• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 30, 2009

IPG's Mediabrands unit has tapped Scott Donaton to head up its new branded entertainment unit, "Ensemble." Through an alliance with Media Link, an advisory and business development firm, Ensemble was formed to help clients break into the world of branded entertainment.

"Scott Donaton will fashion strategic relationships between our client brands and the entertainment community -- producers, agents, and talent -- to create innovative forms of brand engagement with consumers," said Nick Brien, president and CEO of Mediabrands.

"The entertainment industry is continuously impacted by many cultural perspectives across the globe, creating a wide palette of brand platform and content development opportunities," Brian added. Donaton was not available for comment.

Quite familiar with the worlds of marketing and entertainment, Donaton served as publisher of Entertainment Weekly from late 2007 through April of this year. Previously the editor-turned-publisher of Advertising Age, Donaton joined the trade publication directly out of college as a reporter in 1989.

At Mediabrands, Donaton will be expected to collaborate with the entertainment resources within Initiative, UM, and the Specialty Service Groups, to bring their respective clients a first-look and direct access to strategic branded entertainment opportunities.

Mediabrands was created in July 2008 as centralized unit to oversee and manage Interpublic's disparate media services operations. At that time, Interpublic said Mediabrands would oversee Initiative, Universal McCann, Magna, Magna Trading, J3, and Wahlstrom, as well as Interpublic's Emerging Media Lab. Early this year, it was announced that Mediabrands would also absorb Reprise Media, the search marketing specialist that Interpublic acquired in 2007.

Key Mediabrands clients include Microsoft, Hyundai, Kia and CA.

Initiative and UM will continue to seek, develop and execute entertainment content for their clients, while Donaton will be expected to provide a bigger Hollywood connection, working with each agency to improve upon new and existing partnerships.