Mumbai: Dwight Caines has been named president of Worldwide Digital Marketing; it was announced by, Columbia Pictures Worldwide Marketing Group co-presidents Valerie Van Galder and Marc Weinstock.
Caines will report to Galder and Weinstock and will continue to oversee all theatrical digital campaigns on a global basis. Additionally, he will provide managerial support to Imageworks Interactive, Sony Pictures’ full service agency that specializes in the management and extension of entertainment brands in the digital space.
Caines will also continue to oversee the digital campaigns for Sony Pictures Releasing’s The Hot Ticket, Sony’s limited engagement special programming unit which was launched earlier this year. He is currently working on the campaign for Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway which debuts in movie theaters on September 24th.
Caines will create brand integration opportunities across theatrical campaigns for Crackle, Sony’s online video venture. In addition, Caines will establish and chair a Digital Marketing Steering Committee which will include representatives from all of Sony Pictures’ entertainment divisions. The Steering Committee will leverage the broad base of digital experience that exists institutionally at Sony Pictures and create a group that can approach digital issues to identify trends, issues and industry wide opportunities while also establishing best practices that will benefit the company in the years ahead.
"Caines’s pioneering work in this space continues to define and refine the most forward-thinking, most cutting edge and most successful digital campaigns for not only our biggest films but also for the smaller, niche oriented titles on our slate. We are thrilled to have him continue his career at SPE in this expanded role," said Weinstock.
As the strategic planner and lead creative executive for the studio in the digital marketing arena, Caines has worked on such films as the Spider-Man(R) franchise, Hancock, The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale, The Pursuit of Happyness, Ghost Rider, Superbad, Men in Black II, Black Hawk Down, The Grudge, Identity, Underworld, Hitch, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Kung Fu Hustle, and Stomp the Yard, among many others.
As a recently appointed member to the board of directors of The Entertainment Industry Foundation, Caines was instrumental in the digital marketing and online outreach strategy for Stand Up 2 Cancer, a once in a lifetime TV event which aired on 5 Sep on three major television networks and raised over 100 million dollars for cancer research.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to develop interactive campaigns that activate consumer discussion and engagement across various mediums for some of the best entertainment material in the film and television industries today," said Caines. "I am excited to work cross divisionally with my incredible team to shape Sony Pictures’ campaigns using the Internet, portable and mobile devices, gaming platforms, social media, and other emerging technologies."
Caines joined Sony Pictures in February 1997 as director market research, and quickly rose up through the ranks of that department, first to executive director and then to vice president, in just three years with the company. He was tapped to create the Digital Marketing Strategy department in February 2000.
Caines studied at Syracuse University’s esteemed Newhouse School of Communications, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Media Production.
