UM, the full-service marketing and media agency network of IPG Mediabrands, has announced the appointment of Dawn Reese to sr. VP, managing director of UM Studios, the agency’s creative content unit. Reese will report to Brendan Gaul, UM global chief content officer and head of UM Studios, which was back in June awarded its first Cannes Lions Grand Prix, in the Entertainment Lions competition, for the documentary film, 5B, commissioned by client, Johnson & Johnson.
Named after San Francisco General Hospital’s ward 5B which opened in 1983 as the first full-fledged hospital unit dedicated to treating people with AIDS, the documentary was directed by Dan Krauss of Saville Productions. The moving film shows the positive power of nursing, continuing a theme which Johnson & Johnson has championed over the years.
In her new role, Reese will lead the UM Studios team and practice across all U.S. offices, partnering with client business leaders to create strategic business plans and oversee creative content strategies that drive client business objectives. She will also focus on analyzing key metrics to help teams implement solutions that will drive clients’ market share, revenue, brand affinity and more.
“With more than 20 years of media and marketing experience, Dawn brings the perfect mix of strategic vision and creative agility to the UM Studios team,” said Gaul. “As a passionate, results-driven leader, I am confident that Dawn will take our creative content to new heights, further cementing us as a leader in the space and delivering on our promise to bring better art to life for our clients.”
Reese formerly served as EVP, client studios at StyleHaul, where she oversaw sales and marketing across the U.S. and U.K., generated more than $20 million in branded content and social media campaigns and played a key role in securing new business. Before that, as an integrated executive director at Marie Claire, Reese executed on revenue-generating digital marketing campaigns and native advertising solutions. Reese has also held leadership positions at Condé Nast, InStyle and Time Inc.
“The UM Studios team is renowned for its ability to tell rich and authentic stories that drive tremendous value and ROI for clients,” said Reese. “I’m thrilled to join this extraordinary team and look forward to delivering best-in-class content across all platforms.”
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More