Latest news with #ShaunaSpenley
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
WBD Expects John Oliver Will Have A 'Hot Take' About Its HBO Max Rebrand
Warner Bros. Discovery streaming marketing chief Shauna Spenley says she and her colleagues will be tuning in more avidly than ever to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. 'We just cannot wait for his hot take on this whole rebrand,' Spenley said during the company's upfront presentation to advertisers Wednesday, alluding to the bombshell news that Max is returning to the HBO Max name this summer. 'We think it's going to be pretty hot.' More from Deadline At YouTube Brandcast, Lady Gaga, 'Hot Ones' & NFL Help Video Giant Mark 20 Creator-Shaped Years Charlize Theron Appears At Netflix Upfront Following Injury On Set Of 'Apex': "My Cute Boot Is Hiding A Fractured Toe" 'The Pitt' Emmy Submissions Revealed With Noah Wyle Up For Lead Actor & Writing Spenley, who spent 15 years at Netflix, joined WBD last year as Global Chief Marketing Officer of Direct-to-Consumer. At the upfront, she followed Casey Bloys, CEO of HBO and Max Content. Bloys made the big HBO Max reveal, which the audience at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden was still processing as she took the stage. 'You're probably thinking, 'Wow, these guys really love to rebrand,'' she said. 'Well, you know, it's been about two years, so that's been our track record. I'd say now is about the right time.' As she was speaking, the Max social media accounts were fully leaning into the humor of the about-face, rolling out the pointing-multiple-Spider-Men memes and other get-a-load-of-us images. Turning to the serious marketing argument for the new/old name, Spenley said, 'We all know the market is cluttered. It's becoming almost like fast fashion. People are saying, 'I'd rather have one great sweater rather than five that fall apart.' The desire for cheap, long-form volume [of the type other streamers offer] is waning.' HBO's ability to make long-form programming that breaks through and brings audiences and awards is 'our competitive advantage,' she said. 'It's the same one we have had on HBO for the last 50 years.' In making the argument for one-at-a-time episode drops as opposed to binge releases, Spenley played one of Oliver's 'And Now … This' segments from Last Week Tonight capturing motley TV personalities chattering about the White Lotus finale, , Best of Deadline Where To Watch All The 'Mission: Impossible' Movies: Streamers With Multiple Films In The Franchise Everything We Know About 'My Life With The Walter Boys' Season 2 So Far 'Bridgerton' Season 4: Everything We Know So Far
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
HBO Rebranding
The beloved brand that launched prestige TV like Oz and The Wire is back, HBO, is back. Warner Brothers Discovery, which wiped out the name in a disastrous rebranding effort during a 2023 corporate merger, took a swipe at itself in an announcement this week. "Same app. New-ish name. The plot twist everyone's been waiting for," the announcement read. "WBD's streaming business has incredible momentum, turning around its profitability by almost $3B in just two years and scaling globally with 22M subscribers added over the past year, with a clear path to over 150M+ by the end of 2026," the company said. An executive also addressed the name change at the Upfronts in New York City this week while pitching their upcoming programs. 'We all know this industry is cluttered. Streaming has become a lot like fast fashion,' Max chief marketing officer Shauna Spenley said at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. 'So when we think about our competitive advantage, it's the same one that we've had at HBO for the last 50 years.'The company let go of that advantage by rebranding to Max, and the change never really caught on, even as popular HBO originals like The White Lotus and The Last of Us became mega-hits. The rebranding of the rebranding has attracted considerable social media mockery, which Max jumped in on with a series of tweets poking fun at its own personality disorder. The brand's roots were formed with the cable station Home Box Office, which was founded in 1972 and offered uncut and commercial-free movies. In the 1990s, The Sopranos marked HBO as the go to station for must see TV.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Warner Bros. Discovery is letting brands tap ‘newstalgia' for its IP
This story was originally published on Marketing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Marketing Dive newsletter. NEW YORK — Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) kicked off the final day of the 2025 upfronts by comparing the media ecosystem to something featured on an episode of HGTV favorite 'Fixer Upper': a house that worked beautifully for so long but doesn't meet its owners' needs anymore. 'It's time to renovate, modernize the design, improve efficiencies and build something even more valuable for the years ahead,' said Ryan Gould, co-president of U.S. advertising sales for the company. 'We see this as an opportunity to collectively rethink, reimagine and reinvent our industry.' At The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday (May 14), WBD made its pitch as the blueprint for a remodeled media company, three years since it was formed via merger and two years since it launched its flagship Max streaming service. And in a move acknowledging the importance of brand equity, the service will return to the HBO Max name this summer. 'You're probably thinking, 'Wow, these guys really love to rebrand.' Well, we know it's been about a few years, so that's probably our track record,' joked Shauna Spenley, global CMO for streaming at WBD. The rebrand comes on the heels of the streamer's success. The service has doubled its U.S. ad-supported subscribers in the last year, with nearly half of new subscribers choosing that option, and had its best month ever in April, with viewership up 20% year-over-year. The new-old name could also help it cut through a cluttered media landscape. 'Streaming has become a lot like fast fashion,' Spenley said. 'People are saying, 'I'd rather have one great sweater than five.'' WBD will look to address efficiency with the launch of two new solutions: DemoDirect and Neo. The former simplifies and unifies traditional demographic-based buying across the company's portfolio and promises unified scale, quality control, customizable campaigns and cross-platform extension, giving ad buyers one plan, one CPM and one invoice. The latter is a new ad platform that brings the company's premium video inventory — spanning streaming, linear, free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) and syndication — into one interface with real-time transparency and full control over ad buys. The company also revealed WBD Storyverse, a new initiative that seeks to give advertisers access to its vast troves of IP for custom campaigns and other amplification across its platforms. Executives noted the success that brands including State Farm (with its Batman-focused March Madness campaign) and Unilever's Hellmann's (with its Super Bowl reboot of 'When Harry Met Sally') have had integrating with classic WBD content. Along with access to the WBD portfolio, brand partners will receive access to in-house strategists and creative experts, production resources, and distribution and third-party licensing support. Executives called out the ability of brands to engage with younger consumers who are just now discovering WBD classics including 'The Matrix,' 'Family Matters' and 'Friends.' 