In March, Disney promoted 25-year vet Lylle Breier to the lofty title of senior vice president for global marketing partnerships and strategic alliances, promotions, synergy and special events for the Walt Disney Studios.
Her new role marks a natural evolution of what her team has been doing all along: creating innovative marketing initiatives and events that get people excited about seeing Disney movies. “Our approach has always been to strategically combine marketing partnerships, synergy, field stunts, group sales, social programs, and events that ultimately generate definite interest and ticket sales,” she says. “The innovation is that we integrate all these efforts in a way that’s effective, creatively exciting, and efficient.”
To wit, Breier has brought strategic and socially relevant marketing programs like a promotion for Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World that included a nationwide search for the next Jane Foster. The project saw 10 young girls who excel in STEM fields win the chance to come to California for a week of learning and mentoring programs—and to be V.I.P.s on the red carpet at the world premiere.
Similarly, her team’s Guardians of the Galaxy, promotion invited teenagers around the country to participate in a series of online peer guide sessions. Five winners were flown to the film’s world premiere and given the chance to participate in an innovation and service summit.
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For the upcoming Marvel movie Ant-Man, her group will launch another program aimed at inspiring young women—this one based on that film’s strong female character.
“The opportunity to create out-of-the-box programs that both meet our marketing goals and have a very real and positive social impact is one of the greatest joys of our work,” Breier says. “We know that when you ‘do good’ you ‘get good.’ The public appreciates your efforts and it goes a long way towards building positive image and brand loyalty.”
Disney’s premieres also involve large-scale drama and design. For the premiere for Cinderella, Breier’s team tented Hollywood Boulevard with one of the biggest tents the street has ever seen, at 50 feet wide and 500 feet long, to house the red carpet and Cinderella’s Ball. For the world premiere of Frozen, Breier’s team lined the carpet with over 100,000 pounds of ice and snow.
A national pitching competition for Million Dollar Arm offered a $1 million cash prize to any amateur who could pitch a 100-miles-per-hour strike. Winners came to the premiere, where a pitching competition took over Hollywood Boulevard. ESPN’s Baseball Tonight brought its sports desk out and broadcast live—a first.
“We have a saying in our group: ‘If you aren’t living on the edge, you are taking up too much space,’” Breier says. “And we’re not afraid to get out on that edge because we are working with the best team. On top of our core group, we have the privilege of being able to work with people from all over the Walt Disney Company, experts [who are an] incomparable resource of creative talent and logistical expertise.”
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