Will Spearhead Branding Initiatives Driven by Company's Growing Roster of Franchises, Event Properties and Other Areas of Content Leadership
Will Continue to Run Worldwide Theatrical Marketing Operations in Expanded Role
SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Reflecting the Company's growing portfolio of brands and franchises, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) senior executive Tim Palen has been promoted to Chief Brand Officer (CBO) and President of Worldwide Marketing, it was announced today by Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer.
Under his new long-term agreement, Mr. Palen continues to serve as the Company's top film marketing executive, running worldwide theatrical marketing operations across the Company's Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and other labels. He oversees all theatrical marketing campaigns and strategy, media, creative advertising and digital media initiatives. As CBO he is a member of the Company's senior decision-making team, and he will be responsible for developing, extending and marketing the Company's individual brands, franchises and corporate branding initiatives.
Mr. Palen is responsible for spearheading Lionsgate's location-based entertainment team that, in the past year, has announced: The Hunger Games Exhibition nationwide tour that will launch in Times Square next month; the state-of-the-art Hunger Games StageAround live theatrical experience debuting in England next summer; and The Hunger Games branded attractions that form a centerpiece of the Motiongate theme park opening in Dubai next fall, which will also include a Step Up live stage event.
Mr. Palen is also charged with exploring branding opportunities driven by other event properties as well as within categories in which Lionsgate has established content leadership.
"Tim has played a lead role in building the Lionsgate corporate brand since the early days of the studio, and his promotion to Chief Brand Officer reflects our continued evolution into a global content leader with an expanding portfolio of brands, franchises and other signature properties," said Mr. Feltheimer. "His new position reflects his ability to extend his ground-breaking marketing campaigns into unique opportunities for brands and individual properties as well as the Company as a whole."
"Tim is truly best in class – one of the most creative and strategic marketing executives in the business," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. "It's an exciting time for Lionsgate with incredible opportunities for growth, and we're delighted to have Tim on board to help take us to the next level of success."
Mr. Palen was the architect of the marketing strategy for the global blockbuster Hunger Games franchise whose first three films have grossed more than $2.3 billion at the worldwide box office. His marketing campaigns have also helped drive recent box office successes including The Age of Adaline, John Wick and the CBS/Lionsgate teen comedy The DUFF.
Future branding initiatives will be driven in part by a feature film slate that, in addition to The Hunger Games, encompasses franchises and potential franchises including the Divergent series, whose first two films have grossed more than $550 million at the global box office, Now You See Me 2, the live action Saban's Power Rangers series, Alex Proyas's epic action adventure film Gods of Egypt, and Francis Lawrence's The Odyssey.
Since joining the company in 2002, Mr. Palen has played a key role in building the iconic motion picture franchises that have helped define Lionsgate's success, beginning with Saw in 2004, which became the most successful horror franchise of all time. His marketing campaigns were also integral to shaping the Tyler Perry film brand, which spanned 17 films over an eight-year period and grossed more than $700 million at the domestic box office.
In addition, Mr. Palen has launched influential marketing campaigns for Oscar winners such as Crash, which won the 2006 Best Picture Academy Award, Monster's Ball, which earned a historic Best Actress Oscar for Halle Berry in 2002 and Precious, which won three Academy Awards in 2009.
He was named Ad Week's Brand Genius of the Year in 2012 for his iconic marketing campaign launching the first Hunger Games film, earned recognition in Fast Company as "One of the 100 Most Creative People in Business" and was named one of Entertainment Weekly's "50 Smartest People in Hollywood."
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms, video games and international distribution and sales. Lionsgate currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black and the breakout series The Royals.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first three installments of The Hunger Games franchise, the first two installments of the Divergent franchise, The Age of Adaline, CBS/Lionsgate's The DUFF, John Wick, Now You See Me, Roadside Attractions' A Most Wanted Man, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
www.lionsgate.com
For further information, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
(310) 255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
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SOURCE Lionsgate
