A brand storytelling innovator

Expertise in developing and executing branded entertainment, innovative marketing and story-driven content that connects with audiences and drives results for brands and businesses.

 

He has been a featured speaker at SXSW, PROMAX, Collision, Brand Film Festival, RampUp, NATPE and NAB.

“Audiences are more accepting of brands playing in the entertainment space. Viewers don’t see a difference between a sports documentary produced by HBO and one created by Red Bull. They just see a great story.” - Marc Battaglia

Snapshot:

Innovator

  • Recognized for consistently demonstrating a first-mover mindset that drove the creation of Marriott’s first-ever content studio and global entertainment network spanning one million rooms

  • Grew the Marriott brand into a storytelling powerhouse that garnered recognition from Fast Company, ADWEEK, Fortune, Variety, Digiday and Hollywood Reporter for its innovation

  • Recognized by Brand Storytelling and Fortune as a brand storytelling innovator

  • Earned EMMY®, CLIO, ADDY, PROMAX, SHORTY, WEBBY awards across entertainment and marketing fields

Builder

  • Co-founder of Story + Strategy, a boutique brand & storytelling consultancy that advises C-Suite at brands, production companies and agencies in developing go-to market campaigns grounded in consumer, brand, and cultural insights

  • Built and led Marriott’s internal agency and content studios, serving over 30 brands across the portfolio

  • Led the creative integration of Starwood Hotels & Resorts which added 11 new brands and 1,300 properties to the Marriott portfolio

  • Awarded Marriott’s “Marketer of The Year” multiple times during tenure

  • Built and led 60+ global creatives within the internal agency and studio at Marriott International

  • Built and led an award-winning creative group from the ground up for several Fox Sports Networks, HSN, Daktronics and Remedy

Thought Leader

  • Sought after speaker at SXSW, PROMAX, Collision, Brand Film Festival, RampUp, NATPE and NAB

  • Board member on both the Emporia Research and Brand Storytelling advisory boards

  • Founding instructor for the “Brand Film Certification Program” by East Tennessee State University and Brand Storytelling

  • Repeat lecturer at Johns Hopkins University

  • Judge for the Brand Film Festival Awards, The Association of Independent Commercial Producers, and served as jury chair for the Brand Storytelling Festival @ Sundance

  • Featured industry expert on several podcast series including “The Daily Brief”, “Creative Leaders”, and “Content that Moves”

Thought leader & educator

He serves on both the Emporia Research and Brand Storytelling advisory boards. In addition, he was recently honored as a brand content innovator by his peers through Brand Storytelling and actively serves as a founding instructor for the brand film certification program.

Tell Me More.

 

As the former Global Executive Creative Director at Marriott International, he led global teams of designers, writers, photographers, and videographers to create engaging and memorable brand experiences for the world's largest hotel company. Marc was responsible for overseeing the creative strategy and execution of all story-driven marketing and communications campaigns across 30 brands and 130 countries. He managed a staff of 60+ creative professionals across 3 offices. He also collaborated with senior executives, agency partners, and external stakeholders to ensure alignment.

Several notable achievements include building the Marriott Content Studio, an in-house production unit that produced original content for digital, social, and broadcast platforms, reaching millions of viewers worldwide. He also led the creative integration of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which added 11 new brands and 1,300 properties to the Marriott portfolio. In addition, he oversaw the Marriott creative agency serving all 30 brands while also launching Marriott Bonvoy TV, the first-ever in-room global network across 1 million rooms.

He recently launched Story + Strategy, a storytelling consultancy for brands, agencies, and studios. Story + Strategy was born after witnessing a real need in the market: a lack of engaging brand storytelling grounded in brand objectives. Marc intimately understands the challenges and opportunities brands face. He understands the unique power of a strong story grounded in brand insight, and the value his background can play as a conduit between strategic marketing and purposeful storytelling.

“The common denominator? Content across each Marriott brand has been successful in building not only awareness of said brands, but also in building communities that engage as brand fans.”

— Forbes

What else?

Prior to Marriott, he served as VP+Creative Director for Remedy, an EMMY® award-winning branded entertainment studio. There he worked with partners such as Disney, Fox Sports and NatGeo Wild on developing original content and marketing initiatives that went way beyond traditional media solutions.                                                                                                      

Before joining Remedy, he served in several creative lead roles including Head of Creative for several Fox Sports Net brands as well as Senior Producer of Branding for global retail giant, HSN.

His experiences have garnered accolades including numerous National PROMAX, CLIO, Shorty, ADDY, Webby, Emmy®, Telly, TVA & BizTech awards.

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“My job isn’t to always have the best idea, it’s to create a place where the best ideas can happen.”

- Marc Battaglia