gen Z kids and their Gen X parents.

PRINCIPAL PLAYER Alyson Griffin, head of marketing, State Farm

MARISA ARON, EXECUTIVE VP, HEAD OF MARKETING

Atlantic had one of the biggest recent moments in pop culture with Charli XCX’s Brat summer, which turned to Brat fall and is still going strong as Charli continues to tour. Charli began the buzz with her infamous viral tweet “Kamala IS brat,” but Aron helped stoke the flames, organizing Charli’s Club Angel events and partnering with nonprofit I Support the Girls to donate 10,000 pairs of underwear. (“You wanna guess the color of my underwear” is a lyric from “Guess,” a breakout single with Billie Eilish, which has been streamed more than 631 million times on Spotify.)

H&M had its own Brat summer in an event series called H&M&, with 14 shows in eight cities. Charli XCX performed at the London kickoff and NYC closing event (which included reopening H&M’s Times Square flagship), driving more than 1.5B impressions and a Media Impact Value of $4M-plus, per Launchmetrics.

PRINCIPAL PLAYER Bianca Franklin, global business developer, music, H&M

ERIKA ALFREDSON, EXECUTIVE VP, HEAD OF MARKETING

Between Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Cowboy Carter and Tyler, the Creator’s smash Chromakopia, Columbia had a good 2024. Tyler sent ripples simply by releasing the record early Monday rather than the usual midnight Friday drop, hoping fans would listen more closely during the week instead of passively over the weekend. That bet paid off in three consecutive weeks atop Billboard‘s album chart.

From Tyler, the Creator to Tyler, the … Postmates driver? The hip-hop artist showed up at the doors of fans as a driver delivering not food, but his album.

PRINCIPAL PLAYER Joe Gallo, general manager, Columbia Records, Nikki Deguia, marketer, influencer, Postmates

EMILY LEVY, SENIOR DIRECTOR, MUSIC, TALENT, INFLUENCER

Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert in 2020 was no pandemic-era anomaly, as the video game and publisher Epic Games have only doubled down since. Today, Levy and Epic help connect stars to gamers with unique in-game experiences, from livestreamed concerts to artist takeovers in Fortnite’s Guitar Hero-like game Fortnite Festival. Fortnite‘s “Remix: The Finale” concert with Snoop Dogg, Ice Spice, Eminem and a posthumous tribute to Juice Wrld drew more than 14 million players, beating Scott’s viewership by 2 million.

The Short n’ Sweet artist took to the virtual stage of Fortnite Festival season eight, where those who plopped down 1,400 V-Bucks for a pass unlocked Sabrina Carpenter outfits, including one that was LEGO style.

PRINCIPAL PLAYER Micah Pittard, CEO, NSB Agency

JASON CASSIDY, VICE CHAIR; JOSH KORNBLIT, EXECUTIVE VP MARKETING

Not another Dracula movie! That’s the challenge the duo faced in selling Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu. But succeed they did; it grossed $181.2 million globally, one of the top showings of all time for the specialty label. “We have to make our films feel like a cultural moment,” says Kornblit. Partners included Titan Caskets, Hot Topic and Mise en Scène, with The Cinegogue delivering Focus’ most successful retail collection ever. And its collaboration with TikTok generated more than 400 million views after 75 creators attended an immersive crypt dinner in New York.

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CASSSIDY “Louis Vuitton. “I’m constantly inspired by how they merge their brand with innovation.”

What do the undead smell like? Lilacs and ambergris. Heretic Parfum enabled horror fans to emulate Count Orlock with a Nosferatu Eau de Macabre fragrance, oil and candle collection — generating $1M-plus in promotional value for the film. The collection sold out instantly with every restock.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Douglas Little, Heretic Parfum CEO

DARREN SCHILLACE, PRESIDENT OF MARKETING

On top of lucrative integrations like a Ghostbusters-themed episode of The Masked Singer, executed in concert with Sony, Schillace’s recent initiatives have leaned altruistic. Hit freshman drama Doc teamed up with American Red Cross for six themed blood drives, one of them including a visit by Scott Wolf, while December’s The Real Full Monty partnered with The Testicular Cancer Society, The Prostate Cancer Foundation and The Colorectal Cancer Alliance to amplify cancer awareness throughout the two-hour special that pointed to a micro-site with donation links.

