Kathy Franklin joins Lightstorm Entertainment to pus Avatar branding
James Cameron commented, "Anticipating the exponential growth of the Avatar universe, we looked for someone who could lead a team that will cement Avatar as a world class brand across all platforms and markets. Kathy Franklin's experience, coupled with her drive and vision for what Avatar can be, made her the right choice."
Kathy Franklin is a seasoned leader with a proven record of designing and implementing industry-leading branding, growth and communications strategies. As Vice President of Global Studio Franchise Development for Disney Consumer Products, she led the strategies that drove the Disney Princess, Disney Fairies, Cars and Toy Story franchises while building integrated partnerships with film, television, and online divisions of The Walt Disney Company. Before that, Kathy Franklin was Vice President of Disney Worldwide Outreach, during which she ran marketing and communications for all corporate philanthropic outreach and charitable giving. Kathy Franklin's first position at Disney was Director of Disney Learning Partnership, a philanthropy focused on supporting creative approaches to teaching and learning, which she helped launch and for which Kathy Franklin created DisneyLearning.org and executive produced "The Creative Classroom Series," an award-winning set of videos and educator guides.
"Bringing Kathy Franklin onboard at Lightstorm further reflects the unique creative and business relationship shared by Fox and Lightstorm on the Avatar franchise," said Oren Aviv, Twentieth Century Fox's Chief Marketing Officer, and Tony Sella, Fox's Chief Creative Officer. " James Cameron created an amazing universe of mass appeal and we're confident that with Kathy Franklin in place, this partnership will further capitalize on the tremendous opportunities inherent in this awesome property."
"Kathy Franklin has proven herself to be a forward thinker who possesses the ability to bring new ideas to life," said Jon Landau. "With Kathy Franklin's leadership, in collaboration with the team and infrastructure at Fox, I'm confident our franchises will grow in innovative ways that remain consistent with the quality and themes of our films."
"From the beginning, James Cameron and Jon Landau have viewed Avatar as a franchise whose storytelling has global reach and impact across multiple platforms. I look forward to leading this exciting new phase in the evolution of the franchise and to working with the team at Twentieth Century Fox to drive Avatar's continued growth," said Kathy Franklin.
Kathy Franklin will be based at Lightstorm's Santa Monica headquarters.
Avatar was released December 18th, 2009 and stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Joel Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez, Laz Alonso. The film is directed by James Cameron.
Comments (3)
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Space101
Nice to see that the doors are open...
10 months agoby @space101Flag
Jorge Pagan
you go girl!
10 months agoby @Jorge-PaganFlag
Lord McLovin of MovieWeb
Well that's good to hear.
10 months agoby @ghostmanFlag