Shannon Ryan to Receive Inaugural Variety Entertainment Marketing Icon Award
Disney Entertainment Television marketing president Shannon Ryan has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Variety Entertainment Marketing Icon Award, to be presented April 24 as part of Variety’s Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte, in Los Angeles.
Ryan is being recognized for her long track record of innovative marketing and promotional campaigns during her long tenure at Fox and Disney. Ryan will participate in a Q&A with Cynthia Littleton, Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, after accepting the honor at the event.
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“Variety is excited to recognize Shannon for her standout work in entertainment marketing, a role that contributes to the continued success and growth of our industry,” said Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, CEO and group publisher of Variety. “Reaching today’s distinct audiences is no easy task, and we commend Shannon for the excellence she has demonstrated throughout her illustrious career.”
Ryan is one of the industry’s most prominent marketing leaders, overseeing campaigns across many Disney Entertainment Television brands including ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney Branded Television, Hulu, Freeform, National Geographic, Onyx Collective and Disney Television Studios, which include 20th Television, 20th Television Animation and ABC Signature.
Ryan joined Disney in 2019 following the company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox. She leads a team that executes paid media, creative, social, publicity, experiential, talent relations, strategy, partnerships and awards campaigns for over 250 original series, specials and documentaries. Recent campaigns include ABC hits “9-1-1,” “Abbott Elementary,” “The Golden Bachelor,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Oscars”; Hulu Originals “The Dropout,” “The Great,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Kardashians” and “Only Murders in the Building”; and Disney Branded Television’s family favorites “Bluey,” “Goosebumps” and “Percy Jackson and the Olympians.”
In 2023, Ryan and her team helped garner 246 Emmy nominations and 43 wins across daytime, primetime, news and documentary, and children and family categories.
During her time at Fox, Ryan steered marketing and PR campaigns for such hits as “9-1-1,” “American Idol,” “Arrested Development,” “Bob’s Burgers,” “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Empire,” “Family Guy,” “Glee,” “House,” “The Masked Singer,” “The Mindy Project,” “New Girl,” “The Simpsons,” “The X-Files” and more.
Variety’s annual Entertainment Marketing Summit also includes previously announced participants Josh Goldstine, president of worldwide marketing at Warner Bros. Pictures Group; Dwight Caines, president of domestic marketing at Universal Pictures; Marian Lee, chief marketing officer at Netflix; Marc Weinstock, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Paramount Pictures; Paris Hilton, CEO, 11:11 Media; and Molly Sims, founder of YSE Beauty, actress, podcast host, producer and philanthropist.
Tickets to the summit are limited and available at variety.com/entmar.
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