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“Our wish list of brands to work with is constantly changing as our content library evolves. However, on a macro level, a core marketing strategy for Fox Entertainment is to continually find new audiences where they live… so one brand I would like to see us do more with as a network is YouTube.”

For the series that sees contestants trying to survive in the Canadian wilderness, Fox partnered with BattlBox, a monthly subscription box of outdoor survival gear. It created custom Extracted boxes — complete with grappling hook, knife and sharpener — as a social-media giveaway, reaching 22M-plus uniques. Extracted was greenlit for a second season.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS John Roman, CEO; Walter Hix, vp marketing, both at BattlBox

ANDREW MEENGERN, VP ORIGINALS MARKETING

Actors aren’t the only ones dying to get on The White Lotus. Brand execs are equally excited by HBO’s cultural juggernaut. Each season of Mike White’s hit, if you didn’t realize, shoots at a luxe Four Seasons, and the chain has leaned in heavily, curating a White Lotus wellness retreat at California’s Westlake Village outpost and prepping a tour of all three locations for mega-fans. For the recent season, Meengern also courted American Express, Google Pixel and Meta’s Threads. Each got an initiative and sponsored a finale party at — where else? — the Four Seasons in Westlake.

For the Thailand-set season three, AmEx curated experiences for Platinum Card and Centurion members (without the side of murder), including in Koh Samui, where the season was filmed. That drove a 40 percent increase in search for the show.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Jessica Ling, exec vp global brand advertising; Jill Hamilton, vp global media; both at American Express; UTA’s David Anderson

LAURA CARTER, EXECUTIVE VP/HEAD OF URBAN MARKETING; DANIEL SENA, HEAD OF STRATEGIC MARKETING

Interscope is as hot as it gets, its dominance partly attributable to being the biggest hitmaker in hip-hop, with more rap albums at No. 1 this year than any other label. Lamar’s Drake diss “Not Like Us” was the biggest rap song in the U.S. last year; Playboi Carti has one of the biggest albums of any genre with Music, and GloRilla’s debut Glorious went gold in April. Says Carter: “Sports has been an important connector between Glo and her fans. We forged a collaboration with Adidas, which was hugely powerful and locked her in as an All Star Weekend commentator.” Pop behemoths Eilish, Gracie Abrams and Lady Gaga have also helped Interscope soar, with Sena securing such partnerships as American Express for Eilish, Abrams and Olivia Rodrigo and Glossier for Katseye.

Mastercard, a longtime Grammy sponsor, was looking to go bigger. Enter Gaga. Not only did MC present the new music video for her “Abracadabra” at the Grammys, but it capped Gaga-themed Priceless Experiences with a chance for 32 fans to cameo in a remix video.

“I feel like Gaga puts the pieces together three dimensionally,” said, Steve Berman, vice chairman of Interscope Capitol Label Group. “She sees how each moment is connected together in a way that will elevate the experience for fans and how people will experience her art. 

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Gaga and Michael Polansky; Steve Berman, vice chairman, ICLG; Rustom Dastoor, exec vp, head of marketing and communications for the Americas, Mastercard

BLAIR RICH, CHIEF MARKETING AND COMMERCIAL OFFICER; JAMES NGO, EXEC VP, FRANCHISE MANAGEMENT

With Legendary controlling the rights to Dune, Ngo became a part of theatrical history after OK-ing an AMC Theatres limited edition Sandworm popcorn bucket for Dune: Part Two that instantly made headlines and was the subject of an SNL skit. It created a new revenue stream worth tens of millions of dollars for pricey custom buckets that continues to this day. Says one source close to the deal, “While Warners and Legendary’s overall campaign for Dune was elevated and beautiful, the internet needed a moment to just have fun.” Legendary and Warners’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire drew in Volkswagen, Fortnite, Call of Duty and Carl’s Jr.

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NGO “It’s two brands. I would love to put Monster Energy, Monster Jam and our Monsterverse together for an epic activation for fans.”

For Dune 2, Microsoft let virtual pilots fly an ornithopter. Game designers worked with the production to craft a cinematic Arrakis for an expansion pack. Fans flew the ornithopter for a total of 181M miles — the distance of flying to the sun and back.

