VidCon Has a New Marketing Chief: Nickelodeon’s Sarah Tortoreti
By Todd Spangler
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – VidCon tapped Sarah Tortoreti as VP of marketing to head up the digital-creator and video confab’s promotional strategies worldwide.
Tortoreti joins from Viacom’s Nickelodeon, where she was director of marketing and brand strategy since April 2016. In early 2018 acquired VidCon , founded by veteran YouTube creators Hank Green and John Green.
In the newly created role at VidCon, Tortoreti will be responsible for development and management of all aspects of the VidCon brand, overseeing its global marketing strategies across social media and editorial content, as well as internal and external communications. She’ll also collaborate on outreach to featured creators and industry executives for VidCon’s slate of live events in the U.S., Australia, the U.K. and future markets.
Tortoreti reports to VidCon GM Jim Louderback and will be based in Viacom’s L.A. office in Hollywood.
At Nick, Tortoreti led marketing for the Nickelodeon Experience group, aimed at bringing the Nickelodeon brand, characters and intellectual property to life through in-person events including Nickelodeon SlimeFest and the “SpongeBob SquarePants” Broadway musical. She earlier led marketing and brand strategy efforts for Nickelodeon offshoot brands including Nicktoons, TeenNick, NickSports, NickSplat and Nick Music.
Prior to Nickelodeon, Tortoreti handled media and promotional strategy for VH1 tentpole programming. Before Viacom, she held positions at NBCUniversal, Fox News Channel, Allied Integrated Marketing and Warner Bros.’ New Line Cinema.
“As a seasoned marketing and live events leader, Sarah brings a wealth of experience to VidCon as we expand the brand’s offerings around the world,” Louderback said in announcing her hire. “Her background shaping real-world experiences for the digital-first generation will be an essential part of accelerating our growth as we gear up to celebrate our 10th anniversary in 2019.”
According to Tortoreti, “at Nickelodeon, I saw firsthand the power of VidCon as the only place uniting the world’s top social platforms, talent, fans, brands, and industry executives.”
Tortoreti joins VidCon’s executive team, which includes COO Colin Hickey; Natalie Schaefer, director of creator partnerships; Julia Maes, executive producer of VidCon US; Wendi Ekblade, director of security and facilities; and Celine Sargent, executive producer of VidCon London and Australia.
VidCon will host its first-ever VidCon London at ExCeL London from Feb. 14-17, 2019, followed by the tenth annual VidCon US 2019, set for July 10-13, 2019, at the Anaheim Convention Center.
