BBDO New York has promoted Alex Gianni to EVP, director of content production. The promotion is part of the formation of BBDO NY’s future-forward production group, created to operate nimbly to offer clients best-in-class film, digital, and studio production, along with editorial, art buying and more.
In the new role, Gianni will primarily focus on cross-platform film production, overseeing the agency’s content production team on all client businesses, while partnering closely with the rest of the integrated production leadership team.
“Alex is not only a world-class producer of the highest order, but also a fantastic leader, innovator, mentor and all-around good soul who always strives to make BBDO better. These qualities, and more, make us all excited for him to take on this new leadership position,” said David Lubars, chief creative officer and chairman, BBDO Worldwide.
Gianni has over 20 years of industry experience, having spent the last 10 of them at BBDO. He currently oversees production on FedEx, GE and Sandy Hook Promise, among others, and has produced work across most of the agency’s clients. Gianni’s most recent work for Sandy Hook Promise, “Back to School Essentials”–for which he served as BBDO NY VP, group executive producer–won the 2020 Outstanding Commercial Emmy and was named Best in Category in Creative Effectiveness at the 2021 One Show where BBDO was also named Agency Network of the Year.
Gianni brings a unique perspective to his endeavors, having worked in the U.S. and Europe, on both the creative agency and production company sides of the business to produce every kind of content.
“BBDO has been a home to me for over nine years–I’m grateful to be part of this amazing network, agency and team,” said Gianni. “Stepping into this new role is an absolute honor and I’m fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible depth of talent. Together, I’m excited to champion innovation, craft ground-breaking work, embrace technology and foster a culture of creative, entrepreneurial thinking.”
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More