PRINCIPAL PLAYER Jorg Neumann, head of Microsoft Flight Simulator game

ALEX COSLOV, EXECUTIVE VP

Over several years, Mercury made itself into a power player by partnering with indie hit factory Big Loud to distribute Morgan Wallen, the biggest country artist in the world. (It took his I’m the Problem less than a day to become the most streamed country album of the year on Spotify and Apple Music.) But Mercury’s been equally successful in house, too, as Coslov led the marketing for Post Malone’s head-first dive into country with F-1 Trillion. The lead single, “I Had Some Help” with Wallen, became a radio smash and amassed 822.9 million streams in 2024.

Synonymous with Bud Light for nearly a decade, Malone continued the partnership, with the beer brand presenting his “A Night in Nashville” concert featuring Blake Shelton, Sierra Ferrell and Hardy, a key moment in Malone’s pivot to country.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Todd Allen, senior vp, Bud Light & Budweiser; Ronnie Yoked, head of experiential, Arielle Swanson, head of entertainment at Anheuser-Busch; Kerri Mackar, exec vp, Global Brand Partnerships, UMGB/Republic Collective

MICHAEL MOSES, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, UNIVERSAL PICTURES; DAVID O’CONNOR, PRESIDENT, FRANCHISE MANAGEMENT & BRAND STRATEGY, NBCUNIVERSAL STUDIO GROUP AND UNIVERSAL PICTURES; VINCE KLASEUS, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSAL PRODUCTS & EXPERIENCES; JENNY STORMS, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, NBCU TELEVISION AND STREAMING

Thanksgiving’s Wicked was the marketing triumph of 2024, according to almost every rival, boasting more than 450 promotional brands reaching 4 billion shoppers — including Starbucks in its first movie partnership; Amazon; a Target takeover anchored by a Cynthia Erivo national ad campaign; and LEGO sets featuring her and Ariana Grande, unusual for a female-fueled film. Twisters opened to record numbers after targeting Middle America, including partnering with Dodge Ram and American Red Cross to support disaster relief.

In TV, Storms’ 2024 was packed. The 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live took over Manhattan, partnering with Saks Fifth Avenue, 30 Rock landlord Tishman Speyer and even the MTA. (Yes, that was Kenan Thompson making subway announcements.) Up next is the November return of BravoCon. The massive Vegas convention is a brand explosion, with more than 20 brands joining the most recent edition, including pop-up experiences from DoorDash, Lay’s, State Farm, Shark Beauty and Wayfair.

Of all the Wicked brand collaborations, nothing was more impressive during the film’s omnipresent marketing blitz than getting Starbucks to do something it’s never done before. The coffee giant created a line of special Wicked drinkware and Starbucks cards, as well as two specialty drinks centered on the leads, Glinda and Elphaba. It was the first time Starbucks released special menu items tied to a film.

 

TOM QUINN, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER; CHRISTIAN PARKES, HEAD OF MARKETING

Without huge coffers, Quinn and Parkes rely on their well-honed instincts to fan interest in a film. “We are nimble and don’t have to worry about red tape,” says Parkes. For the multiple Oscar-winning Anora, people lined up for hours to buy risqué merch at a one-day pop-up in L.A. And Neon’s guerrilla campaign for Longlegs kept Nicolas Cage hidden in the shadows, instead hooking fans with a series of cipher codes online, driving box office of $128 million globally to become the top-grossing indie horror film of the year and in Neon’s history.

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QUINN ”Kareem Abdul Jabbar and his signature Adidas high top.

In November, Neon set up a one-day-only pop-up at Kings of Body, an L.A. auto repair yard, where lines 300-long waited for five hours to buy “little wifey” thongs and T-shirts with lines from the film: “You hit the lotto, bitch!” and “Fuckin’ Cinderella.” Marrying marketing with additional revenue, the stunt followed a similar setup in New York during the week of the film’s debut in October. 

MARIAN LEE, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

The dominant streamer’s initiatives have grown exponentially since its lean into live programming and advertising. Two of the biggest outings to date show just how much it can leverage that with brands: Levi’s outfitted Beyoncé for the Beyoncé Bowl Halftime Show during the streamer’s inaugural NFL telecast. And Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson wasn’t just the most streamed sporting event in history, it featured partnerships from Celsius, DraftKings Sportsbook and Experian. Lee also oversees two major growth areas: consumer products — have you tried Netflix popcorn? — and experiences.

