SITUATION
Warner Bros. Discovery’s house brands frequently participate in major industry events like Sundance, SXSW, Cannes Lions, and CES to engage with key audiences—creatives, technologists, talent, media, and advertisers. However, smaller house brands and internal teams struggled to justify the costs of independent activations. Meanwhile, multiple brands often activated separately at the same event, leading to inefficiencies and diluted impact.

CHALLENGE
With limited budgets, fragmented activations, and overlapping objectives, a new approach was needed to create a stronger, more unified brand presence while optimizing resources.

ACTION
I established a centralized corporate events and activations team to align house brand marketing and event strategies. By coordinating calendars, budgets, and plans, we identified opportunities for shared activations.

For key events, we developed one central hub—a unified space that housed multiple activations under a cohesive theme. My team handled everything from securing prime locations to designing adaptable spaces that accommodated diverse brand needs.

• Unifying Theme & Design: Flexible branding that integrated seamlessly across activations.

• Optimized Space & Resources: Strategically assigned areas for public engagement, panels, hospitality, and networking.

• Custom Programming: Tailored experiences, from panel discussions to brand activations and talent showcases.

RESULT
In one example, at South by Southwest, we executed a high-impact, custom-programmed activation:

• Theme: “Move the World Through Story”—reinforcing WBD’s purpose across all brand activations. Programming pillars supported daily activities, like “Closer to Your Heroes.”

• We identified a central location, gave purpose to each floor and fully branded both exterior and interior:

  • Floor 1: Attendee activation, curated by DC Comics, featuring a Batmobile, games and merchandise.

  • Floor 2: Panel stage and seating for thought leadership panel sessions.

  • Floor 3: Open-air terrace for entertainment, networking and private meetings, with live music and food service.

• Programming Highlights:

  • Brene Brown headlined a diversity and inclusion panel.

  • Tweety Bird’s 80th birthday celebration on the terrace generated national media attention.

  • Talent and production panels engaged fans and industry professionals.

  • Recruitment and marketplace teams leveraged the spaces for strategic meetings.

By consolidating resources and unifying messaging, we enabled multiple teams to activate cost-effectively, expanding participation and amplifying brand impact.