'Gen Z and millennials are embracing these timeless franchises, reboots, series and sequels,' Gould said. 'We're tapping into the massive library of our content, all to help you create 'newstalgia': campaigns that build culture in fresh and unexpected ways.' The new advertiser solutions build on previously introduced tools designed to maximize impact, reduce waste and improve transparency. Moments, a contextual tool powered by Kerv's artificial intelligence technology, led to a six-times increase in consumer actions, while commerce-focused Shop with Max tools led to a 12-times increase in product page visits. Meanwhile, WBD's converged media product StreamX led to a 14% average incremental reach and lowered cost per impression. 'We're building the future of our own design together,' said Bobby Voltaggio, co-president of U.S. advertising sales at WBD. 'You can expect us to continue taking bold leaps forward, embracing the new technology to unlock it with more potential, giving you more power and control to drive truly great results.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
HBO's streaming service faces yet another rebrand
HBO subscribers have been left feeling dizzy after Warner Bros. announced that its streaming service Max will return to its original name, HBO Max, in the summer. The network revealed the shock reversal at its star-studded Upfront event on Wednesday, and even joked that they can't wait to hear talk show hosts like John Oliver poke fun at the overhaul. Speaking at the event held at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday, Shauna Spenley (pictured), Global Chief Marketing Officer of Direct-to-Consumer, said: 'You're probably thinking, wow, these guys love to rebrand. 'Well, you know, it's been about two years so that's roughly our track record, so right now is probably the right time. 'And with all this momentum you've been hearing about, it is exactly the right time.' Perhaps, unsurprisingly, subscribers have been left scratching their heads over the U-turn and many have questioned why the streamer ever changed its name in the first place. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one wrote: 'So they realized getting rid of the HBO name was a dumb idea.' A fourth continued: 'Seriously, how much did that consulting firm make just to suggest changing it to Max and then back to HBO Max? What a loop.' 'What was the point of changing names then?' asked another user. A sixth added: 'What's going on here?' HBO Max dropped HBO from its brand name in 2023 in a divisive move. At the time, executives said HBO would be preserved as a brand within the Max fold, but that the re-branded service is designed to highlight child-friendly offerings. HBO is 'a brand that has been built over five decades' to stand for 'edgy, groundbreaking entertainment for adults,' said JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games for WBD said at the time. 'But it's not exactly where parents would most eagerly drop off their kids. 'And yet Warner Bros. Discovery has some of the best-known kids' characters, animation and brands in the industry. Not surprisingly, the category has not met its true potential on HBO Max.' Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Visit our profile page and hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
HBO subscribers left outraged after streamer announces yet ANOTHER rebrand
HBO subscribers have been left feeling dizzy after Warner Bros. announced that its streaming service Max will return to its original name, HBO Max, in the summer. The network revealed the shock reversal at its star-studded Upfront event on Wednesday, and even joked that they can't wait to hear talk show hosts like John Oliver poke fun at the overhaul. Despite the 180, Warner Bros. argue that returning the HBO brand into HBO Max will 'further drive the service forward and amplify the uniqueness that subscribers can expect from the offering.' The change comes just two years after HBO Max changed its name to just Max. Speaking at the event held at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Wednesday, Shauna Spenley, Global Chief Marketing Officer of Direct-to-Consumer, said: 'You're probably thinking, wow, these guys love to rebrand. 'Well, you know, it's been about two years so that's roughly our track record, so right now is probably the right time. 'And with all this momentum you've been hearing about, it is exactly the right time.' She went on to add: 'Look, we all know this industry is cluttered. Streaming has become a lot like fast fashion. People are saying, I'd rather have one great sweater than five that fall apart. 'The desire for cheap, long-form episodic is waning, so when we think about our competitive advantage, it's the same one that we've had at HBO for last 50 years. And I feel incredibly lucky and proud to bring it home this summer.' Perhaps, unsurprisingly, subscribers have been left scratching their heads over the U-turn and many have questioned why the streamer ever changed its name in the first place. Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one wrote: 'So they realized getting rid of the HBO name was a dumb idea.' Another said: 'When they inevitably go bankrupt the audit will reveal that the reason hinges on the costs of the many, many, many unnecessary branding changes.' 'They can't keep doing this!' begged a third. A fourth continued: 'Seriously, how much did that consulting firm make just to suggest changing it to Max and then back to HBO Max? What a loop.' 'What was the point of changing names then?' asked another user. A sixth added: 'What's going on here?' Subscribers have been left scratching their heads over the U-turn on social media Shauna Spenley, Global Chief Marketing Officer of Direct-to-Consumer acknowledged the back and forth at the Warner Bros. Upfront HBO Max dropped HBO from its brand name in 2023 in a divisive move. At the time, executives said HBO would be preserved as a brand within the Max fold, but that the re-branded service is designed to highlight child-friendly offerings. HBO is 'a brand that has been built over five decades' to stand for 'edgy, groundbreaking entertainment for adults,' said JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games for WBD said at the time. 'But it's not exactly where parents would most eagerly drop off their kids. 'And yet Warner Bros. Discovery has some of the best-known kids' characters, animation and brands in the industry. Not surprisingly, the category has not met its true potential on HBO Max.'
