Inside WB’s Marketing Machine: The Chiefs Rewriting the Movie Playbook Tell All
In the midst of a banger year, Dana Nussbaum and Christian Davin reveal to me their strategy on AI and chasing audiences from gas stations to gridiron
This week, I sat down with the co-heads of Warner Bros. Pictures marketing, Dana Nussbaum and Christian Davin, at the DPAA Summit in NYC, which brings together leaders in the OOH (out-of-home) advertising business — folks selling everything from billboards and mall kiosks to elevator screens to gas station screens to movie theater screens and more — as well as the people in the advertising business who buy ads on those screens.
So a big focus of my conversation was about how WB approaches reaching audiences outside of the more traditional TV/radio buys and the streaming/social media buys. What was surprising to hear is how much they emphasize their OOH media strategy through the lens of how the ad buys can also be used or manifested as “earned media” — in other words, free — to further awareness and word of mouth for their movies on social media.
In our era of ever-bifurcating audience media habits, an ad buy is rarely just an ad buy anymore. The creative not only has to work harder, but technology also has enabled bigger marketing creative thinking.
We also discuss how they see AI not only affecting creative marketing production but also helping them reach audiences more effectively in the year ahead. Plus a little Oscar season talk about Sinners and One Battle After Another.
Best to dive in! Here’s my conversation with Dana and Christian, and read on to learn what they had to say about:
Keep reading for the whole discussion on:
How Warner Bros. is chasing audiences from Times Square to TikTok — and why an ad buy is never just an ad buy anymore
The art (and science) of turning billboards into earned media
How Dana Nussbaum and Christian Davin short-circuit risk aversion and get their teams swinging big
From the Super Bowl to Minecraft: redefining what a “tentpole event” means in 2025
How AI is changing audience targeting — and what that means for the next movie trailer you see
Warner Bros.’ plans to market its two Oscar contenders, and what consumer outreach and Academy campaigns have in common
What’s ahead for Wuthering Heights, The Bride — and yes, more Krypto