Series producer Paramount partnered with spirits maker Quintessential Brands to bring a fictional drink to shelves, inspired by Lily Collins’ marketing exec Emily Cooper pitching a canned Kir Royale. Shortly after airing, the drink trended as fans wanted to enjoy “Chamere” IRL.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Enzo Visone, CEO; Letizia Razzino, global brand director, both at Quintessential Brands

MARC WEINSTOCK, PRESIDENT, WORLDWIDE MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION; DANIELLE DE PALMA, EXECUTIVE VP GLOBAL MARKETING; MICHELLE HAGEN, EXECUTIVE VP WORLDWIDE PROMOTION

This year, Weinstock saw Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, A Quiet Place: Day One and Smile 2 open to series-best numbers. A Day One TikTok challenge went viral as folks posted videos trying to keep their cats quiet (the breakout star of the prequel is the feline Frodo). Final Reckoning‘s takeover of Delta Airlines was a coup and, for the first time, Cruise invited creators on set to shoot his stunts, which went viral.

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DE PALMA “A Nike collab for Children of Blood and Bone would be a dream, given both brands embody female empowerment.”

Paramount’s third Sonic unexpectedly bested Disney’s Mufasa at the box office in December after poaching McD’s as a partner for its themed Happy Meal toys, including a special Sonic mobile game.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Tara Sahu, director, global alliances; Rebecca Anderson, senior manager, global family marketing; Morgan Flatley, global CMO & head of new business ventures, all at McDonald’s

MICHELLE HOOPER, EXECUTIVE VP, HEAD OF MARKETING; REBECCA KEAREY, EXECUTIVE VP, HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING, DISTRIBUTION & BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Searchlight’s marketing acumen was on full display with Oscar-nominated A Complete Unknown, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet that was one of the best box office showings in the studio’s history. Chalamet drove the campaign, kicking off with a hosting gig for Atlanta’s ESPN College GameDay that went viral, with the star picking all seven winners correctly. “His appearances were so smart and strategic,” says Hooper. Searchlight also brought aboard Levi’s and Heaven’s Door Tennessee Whiskey, co-owned by Dylan.

For the movie, Levi’s worked with costume designer Arianne Phillips to pull historically accurate denim pieces for Chalamet’s Dylan. Postproduction, the Levi’s Vintage Clothing team, led by design director Paul O’Neill, curated its own Dylan-inspired collection, including jeans with a bootcut insert, a “D” belt and a suede jacket. 

STEVEN O’DELL, PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING & DISTRIBUTION; JEFFREY GODSICK, EXECUTIVE VP, GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS & BRAND STRATEGY; DANIELLE MISHER, CO-HEAD, THEATRICAL MARKETING

No one was sure how Sony’s 2024 summer film The Garfield Movie would do, given it had been 20 years since the previous feature. Motel 6 did a huge push and made Garfield its pet officer, while Popchips sold a limited-edition nacho; the movie topped out at $257 million globally. Late last year, Venom: The Last Dance was boosted by Monster Energy, Volkswagen and Waze, which made a special voice by the antihero. The movie earned a solid $478 million globally. “When promotional partners invest with full force, movies can become cultural events,” says Godsick.

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GODSICK ”LVMH. I would love to create a single promotion in which the film would be interpreted uniquely by each of their prestigious brands.

Move over, lasagna: Popchips gave Garfield a new snack. A branded Nacho bag appears in the film, and 3,000 of them were sampled at an L.A. activation. Popchips also sent out Garfield-orange boxes with snacks to influencers, leading to 10M+ impressions. The chip was the new item with the fastest turnover at US Foods.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Megan Osowski, vp marketing; Kimberly Street, marketing manager, both at Popchip parent Our Home

ASAD AYAZ, CHIEF BRAND OFFICER, THE WALT DISNEY CO. & PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, WALT DISNEY STUDIOS & DISNEY+. AT WALT DISNEY STUDIOS: LYLLE BREIER, EXECUTIVE VP, PARTNERSHIP, PROMOTIONS, SYNERGY & EVENTS; MARTHA MORRISON, EXECUTIVE VP, MARKETING; RYAN STANKEVICH, SENIOR VP, MARKETING. SHANNON RYAN, PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION

