The priority at HBO is growth for HBO Max, said Jackie Gagne, senior VP of cultural marketing at HBO, with a focus on subscriber acquisition and retention, and user engagement. She mentioned the audience initiative Pa’lante!, which brings diverse new voices to HBO Max, and helps Latinx audiences find the content they desire.
Gagne described Pa’lante! as “a platform that creates awareness.” Much of it is done on social media.
“We create immersive experiences to support the programming,” added Gagne, who was named to her current role last year.
Gagne spoke with Joseph Schramm of Schramm Marketing Group for the Promoting Content to Hispanics panel at the Hispanic TV Summit.
More recently, HBO launched Scene in Black, designed to promote Black voices. Gagne said an initiative to promote Asian-American and Pacific Islander voices is in the works, too.
Diversity has long been a priority at HBO, Gagne added, mentioning HBO Latino launching some 20 years ago. “The research shows, diverse teams just perform better,” she said. “And they’re more innovative.”
In terms of building a diverse workforce, Gagne said she looks for strong marketers who are “incredibly passionate about the work” and those who “embrace cultural difference and have cultural fluency.” ■
