Initiative Launches 'Innovations,' Taps Marketing Innovator To Run It

Alan Cohen, who as marketing czar of ABC and NBC helped define network TV branding and cross-promotional marketing deals, has been hired to lead a new unit of Initiative Media to develop branded entertainment opportunities for the agency's clients.

Cohen has been named executive vice president-managing partner of the new unit, Initiative Innovations, which will be based in the Interpublic media shop's Los Angeles office. The new unit, which has been active within the company's European operation for several years, is charged with bringing U.S. clients new strategic broadcast programming concepts, marketing programs, and technology advertising platforms.

The idea behind Innovations is to somehow get beyond product placement as it's generally practiced, Cohen said.

"It's not the deal-making that's important--rather, it's about having original ideas and executing them in effective ways," Cohen said. "It sounds a lot easier than it is. But that's the challenge and that's the excitement."

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Cohen has spent nearly 25 years serving in senior management positions at 20th Century Fox, ABC, and NBC. Most recently, he was president of marketing for 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, where he oversaw all marketing, advertising, media, publicity, and research for the film division.

Before that, Cohen spent six years at ABC, Inc., rising to the position of executive vice president, marketing, advertising, and promotion for the ABC Entertainment Group, where he created campaigns to launch the series and movie events for the network.

Cohen also worked for the ABC Television Network as executive vice president, marketing and research, where he was recruited to create and develop ABC's first network-wide marketing and brand strategy efforts and to rebuild ABC Research. He was noted for having hired TBWAChiatDay to produce ABC's "yellow campaign," which highlighted its prime-time shows.

Cohen also worked for 14 years at NBC, where he rose through the ranks to become executive vice president, marketing. At NBC, Cohen developed the network's first marketing efforts, including the creation of joint network/advertiser partnerships, the development of innovative advertising platforms, and steering NBC into its first online and new media programming and marketing ventures. He created the first such tie-ins in the industry, and went on to create over 100 marketing programs designed to build ratings and sales revenues with major advertiser clients.

"At NBC, Bob Wright was someone who inspired me to keep pushing the envelope--and in that case, it was reaching out to clients, to advertisers, about creating marketing opportunities," Cohen said. "As for this new role and this new unit, it involves taking a lot of resources, and across all media forms, to create new ways of building brands."

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