EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / TALENT + INFLUENCER CURATION
AGENCY: TRANSLATION

HBO’s 4-part documentary The Defiant Ones focuses on the unlikely but wildly successful partnership of one of pop culture’s most powerful duos. Packed with a star-studded cast, The Defiant Ones was assured an audience. HBO specifically wanted to tie digital, OOH and traditional TV advertising with a series of high level events, and influential co-signs. The assignment was clear: We weren't creating a campaign for two defiant ones, we were casting a celebration of the defiance in all of us.

Katie was tapped for her global production chops and extensive influential network to drive the project. And the You Will Never experiential and influencer campaign was developed over six months.

Katie designed and curated guest lists for invite-only screenings for a hand-selected cast of defiant ones at SXSW and Coachella. There, HBO aired the first episode of the series and captured interviews with each viewer about their most memorable brush with doubters. The gifs, videos, photos, and stories that resulted served as the building blocks for HBO’s social assets, sites, and promotional materials. These materials rolled out the announcement of the series digitally and led up to the OOH and TV campaign.

Once advertising was full on, the next series of events continued to collect content around the country: an opulent bespoke screening in NYC drew the glitterati like Nas, Fab 5 Freddy, Gary Vaynerchuck, and Brandon Marshall, while other partnerships drew a a compelling cast of entrepreneurs, politicians, and scholars into the fold.

Capitalizing on Katie's international network, HBO and agency Translation even sent the torch overseas to France to light up the pinnacle event of creative achievement: the Cannes Lion Festival. Celebrating the truly Defiant Ones of the Industry, she executed a party for registered Creatives-- the true craftpersons of culture -- with rap phenom Future and fashion barrier breaker Naomi Campbell serving as our honored co-hosts.

The event series and campaign finished on launch day of the series by turning the narrative over to the people with an unparalleled, all access experience coined, The Day of Defiance. This carefully curated event that brought defiant artists, musicians, and chefs, together with an equally defiant audience, and at every interaction point, invited attendees to express their own defiance. Attendees were treated to a slew of performances from artists including 2 Chainz and Jillionaire of Major Lazer, chefs Ghetto Gastro, and customized Defiant posters with hand-written statements by graffiti writers curated and oversaw by Roger Gastman. and more with unconventional career paths, all curated and managed by Katie.

By the on-air date of the The Defiant Ones Katie had curated over 50 influencers for the digital campaign, Executed 4 exclusive screenings for VIPs and A list celebrities, and executive produced an integrated-technology full-afternoon celebration of defiance that highlighted independent artists of all mediums to roll directly into a tune-in at 9pm.