Yahoo News Disney Promotes Asad Ayaz to First-Ever Chief Brand Officer
Marketing wizard Asad Ayaz has been named Disney’s first-ever chief brand officer, effective immediately. CEO Bob Iger unveiled the appointment Thursday. Ayaz will report directly to Iger on anything related to branding.
It’s a huge promotion for Ayaz. In the newly created role, he will be responsible for stewarding and elevating the Disney brand globally across the company’s entire ecosystem and consumer experiences. He will also continue as president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios, overseeing all aspects of marketing and publicity for the Studios’ films and series as well as for Disney+ globally, reporting to Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman.
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“Asad is an exceptional creative leader with a deep understanding of what Disney means to millions of people around the world,” Iger said in a statement. “His taking on this role is particularly noteworthy and consequential as we commemorate our historic 100th anniversary, and I am confident that his strategic, operational, and creative prowess, along with his profound passion for Disney, will make him an outstanding steward of our stories, characters, brands, and franchises.”
As chief brand officer, Ayaz will develop and execute brand marketing campaigns leveraging and synthesizing the company’s full suite of content and consumer experiences, activate the brand internally and externally through partnerships, and provide guidance and alignment for the company’s digital and social media strategy and presence. He will set corporate synergy and franchise priorities in consultation with the CEO and he and his team will use consumer research and analytics to decide how to promote brands and franchises across numerous platforms.
“Throughout both my early life and my time at the company, I’ve marveled at the power of Disney’s storytelling, experiences, and simply the name itself to inspire people and resonate through generations,” added Ayaz. “I am immensely grateful to Bob for entrusting me with this opportunity, and I’m excited to work with the amazing teams around our company to highlight all the things that make Disney exceptional and ensure that we continue to create those meaningful connections with audiences for many more generations to come.”
Among other cross-company brand initiatives, Ayaz will oversee the Disney100 campaign as the company celebrates its 100th year. He recently led the development and creation of the Disney100 Special Look spot that debuted in this year’s Super Bowl, as well as the Studios’ new 100-year logo refresh now appearing on all Disney-branded films.
Ayaz has served as president of marketing at Walt Disney Studios since 2018, overseeing all movie and series campaigns from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios, including strategy, creative advertising, media, digital, research, special events, promotions, international marketing, publicity and synergy. He was also recently named to lead marketing for Disney+ globally.
An 18-year Disney veteran, Ayaz has developed and led marketing campaigns for some of the most successful film releases in history, including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Black Panther and Avatar: The Way of Water. Additional feature film campaigns include Disney’s live-action hits Aladdin and The Lion King, Frozen 2, Encanto, Turning Red and Free Guy. Disney+ series include The Mandalorian, WandaVision, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Loki, among many others. Put another way, Ayaz has led the campaigns for the most watched films on Disney+ and Hulu, and 13 of the top 15 box office debuts of all time, including six opening weekends over $200 million, as well as the biggest worldwide debut of all time for Avengers: Endgame, which earned over $1.2 billion in its first five days.
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