• by Wayne Friedman , April 2, 2008

Senior ABC executive Bill Bund is leaving his post as a senior vice president of Disney/ABC Unlimited, Disney's multimedia advertising selling unit, with ABC marketing executive Dan Longest taking his spot.

Bund started up the division back in September 2000--around the time a number of TV-based media companies were looking to increase their advertising sales through cross-media selling. Reports estimate that Disney/ABC Unlimited had booked close to $350 million a year in multi-platform advertising revenue deals, as one of the leaders in the business of multimedia selling.

Bund was responsible for inking a groundbreaking, one-year, $1 billion cross-integrated agreement between Disney/ABC Unlimited and media agency OMD on behalf of all of OMD's clients. The OMD deal crossed into all of Disney ABC platforms at the time: ABC, ABC stations, ESPN, and other Disney cable networks.

ABC also says Bund was responsible for selling the first Super Bowl commercial spot at a record $3 million price tag.

Bund will stay with ABC, but will return to the Midwest, where he started in the business. He will be senior vice president and managing director for the Central Sales Division for ABC. Bund has held sales positions at WLS-TV in Chicago as well as ABC Sports.

Taking Bund's place will be Dan Longest, who will have the title of senior vice president of Disney ABC Unlimited. Longest had been senior vice president of integrated marketing and promotion at ABC since September 2000. Since 1996, Longest has held other promotion and marketing positions at ABC.

Prior to ABC, Longest held positions at agencies Tracy-Locke and Cook Associates.