Brand Authenticity Still Beats Algorithmic Guesswork: Warner Bros. Discovery’s Laurie Shackell
CANNES, France – At a time when media companies, advertisers and agencies are all trying to navigate a marketplace that seems to reinvent itself every quarter, Laurie Shackell has a surprisingly old-fashioned prescription: trust.
The vice president of client partnerships and brand solutions at Warner Bros. Discovery spent part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity explaining why successful partnerships often look less like media buying and more like relationship management. Sometimes they even resemble family therapy.
“Any partnership is built on trust,” Shackell said in an interview with Beet.TV Editorial Director Lisa Granatstein.
That may sound obvious. Then again, so does “communicate with your spouse,” yet entire industries exist because people struggle with it.
When the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is sponsoring
Shackell described Warner Bros. Discovery’s approach as a “concierge” model, helping brands navigate not only the media giant’s sprawling organization but sometimes their own.
Large corporations, she noted, often have licensing teams, consumer products divisions and marketing groups pursuing related goals while communicating about as often as contestants on a reality show after elimination.
“Sometimes the left hand isn’t talking to the right hand,” Shackell said.
In those situations, Warner Bros. Discovery’s role extends beyond selling media opportunities. The company frequently helps clients connect internal dots, translating priorities across departments and smoothing out organizational friction.
The result is a partnership built on familiarity and consistency, which becomes increasingly valuable as companies confront rapid changes in media, technology and consumer behavior.
From sponsorship to joining the cast
One of Shackell’s recurring themes was the idea that brands should move beyond simply sponsoring content.
Instead, they should become part of it.
“We take it from sponsorship to participation,” she said.
That means finding intellectual property, or IP, that fits naturally with a brand’s identity rather than forcing an awkward connection that consumers immediately recognize as manufactured.
Audiences have become remarkably skilled at detecting inauthenticity. Social media has effectively turned everyone into a cultural fact-checker. If a partnership feels forced, viewers tend to spot it faster than a White Lotus guest spots a brewing disaster.
Shackell said the goal is to identify opportunities where brands can genuinely participate in a cultural conversation while building stories that continue beyond a single campaign.
Challenges of being a giant entertainment warehouse
Warner Bros. Discovery owns one of the industry’s largest collections of entertainment properties. That creates an interesting challenge.
When marketers think of the company, they may immediately picture HBO hits like The White Lotus. But Shackell said part of her team’s job is reminding clients just how much content sits inside the company’s portfolio.
“It’s reminding them, one, what’s in the portfolio,” she said.
In an age when every streaming service is producing new releases at a relentless pace, older franchises can sometimes get overshadowed. Yet those libraries remain powerful assets.
Fortunately, viewers have not stopped watching beloved shows simply because they first aired during a different presidential administration.
The data says people miss their TV friends
Shackell pointed to a striking audience insight: roughly 60% of streaming on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms comes from viewers revisiting older titles.
Think Friends. Think Gilmore Girls. Think comfort television.
Apparently many consumers have decided that amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and an endless flood of notifications, spending time with familiar fictional characters feels like a perfectly reasonable life choice.
That insight led Warner Bros. Discovery to develop initiatives such as StoryBurst, which helps marketers build campaigns around beloved catalog content.
Examples include partnerships like “When Sally Met Hellmann’s” and a campaign that brought Gilmore Girls back into the spotlight for Walmart.
The lesson, according to Shackell, is that data should spark creativity rather than replace it.
“The insight is what launches the story,” she said.
Finding fan passion points
When asked how brands can connect with audiences in meaningful ways, Shackell returned to a simple principle: understand what people actually care about.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s portfolio spans entertainment, sports and news. Each attracts communities with distinct passions and interests.
“I think we identify the passion points of our audience,” Shackell said.
Once brands understand those passion points, they can create content that feels relevant instead of intrusive.
That sounds straightforward. Yet in a media industry that occasionally treats audience attention like something that can be purchased wholesale from a spreadsheet, it remains a useful reminder.
The technology may be getting more sophisticated. The targeting may be getting more precise. But Shackell’s message at Cannes was refreshingly human: know your audience, earn trust and tell stories people actually want to be part of.
Or, put another way, if 60% of viewers are voluntarily spending time with Ross Geller and Lorelai Gilmore, maybe the smartest strategy is not fighting nostalgia. It’s finding a way to join the conversation without making it weird.
