BRAND / WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY

Integrating brand strategy, activation and expression through new and uncertain times

SITUATION
Warner Bros. Discovery was formed from the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc., aiming to remain a leader in a rapidly changing media landscape. The new story and identity featured Warner Bros.’ iconic shield and launched with day-one celebrations, media plans and global assets refresh. A unifying brand idea—“Dream Bold”—drew inspiration from “The stuff that dreams are made of” (from The Maltese Falcon).

CHALLENGE
While executing an overall successful brand launch, a planned day-one image campaign to introduce “Dream Bold” was not activated for several reasons (efficiencies, potential guild strikes, platform evolution). Because the brand idea did not have an immediate and comprehensive release, it was difficult to directly measure brand affinity and incorporate the brand purpose into all assets. Although the brand intent and identity was enthusiastically adopted, “Dream Bold” lacked immediate, consistent integration into initiatives.

ACTION
My direct leadership, key partners (ad sales, distribution, human resources) and my team leveraged every opportunity to embed “Dream Bold” in campaigns we oversaw. We consistently championed its value as a cohesive framework for brand messaging and execution.

RESULT
Ongoing advocacy and positive feedback from talent, business, and employee research (in partnership with the WBD research teams) led to broader acceptance. Eventually, “Dream Bold” featured in key ad sales and carrier campaigns (influencing $20 billion in revenue), employee recruiting, corporate advertising and positioning for sub-brands.