The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday announced the appointment of Liz Culley as vp entertainment sales and head of special projects.
In her new role, Culley will be responsible for partnering with advertisers to create bespoke integrated marketing solutions across THR’s platforms. She will focus on FYC Awards opportunities as well as podcasts, experiential events and other special projects. Culley will be based in Los Angeles and report to THR senior vp Lori O’Connor and president Joe Shields.
Culley’s career spans more than 12 years across the entertainment and media sectors. Before joining THR, she was the executive director of FYC and entertainment sales at Condé Nast, where she forged advertising and partnership strategies for major studios, capitalizing on Condé Nast’s prominent events such as The Met Gala, Vogue World and The New Yorker Festival. She also is credited with enhancing Vanity Fair’s FYC experiential offerings in ways that resonated with both audiences and advertisers, notably by bringing the awards podcast Little Gold Men to live audiences.
“Liz brings a dynamic, creative energy to our team at THR,” Shields said. “Her thoughtful approach to developing partnership solutions for entertainment clients perfectly exemplifies THR’s new collaborative and innovative culture, especially as we continue to invest in FYC Awards coverage.”
Culley started her career as a producer, creating bespoke digital-first series and concert events featuring top musical and theatrical talents for notable companies like Myspace, PopSugar, YouTube, the NBA and the X Games. Prior to her tenure at Condé Nast, she was a senior sales executive at Bustle Digital Group, where she designed content and experiential advertising campaigns for leading brands such as Genesis, Lexus and The CW.
“THR is truly the heartbeat of our industry, and its potential for reaching new audiences who love entertainment is limitless,” Culley said.
Culley is also actively engaged in the industry as a board member of LPAC, a committee member of Soho House and an entertainment podcast host.
Added Shields: “THR is driving consistent digital and social growth that is unmatched by our competitors, and this is drawing top talent like Liz and others who will be announced soon. The editorial strategy to double down on video and social content is paying very nice dividends in this market.”
The news of Culley’s hire comes on the heels of The Hollywood Reporter’s big showing at last month’s SoCal Journalism Awards, where THR won a total of 11 first-place prizes, including best website as well as print journalist of the year for Rebecca Keegan.