Ayaz’s team is responsible for no fewer than six movie studios falling under the Disney umbrella — Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, 20th Century, Walt Disney Animation and Disney Live-Action, home of current blockbuster Lilo & Stitch — in addition to Disney+, where he’s assisted by evp of marketing Samantha Rosenberg. Rivals in particular commend Ayaz for the campaign for Disney’s first R-rated release, Deadpool & Wolverine, which transformed into a series-best, $1.33 billion global blockbuster, while also selling the two other top-grossing billion-dollar earners of 2024, Inside Out 2 and Moana 2. This year’s highlights to date include the record-shattering Lilo, which has amassed $800 million in less than a month. To help grab the attention of viewers, the studio partnered with Heinz for Deadpool, Airbnb for Inside Out 2, Hawaiian Airlines for Moana 2 and Spam, 10 million cans of it, for Lilo. “When it’s clever, it creates conversation and helps your film break into the culture,” says Ayaz, who also provides support to Searchlight.

On the TV side, Ryan oversees one of the largest portfolios in the medium — ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Hulu, National Geographic, Onyx and 20th Television — that raked in a record-breaking 60 Emmy awards in 2024. Recent bragging points include a Saks Fifth Avenue partnership for the launch of ABC’s Doctor Odyssey, complete with window displays at the heavily trafficked NYC flagship, executed alongside DTW evp of marketing, Erin Weir; and, with Hulu evp of marketing Barrie Gruner, a co-branded product between Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building and star Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty that sold out in 11 days and reaped nearly $1 billion in earned media impressions.

Matching Deadpool and Wolverine’s red and yellow suits to Heinz’s ketchup and mustard, Deadpool and Wolverine condiment bottles drove billions in media impressions, putting Heinz in the summer movie conversation.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Maximum Effort’s Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey; Navjit Dhillon, brand manager; Jamie Mack, associate director, brand communications; both at Heinz

TJ LANDIG, SENIOR VP MARKETING OPERATIONS & STRATEGY; DALIA GANZ, SENIOR VP DIGITAL MARKETING

In music, there’s nothing more difficult than breaking a new artist. And in 2024, Warner Records did just that, becoming the hottest artist development label in the business with out-of-the-gate successes by Benson Boone and Teddy Swims. Boone had the biggest song of the year with “Beautiful Things” (2.57 billion streams according to Luminate). Its ubiquity notwithstanding, Landig quarterbacked marketing on the track and planned pop-up events globally for Boone’s albums. Swims, not far behind with “Lose Control” (2.14 billion streams), benefits from Ganz’s leadership in viral marketing, which she handles for all of Warner’s roster. Her latest win: 19-year-old developing artist Sombr, currently riding a two-fer on the Global Spotify Chart.

With breakout hit “Beautiful Things,” Boone became the voice — er, soul — of the “Soul of BMW” campaign. Since September, the song has continuously been prominently featured in the launch of seven electric vehicle models on YouTube and Instagram.

PRINCIPAL PLAYERS Claudia Butzky – EVP brand partnerships & sync, Paul Rocha, senior director, brand partnerships & sync,Warner Records. Bernd Koerber, head of product & brand management, BMW

DANA NUSSBAUM, EXECUTIVE VP/CO-HEAD, WORLDWIDE MARKETING; CHRISTIAN DAVIN, EXECUTIVE VP/CO-HEAD, WORLDWIDE MARKETING STRATEGY; JOHN STANFORD, EXECUTIVE VP CREATIVE ADVERTISING/HEAD OF THEATRICAL CREATIVE ADVERTISING

Following such hits as Barbie and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the trio were upped in January to run the marketing group as equals. They struck gold with A Minecraft Movie, the top-grossing film of 2025 so far. The release of branded snacks in the form of square-shaped Doritos and square Oreos, both of which went viral, surely helped. There also was a Minecraft-themed Poppi drink and a 90-country McDonald’s blitz.

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NUSSBAUM, DAVIN, STANFORD “e.l.f., an inclusive brand hot with Gen Z right now. They have a very disruptive approach.”

Gaming and soda has always been a winning combo, and for health-conscious Gen Z, prebiotic soda Poppi produced limited-edition four-packs. Gamers ate it up: Sales grew 84.5 percent in March and April, and a third bought three four-packs at a time.

PRINCIPAL PLAYER Matt Giese, director of retail marketing, Poppi

This story appeared in the June 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.