Dive Brief:
- The Walt Disney Company is overhauling its marketing organization and appointing Asad Ayaz, previously chief brand officer, as chief marketing and brand officer to lead the division, according to a press release.
- The new organization brings together different marketing teams from Disney Entertainment, Disney Experiences and ESPN for a “more connected approach” where they will share capabilities and tools. The goal is to create a greater sense of continuity in how Disney markets to consumers while enhancing agility.
- Ayaz was named Disney’s first chief brand officer in 2023 and has also served as president of marketing for The Walt Disney Studios for the past eight years. He will report to Disney CEO Bob Iger, as well as the individual segment chairs for the units under his purview.
Dive Insight:
Disney is streamlining its marketing teams into a single, enterprise-wide organization at a time of disruption for the entertainment and technology industries. At the same time, the company is naming Ayaz, an over 20-year veteran of the company, as its first chief brand and marketing officer to oversee the unified division. The scale of the changes is significant, Marketing Dive understands, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether layoffs or role eliminations are planned.
“As our businesses have evolved, it’s clear that we need a company-wide role that ensures brand consistency and allows consumers today to seamlessly interact with our wonderful products and experiences,” said CEO Iger in a press statement. “The Chief Marketing and Brand Officer role is critical for this moment, and Asad is the perfect fit.”
Cohesion is a key focus of the overhaul, as is enhancing agility and innovation in the ways the various Disney properties connect with consumers around the globe. Artificial intelligence wasn’t explicitly mentioned in the press release, although that is an area that Disney is exploring more heavily. The company in December struck a three-year licensing agreement with ChatGPT developer OpenAI to bring more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters to the firm’s video generator Sora.
Ayaz has served as Disney’s chief brand officer since 2023 and overseen major marketing programs, including a celebration of the company’s centennial the same year. He is also credited with helping to shape marketing strategies for some of the media and theme parks conglomerate’s biggest streaming shows and Hollywood blockbusters, including the recent holiday releases of “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
Disney shaking up its marketing structure comes as the entertainment category experiences consolidation. Paramount and Skydance Media merged last year while both Paramount and Netflix are currently bidding to acquire Warner Bros., with the studio appearing to favor a deal with the latter.
