The Walt Disney Co. has tapped Joss Hastings to lead marketing for its lucrative and important Disney Consumer Products division.
Hastings will become senior VP of marketing for DCP, overseeing its worldwide marketing as Disney moves the business from its Experiences division to its Entertainment division in the fall. Hastings will report jointly to Disney’s chief marketing and brand officer Asad Ayaz, and Lisa Baldzicki, DCP’s president.
Her elevation (she had been a VP of marketing, overseeing efforts like Disney’s global F1 partnership, and the company’s Vogue partnership) comes as DCP prepares to double down on integrating Disney’s intellectual property with its product lines, from toys and games to trading cards and clothing.
Disney is also expected to have a flurry of new products on display at the company’s D23 conference this weekend in Anaheim.
“We believe this shift will have strategic and operational benefits by bringing the monetization of our IP through consumer products closer to the studios that create that IP,” the company said in announcing the shift.
“Joss is one of those rare marketers who knows how to turn a big creative idea into something that connects with consumers, shows up in culture and drives the business,” says Ayaz in a statement. “She knows Disney, our brands and our fans incredibly well, and has an outstanding track record of bringing teams and partners together on work that breaks through. As Consumer Products enters this next chapter, I can’t think of a better leader to take its marketing forward.”
