The Martin Agency is ready to take on entertainment culture by expanding its brand-building palette with the launch of Martin Entertainment. Leading the new venture–which will evolve how and where brands connect with consumers through premium storytelling in a variety of content mediums–is former Netflix executive Alanna Strauss who becomes EVP, head of Martin Entertainment and the Cultural Impact Lab.
Strauss comes to Martin from Fender, where she was SVP, creative and content, leading brand strategy and creative across all Fender brands, digital, social and their learning tool Fender Play. Prior to Fender, she was head of creative–brand partnerships for Netflix, spearheading unique activations like the popular and publicly acclaimed Stranger Things campaign, “Live From the Upside Down”–a partnership between Netflix and Doritos. Before Netflix, she was SVP of creative strategy at All City, Fox Network Group’s award-winning branded content studio providing premium brand content for channels including Fox Broadcasting Company, FX/FXX, Fox Sports and the National Geographic Channels.
In this newly created role, Strauss will lead Martin’s Cultural Impact Lab, adding entertainment to its cultural PR, activation, social and influencer capabilities. She joins Martin’s executive committee, reporting directly to CEO Kristen Cavallo, and will operate from Los Angeles.
“While the industry bemoans eroding attention spans, data points to a very different narrative,” said Strauss. “With the average TikTok user spending 95 minutes a day watching videos on the platform [source: SensorTower] and 88% of American adults admitting to losing sleep bingeing their favorite shows [source: American Academy of Sleep Medicine], it’s clear that people are more hungry than ever to be entertained. The purpose of Martin Entertainment is to work with brands to create and participate in content that is as good if not better than what we’re viewing on our favorite streaming services. There are a million things to do, see and interact with at any point every day. I want to create something worthy of being one of them, so I constantly ask myself, ‘Is this enough to win someone over?’”
Cavallo said, “Alanna has a remarkable track record for identifying unexpected yet authentic ways for brands to create entertaining content. Consumers talk about what interests them, and her ability to help our clients show up in culturally relevant ways will substantially increase their stature and value.”
While the launch of Martin Entertainment is new, Martin itself has played in the entertainment culture space before. As of late, the Emmy Award-winning agency debuted the DoorDash short film Soul of the City at the Tribeca Festival, released the CENTURY 21 and National Geographic documentary Home Rediscovered, and reimagined their children’s book IP “Now Upon A Time” as an animated short film, "Lil’ Ruby Riding Hood." Martin’s expansion into this area comes at a moment when brands are working more closely with content creators and streamers like Netflix to integrate themselves into entertainment media.
Strauss’ hire comes on the heels of several new senior leadership hires for the Cultural Impact Lab, including:
- Lauren Brennan, VP, head of PR, formerly MullenLowe US. Led by Brennan, Martin Cultural PR and Earned Media works closely with creative teams to ideate and shape the work, placing brands at the forefront of cultural conversations through earned coverage.
- Matt DeSiena, head of social, formerly TBWAChiatDay and The Winston Project Under DeSiena, Martin’s social offerings span everything from overarching social strategy to rapid response opportunities carried out by social and cultural experts with a deep understanding of authentically tapping into relevant subcultures. And while social and culture are blended 24/7, this team is built to plan, produce and respond faster than the rate of refresh.
- Jake Rosenblatt, influencer partnerships director, formerly of Whalar. Rosenblatt will lead the charge for HypeLine–an end-to-end service focused on connecting brands with the people who understand their audiences best: creators. HypeLine looks holistically at campaign goals to develop the most impactful content through curated casting, allowing brands to reach their target audience and authentically promote products or services.
- Librado Sanchez, director of partnerships and legal, formerly of Translation and UnitedMasters. Leading business affairs and legal for the Cultural Impact Lab, HypeLine and Martin Entertainment, Sanchez and his team are responsible for architecting and executing Martin’s influencer offerings and managing all celebrity and music licensing on a local and national level.
