As chief marketing officer of AMC Networks, Kim Granito must seamlessly oversee multiple disparate brands under one overall umbrella. AMC is focused on premier franchise scripted originals like The Walking Dead and the Anne Rice universe, while streaming service Acorn TV offers international dramas. Then there are anime streaming service Hidive and horror, thriller and supernatural streaming service Shudder, which each have their own sets of fans.
“There’s not a one-size-fits-all audience,“ Granito said. “Each brand is highly nuanced and very specifically tailored to the audience and their behaviors.
“Gone are the days when you show up on a specific day and date to watch a show,” she continued. “There are real advantages for businesses who understand their audiences in a very complex and data-driven way, while also showing up with one voice and the same message across business verticals. We are massively focused on creating campaigns that don’t only drive our audiences to watch our shows, but advertisers to buy and distributors to reach their goals.”
I love the process of creative collaboration. It’s my favorite part of the job.”
Kim Granito
Understanding that data and implementing strategies to take advantage of those learnings is part of what makes Granito a great marketer and leader, her colleagues said.
“Kim has a fantastic ability to transform large amounts of raw data into compelling, targeted performance campaigns, expertly balancing data-driven precision with the power of branding and strong creative,” AMC Networks chief commercial officer Kim Kelleher said.
Granito also leads her teams through difficult tasks while maintaining high levels of collaboration between them.
“Kim can distill the most complex business challenges into winning strategies, pairing that superpower with an incredible creative sensibility and deep empathy for people,” AMC Networks executive VP of media and marketing strategy Sylvia George said.
Added Kelleher: “Kim’s leadership style is collaborative and caring — no one knows better how to get incredible work out of a team.”
Less than a year into the job as CMO, Granito has worked to unify AMC Networks’ entire marketing organization while retaining oversight over its branded integrations shop, Content Room, where “brands meet fans.”
“Kim faced the daunting task of unifying multiple talented but disconnected groups into one seamless team, moving to the same drumbeat and activating the full power of AMC Networks and its many partners to develop innovative campaigns,” George said. “She’s done this time and time again, including rallying the entire organization around reinvigorating the cornerstone franchise for the company — The Walking Dead Universe — with celebrated and highly successful campaigns for the new spinoff series: Dead City, Daryl Dixon and now The Ones Who Live.”
Right before Super Bowl weekend, Granito and her team were in Los Angeles for the red-carpet premiere of the latest Walking Dead franchise, The Ones Who Live, starring Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira in their much-anticipated return as Rick Grimes and Michonne.
“With everything we have launched, this is arguably the most anticipated moment of the franchise since The Walking Dead series finale,” Granito said.
Also coming up is AMC original series Parish, starring Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul alum Giancarlo Esposito, and the critically acclaimed Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, which shoots in New Orleans, returns this spring.
“We have a lot of fun tactics for Interview with the Vampire that we’ll be launching around Pride in June,” Granito said. “The Anne Rice IP offers dozens of stories that we think will have real longevity across all our platforms.” Previous marketing efforts for Interview with the Vampire included the online branded Night Market, which is only open for shopping from sunset to sunrise.
Making Acorn Ripen
The team also is rebranding streaming service Acorn TV, which mostly serves up U.K. and internationally-produced crime dramas, “because we believe there’s a broader audience for that platform,” Granito said. In January, Acorn gained visibility with five-episode limited series Monsieur Spade starring Clive Owen. That series also airs on AMC and streaming service AMC Plus.
“Because it’s a gorgeous scripted original, AMC was the right home for it,” Granito said. “But because it also offers layers of crime and drama and lean-in for the audience, something we know Acorn fans really love, it made sense to co-premiere it there. It’s one of our top-performing shows on AMC and it’s driven significant subscribers to Acorn.”
All of the different requirements of AMC’s diverse brands make for a challenging and ever-changing role, but Granito relishes it.
“I love the process of creative collaboration,“ she said. “It’s my favorite part of the job. I love getting different areas of the business together, understanding everybody’s goals and breaking that down into a campaign that works for everyone. To get to be the orchestrator of great campaigns is a dream.”
