Amazon MGM Studios is getting a dedicated senior marketing executive to oversee its slate of original series for the first time. Pia Barlow, EVP Originals Marketing for HBO Max, is joining the studio as VP of Series Marketing. Amazon MGM Studios’s Head of Marketing, Sue Kroll, to whom Barlow will report, made the announcement internally this morning in a memo, which you can read below.

Barlow, who starts on August 3, will lead all aspects of our marketing efforts for Prime Video’s U.S. and Global Original Series. With the hire, Kroll will have VP-level marketing executives on both the TV and film side in Barlow and Stephen Bruno.

A 17-year HBO veteran over two stints who also has worked at Netflix, Barlow was most recently the No. 2 marketing executive at HBO Max under Head of Marketing Zach Enterlin, who continues to lead the operation. She is not expected to be replaced.

Barlow’s move comes amid uncertainty brought upon by the pending acquisition of HBO Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount, which, if closes, will see HBO Max merged with Paramount+. Such a combination always leads to staff cuts, with marketing traditionally among the hardest hit areas in any merger.

In her most recent role at HBO Max, Barlow shepherded marketing campaigns for such critical and commercial hits as The Pitt, House of the Dragon and Hacks as well as the upcoming high-profile Harry Potter series.

“Having led award-winning teams across strategy, creative, social media, partnerships, and experiential marketing, Pia has built a reputation for innovative, globally-resonant campaigns that deepen the connection between audiences and the stories they love,” Kroll said.

Here is Kroll’s memo:

Team,

Please join me in welcoming Pia Barlow, who will join Amazon MGM Studios on August 3 as VP of Series Marketing, a role in which she will lead all aspects of our marketing efforts for Prime Video’s US and Global Original Series, reporting to me.

Pia comes to us, having spent time in marketing leadership roles at a number of other film and television companies, including HBO/HBO Max, Netflix, and Fox. Most recently, Pia was EVP of Originals Marketing for HBO Max, where she led campaigns in support of some of the highest-profile properties in the industry, including The Pitt, House of the Dragon, Hacks, and Harry Potter. Having led award-winning teams across strategy, creative, social media, partnerships, and experiential marketing, Pia has built a reputation for innovative, globally-resonant campaigns that deepen the connection between audiences and the stories they love.

Earlier in her career, Pia spent a number of years at Netflix, working on Orange Is the New Black, Master of None, Making a Murderer and Queer Eye, and also building out their overall international originals marketing strategy. She previously worked on the film side as well, as SVP at Twentieth Century Fox Film, where she helped shepherd campaigns for The Greatest Showman, The Post and Murder on the Orient Express, before returning to Netflix’s global creative and social marketing team to oversee marketing campaigns for nonfiction and kids & family originals. She began her career at HBO in 2003, launching campaigns for series, films and documentaries including Girls, Boardwalk Empire, and Silicon Valley.

Pia brings an incredible amount of expertise and experience, gleaned over a number of years spent in every possible genre of film and television – and I can’t wait for her to meet and begin collaborating with all of you.

Once again, please join me in welcoming Pia Barlow to Amazon.
Sue