CANNES, France – At a time when media companies, advertisers and agencies are all trying to navigate a marketplace that seems to reinvent itself every quarter, Laurie Shackell has a surprisingly old-fashioned prescription: trust.
The vice president of client partnerships and brand solutions at Warner Bros. Discovery spent part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity explaining why successful partnerships often look less like media buying and more like relationship management. Sometimes they even resemble family therapy.
“Any partnership is built on trust,” Shackell said in an interview with Beet.TV Editorial Director Lisa Granatstein.
That may sound obvious. Then again, so does “communicate with your spouse,” yet entire industries exist because people struggle with it.
When the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is sponsoring
Shackell described Warner Bros. Discovery’s approach as a “concierge” model, helping brands navigate not only the media giant’s sprawling organization but sometimes their own.
Large corporations, she noted, often have licensing teams, consumer products divisions and marketing groups pursuing related goals while communicating about as often as contestants on a reality show after elimination.
“Sometimes the left hand isn’t talking to the right hand,” Shackell said.
In those situations, Warner Bros. Discovery’s role extends beyond selling media opportunities. The company frequently helps clients connect internal dots, translating priorities across departments and smoothing out organizational friction.
The result is a partnership built on familiarity and consistency, which becomes increasingly valuable as companies confront rapid changes in media, technology and consumer behavior.
From sponsorship to joining the cast
One of Shackell’s recurring themes was the idea that brands should move beyond simply sponsoring content.
Instead, they should become part of it.
“We take it from sponsorship to participation,” she said.
That means finding intellectual property, or IP, that fits naturally with a brand’s identity rather than forcing an awkward connection that consumers immediately recognize as manufactured.
Audiences have become remarkably skilled at detecting inauthenticity. Social media has effectively turned everyone into a cultural fact-checker. If a partnership feels forced, viewers tend to spot it faster than a White Lotus guest spots a brewing disaster.
Shackell said the goal is to identify opportunities where brands can genuinely participate in a cultural conversation while building stories that continue beyond a single campaign.
Challenges of being a giant entertainment warehouse
Warner Bros. Discovery owns one of the industry’s largest collections of entertainment properties. That creates an interesting challenge.
When marketers think of the company, they may immediately picture HBO hits like The White Lotus. But Shackell said part of her team’s job is reminding clients just how much content sits inside the company’s portfolio.
“It’s reminding them, one, what’s in the portfolio,” she said.
In an age when every streaming service is producing new releases at a relentless pace, older franchises can sometimes get overshadowed. Yet those libraries remain powerful assets.
Fortunately, viewers have not stopped watching beloved shows simply because they first aired during a different presidential administration.
The data says people miss their TV friends
Shackell pointed to a striking audience insight: roughly 60% of streaming on Warner Bros. Discovery’s platforms comes from viewers revisiting older titles.
Think Friends. Think Gilmore Girls. Think comfort television.
Apparently many consumers have decided that amid economic uncertainty, geopolitical tension and an endless flood of notifications, spending time with familiar fictional characters feels like a perfectly reasonable life choice.
That insight led Warner Bros. Discovery to develop initiatives such as StoryBurst, which helps marketers build campaigns around beloved catalog content.
Examples include partnerships like “When Sally Met Hellmann’s” and a campaign that brought Gilmore Girls back into the spotlight for Walmart.
The lesson, according to Shackell, is that data should spark creativity rather than replace it.
“The insight is what launches the story,” she said.
Finding fan passion points
When asked how brands can connect with audiences in meaningful ways, Shackell returned to a simple principle: understand what people actually care about.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s portfolio spans entertainment, sports and news. Each attracts communities with distinct passions and interests.
“I think we identify the passion points of our audience,” Shackell said.
Once brands understand those passion points, they can create content that feels relevant instead of intrusive.
That sounds straightforward. Yet in a media industry that occasionally treats audience attention like something that can be purchased wholesale from a spreadsheet, it remains a useful reminder.
The technology may be getting more sophisticated. The targeting may be getting more precise. But Shackell’s message at Cannes was refreshingly human: know your audience, earn trust and tell stories people actually want to be part of.
Or, put another way, if 60% of viewers are voluntarily spending time with Ross Geller and Lorelai Gilmore, maybe the smartest strategy is not fighting nostalgia. It’s finding a way to join the conversation without making it weird.
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