JP Richards has been promoted to co-president of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures, the company announced Friday. Richards will report to Blair Rich, president of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
In his new role, JP Richards will work closely with Rich on the development and execution of Warner Bros. Pictures’ marketing efforts, utilizing his expertise in digital and new media, as well as his insight as to how audiences consume marketing messages. He’ll also partner with Rich to set overall marketing and operational strategy for the division. Richards played a significant role in guiding the restructuring of the marketing group over the last 18 months, including the addition of a number of key executives to the team.
“JP is a world-class movie marketer and has been instrumental in helping the entire marketing organization up our game,” Rich said. “He’s a true partner, and I rely on him for his strategic instincts, excellent management skills and his strong relationships with our team, senior management and filmmakers. He’s as creative as he is strategic and well-respected internally and by his peers. I look forward to our continued collaboration.”
Prior to this promotion, Richards served as executive vice president of worldwide marketing and chief data strategist at Warner Bros. Pictures. In this role, he oversaw the domestic and international digital teams and led ground breaking campaigns for “Aquaman,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Crazy Rich Asians,” “Ready Player One,” “Ocean’s 8,” “Wonder Woman,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Suicide Squad,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “San Andreas,” “Lights Out,” “Creed,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” “The Conjuring 2,” “Central Intelligence” and “The LEGO Batman Movie.”
Since joining the Studio, Richards has established strategic relationships with key partners such as Google, Snap, Facebook, Oracle and other key marketing and technology partners. He has also spearheaded data driven marketing efforts across Warner Bros. and WarnerMedia (and previously Time Warner), serving as a key leader in this area of opportunity and growth for the Studio.
Richards joined Warner Bros. Pictures in January 2015. Prior to that, he spent 12 years at Universal Pictures, most recently as Senior Vice President, Digital Marketing where he led digital campaigns for the “Bourne,” “Fast and Furious” and “Despicable Me” franchises, to name a few.