Winner: Richard Licata, EVP, Communications, NBC Entertainment
NBC Entertainment’s Richard Licata is our Digital Communicator of the Year. Licata continues to push the envelope with his work with the Emmy campaigns by focusing on the digital layer—overhauling the NBC Awards Screening Room microsite with a new responsive design and creating an industry-first innovation with sponsored Facebook ads targeted specifically to Emmy voters. He is responsible for the strategic creative development and execution of all programming and media relations initiatives for the network and Universal Television.
And there’s no doubt that he’s taken the ball and run, and then some. For example, in an unprecedented Facebook move, users who align themselves by "liking" or being a "fan" of major entertainment venues and outlets saw specially crafted Emmy ads appear in their newsfeed. Licata pushed to run five to 10 Emmy sponsored posts per week on Facebook in the key voting period. Each ad, promoting specific shows, episodes or performances—links to NBCAwardsScreeningRoom.com, easily enabling users to view the full season of programming.
Knowing the Facebook media initiative would drive users to the Universal Television Facebook page and Twitter accounts, Licata also directed an overhaul of these accounts. Both pages saw an increase in followers—Universal Television’s Facebook page increased by close to 600%.
This year, Licata also oversaw the complete revamp of the NBC Awards Screening Room, which was relaunched as a responsive design site. Now—for the first time—it allows all 14,000 plus TV Academy members to log on to NBCAwardsScreeningRoom.com from any desktop browser or tablet and mobile devices. Says one client: “Rich Licata is the wizard behind the Emmy curtain. He pulls the campaign levers to get Emmy statuettes for top TV stars, producers, directors and writers, but he's more than that. He's one of the creators of the art form.”
Honorable Mentions:
- Corrine Kovalsky - Raytheon
- Jean Medina - Airlines for America
- Jennifer Stalzer - Mastercard