Disney
Content Strategy and Creation, Copy, Video Direction
roleS: Consulting Copywriter, Content Strategist, Producer
TEAM: Disney Interactive
I was recruited to join Disney Interactive, an internal digital agency with the goal of getting all things Disney, Marvel, and Pixar to resonate on the internet. An experimental content lab meets digital newsroom, I created a diverse range of content for 1.15 billion followers across platforms—working quickly and smartly to bring in lots of engagement and views.
EVOLUTION
After quickly gaining a reputation for pulling off the impossible in 48 hours or less, I was asked to expand into video campaigns and live events—covering high-priority IP and creating dynamic storytelling moments with Disney VIPs. Originally hired to pitch and write articles, I soon held the titles of video producer, director, and consulting copywriter.
“The talent, whom they call ‘digitologists,’ include creatives, marketers, editorial and data experts. They work together to make everything and anything they can, experimenting with what works and what doesn’t.”
EDITORIAL
In The Era of the Listicle and the Internet Quiz, I wrote many for Disney’s millenial-focused channel Oh My Disney—tying in current zeitgeist obsessions from Hamilton to hipsters to shine fresh light on IP. With a high volume of content to meet each week, I learned to pitch generously and create quickly.
BRANDED CONTENT
I wrote content for product partnerships like this Instagram video ad for Star Wars x Sphero, which I also directed and produced—pulling from my own network of creative freelancers to staff up.
With some creative camera angles, we turned a dirt-covered patch of Disney’s campus into the sandy terrain of Jakku.
I frequently doctored ad copy, promos, and commercials like this one for Babble x Party City, punching up the original scripts.
ORIGINAL CONTENT
Constantly experimenting with the latest social platform features, I rapidly devised and executed original content with my colleagues.
Among them: Snap Tonight, a Snapchat comedy show with a miniature set, Wait, What Just Happened?, a daily YouTube news show, and many Facebook Live streams, including a live sculpture by the Guinness World Record holder for cheese carving (which is indeed a thing).
Working with limited resources and without a hiring budget for outside talent, I convinced fellow team members to come on camera during their lunch breaks, with many of them discovering new abilities.
Nyiko, a product producer, gamely agreed to play a giant chef in a BFG x Iron Chef spoof (note the tiny food).
event coverage
I covered premieres and press tours for lots of projects, including Moana, Pete’s Dragon, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Frozen: The Musical, The BFG, and Queen of Katwe.
I regularly interviewed members of the cast and creative teams like Stephen Spielberg, The Rock, and Lupita Nyong’o—often asking them to go beyond the traditional interview format in the spirit of our platform’s playful tone.
