Lauren Anderson, the Amazon MGM Studios executive who oversees ad-supported original content for Amazon MGM Studios, will expand her duties to include helping develop ties with advertisers and sponsors for those shows.
As head of brand and content innovation, a new role, Anderson will “manage Studios’creativecollaboration with brands, helping them find engaging moments to partner across our Originals slate,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon MGM Studios, in a memo to staff. “Inclose partnership with the Amazon Ads, Prime Video Ads, andStudios Marketing teams,Lauren willdriveStudios’ efforts to generateadvertisingsponsorships, integrations, custom content, and brand-supported Originals for our AVOD, FAST, and SVOD customers across Film and TV.” Anderson will continue tomaintain oversight ofher current teams, which develop original shows for platforms such as Prime Video and Freevee.
The new executive duties surface as Amazon has placed new emphasis on selling ads throughout its Prime Video and Freevee platforms. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a new plan that will have the bulk of Prime Video subscribers taking commercials in their feeds. To avoid, the ads, subscribers must pay an extra fee. The decision leaves Amazon with a significant amount of commercial inventory to sell, and naming a creative executive to guide advertisers’ association with particular shows could help drive new revenue.
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As part of the new assignment, Benoit Landry will lead a newly created group that will aim to be “a one-stop Studios destination for our development of brand-centered Originals as well as a resource for creators seeking to meaningfully leverage brands within their series,” Sanders said. Meanwhile, Justin Holt will lead a group that examines methods of weaving advertiser messages into content.
Prior to joining Amazon in 2019,. Anderson was the chief content officer for Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts, the joint venture studio between NBCUniversal and Snapchat. She also was was senior vice president of primetime programming at NBC Entertainment
