Disney names MT Carney president of marketing for studios in midst of revamp

Disney names new marketing chief for movie studios

LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. on Wednesday named MT Carney, a marketing executive whose clients have included Coca-Cola, Kraft, Google and Microsoft, as president of marketing for its movie studios.

MT Carney “represents a unique type of marketing executive” familiar with creating messages on multiple platforms, said Disney studios Chairman Rich Ross in a statement.

“Just as we have looked at ways to restructure how we create and distribute our movies, we also needed to hire someone like MT,” Ross said.

Carney, who co-founded communications planning firm Naked NY in 2006, will oversee all aspects of marketing and distribution for Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar Animation and Touchstone Pictures.

The Touchstone banner includes movies that are to be released by Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks SKG production company starting this year.

The statement did not specifically mention movies made by Marvel Entertainment, which was acquired by Disney last year for $4.24 billion.

Although she will eventually oversee marketing for those films, Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures is handling marketing for upcoming Marvel releases “Iron Man 2″ in May along with “Thor” and “The First Avenger: Captain America” in 2011.

Disney has been in the midst of revamping its studio business following more than a year of decline and is selling its Miramax Films division, which it acquired from Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 1993.

Prior to Naked, Carney was worldwide planning director at marketing agency Ogilvy & Mather.