Warner Bros. has hired veteran marketing executive Loren Schwartz as its new executive VP of genre marketing and creative advertising, it was announced Monday by Sue Kroll, president of worldwide marketing and international distribution.
In his new post, Schwartz will report directly to executive VP of marketing Blair Rich in addition to Kroll.
“Loren is among the industry’s most respected and knowledgeable executives, who has broken new ground in all facets of genre marketing. His expertise will be integral to our outreach on a range of niche projects, encompassing everything from horror to urban to faith-based,” said Kroll.
“We look forward to working with Loren in our global efforts to market our genre films — an important part of our extensive and diverse slate — and to capture the attention of an ever-changing and ever-widening audience,” added Rich.
Schwartz, who has more than two decades of experience in film entertainment marketing, comes to Warner Bros. from Sony, where he most recently served as executive VP of marketing for their Screen Gems division. During his tenure, he created campaigns for some of the studio’s most profitable releases including Sam Raimi‘s “Evil Dead,” “Resident Evil,” “Heaven is for Real,” “Think Like a Man” and “The Vow.”
He had previously served as senior VP of creative advertising at Columbia Pictures, where he worked on more than 60 films including “Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” “Anger Management” and “50 First Dates,” among others.
Schwartz started his career in 1993 at Trimark Pictures, working on both theatrical and home video titles — most notable being the cautionary tale “Swimming with Sharks.” In 1996, he joined Fox’s indie label, Searchlight Pictures as manager of advertising and was involved in the campaigns for such successes as “Stealing Beauty” and “The Full Monty.”
The following year, Schwartz moved over to Sony Pictures, starting as manager of creative advertising and moving up the ranks to his most recent post.