NBCUniversal has laid off fewer than 50 employees across three divisions: Peacock marketing, NBCUniversal Entertainment and advertising sales.
The bulk of those cuts, about 30 to 40, were made at Peacock as part of a restructuring under CMO Shannon Willett, a source within the company said diversity.
The insider says the layoffs are not part of a cost-cutting initiative by the Comcast-owned company, but rather a revision of the department’s vision that will result in Willett filling nearly all of those roles with new employees. Under Willett, the Peacock marketing team will be divided into five divisions: Brand Creation and Marketing; Title Creative and Marketing; marketing strategy, planning, analysis and performance media; growth and lifecycle marketing; and advertising, events and talent engagement.
Willett is looking to fill two key new roles: Executive Vice President of Brand Creation and Marketing and Senior Vice President of Title Creation and Marketing.
“We have heard from many of you and our partners that our structure was complex and are confident that this streamlined approach will help us simplify our processes, accelerate decision-making and expose us to a deeper range of marketing skills “careers in which we can learn and grow,” Willett said in a memo to employees announcing the restructuring Thursday.
The rest of the layoffs occurred within Frances Berwick’s NBCUniversal Entertainment team. The source said no senior positions were created as a result of these cuts.
According to the source, three senior positions have become vacant in advertising sales, including head of measurement department Kelly Abcarian. These departures are not considered layoffs by the company but are the result of changes in the department by new global chairman Mark Marshall, including the appointment of Roku’s Alison Levin as president of advertising sales on Wednesday.
See Willett’s memo to staff below.
Hello everybody,
I’m in touch today to give you an update on the Peacock Marketing organization. Given Peacock’s growth trajectory and the changing landscape around us, we’ve spent a lot of time over the past year thinking about what we can do as a team to better support the company. Through this process, we recognized an opportunity to reimagine the way we work to drive Peacock’s next phase of growth. Today we’re announcing an evolved marketing structure that will enable us to work smarter, bring more expertise and strategy to the business, and move faster by breaking down silos and deepening collaboration across our team and with our key partners.
Our new organization will focus on five key pillars, each of which has a direct impact on business strategy: Brand creation and marketing; Title Creative and Marketing; marketing Strategy, planning, analysis and performance media; Growth and lifecycle marketing; And Advertising, events and talent engagement. We have heard from many of you and our partners that our structure was complex and are confident that this streamlined approach will help us simplify our processes, accelerate decision-making and familiarize us with a deeper range of marketing skills , in which we can learn and grow careers.
Here you will find an overview of our new structure and the five business areas that report to me:
· Brand creation and marketing: This new pillar will be responsible for brand positioning, strategy and design identity and will be led by the EVP of Brand Creative and Marketing, a new leadership role we are hiring for.
· Title Creative and Marketing: This new team will oversee the planning and execution of our Peacock scripted and unscripted campaigns and individual film titles and will be led by the SVP of Title Creation and Marketing, a new leadership role for which we are hiring.
· Strategy, planning, analysis and performance media: Nothing Jülich will continue to lead this team with a broader scope, focusing on data-driven decisions and testing across the marketing organization as well as performance media.
· Growth and lifecycle marketing: Anna Frost will continue to lead this expanded team, which will serve as the primary hub for our ongoing marketing efforts focused on subscriber acquisition, engagement and retention.
· Advertising, Events and Talent Engagement: This team will continue to be led by Shannon Buck and will include series and film promotions, events and talent engagement, all of which remain key drivers of our overall brand and business.
As you may have heard, some colleagues are leaving the company as a result of this restructuring and we have had discussions with these team members today. In addition, we will also fill new key positions, including at management level, to support the newly formed team.
As we go through this transition, we will continue to report as much as possible about what is changing, how it impacts you, and what opportunities lie ahead. Please join us tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. ET for a virtual marketing all-hands event (invitation to follow along) where I will explain our new structure in more detail. Thank you for joining us and being part of the next chapter of our Peacock growth story.
Shannon