Continuing to accelerate its worldwide marketing and branding objectives across its multiple divisions, Donna Hardwick has joined PorchLight Ent. in the newly created post of vp, marketing and promotions. Hardwick is responsible for the marketing and branding strategies on a multileveled corporate, divisional and product platform, including the company's major children's brands, JAY JAY THE JET PLANE, TUTENSTEIN and ANIMALIA, scheduled to debut on public television next year. She will seek out and secure underwriting sponsorships for relevant PBS properties and promotional partners for key programs, films and series.
Hardwick is based in Los Angeles and works closely with Adam Wright, PorchLight's svp, worldwide sales and Caren Shalek, svp, consumer products.
PorchLight's coo William Baumann, said, "Donna's marketing experience and media expertise makes her a welcome addition to our team as we continue to maximize PorchLight's presence as a strong, worldwide producer, distributor and manager of our children and family brands. We are confident that Donna will help us grow in all areas of today's global business model."
Hardwick comes to PorchLight from American Public Television (APT) in Boston, where she was director of communications for the past five years. She was the corporate spokesperson with the press, program producers and 200+ television stations. She executed and implemented strategic planning for all corporate and consumer communications, managed annual marketing/publicity budgets and marketing and editorial decisions, as well as related supportive materials for the company and its websites. She also played a pivotal role in the national marketing campaign for the launch of the new Create TV channel.
Prior to APT, Hardwick was a public relations associate for Aigner Assoc., a PR and marketing specialty firm in Boston, where, she managed all corporate and consumer PR for assigned accounts within the sports, entertainment, retail and travel/tourism genres. Hardwick was accountable for daily client relations for JAM'N 94.5, Nancy Kerrigan, Andrew Petkun, AIDS activist and humanitarian photographer and Boston Center for Adult Education.
Before relocating to Boston, Hardwick was director of station relations for American Champion Ent., a leading entertainment and sports firm in San Jose, established to develop educational public television series. There she built the in-house marketing and station relations department to support the nationally distributed children's series, ADVENTURES WITH KANGA RODDY, doubling the number of TV stations carrying the program in 12 months.
Hardwick began her career in television as a special projects coordinator at WGBH in Boston, where she managed and serviced national public television accounts including; ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, AFRICANS IN AMERICA, NOVA, THIS OLD HOUSE, NEW YANKEE WORKSHOP and THE VICTORY GARDEN.
Los Angeles-based PorchLight Ent. (www.porchlight.com) is a multi-faceted company focused on the production and distribution of family entertainment and licensing and merchandising representation for children's and family brands and trademarks. Since its formation in 1995 by veteran entertainment execs Bruce Johnson and Baumann, PorchLight has produced the Emmy Award-winning animated series, TUTENSTEIN, for Discovery Kids and Jetix Europe, the award-winning animated children's series, JAY JAY THE JET PLANE and ADVENTURES FROM THE BOOK OF VIRTUES for PBS. It is currently co-producing ANIMALIA for the BBC, PBS, Nickelodeon and Network Ten in Australia and CBC in Canada, SECRET SATURDAYS for Cartoon Network, A TAD OF CHRISTMAS CHEER for Leapfrog, as well as more than 40 live-action and animated feature films. PorchLight has built a large and diverse distribution library of nearly 200 movies, more than 1,000 episodes of children's programs and a growing non-fiction and music library.
