Scott Donaton

Scott Donaton is an experienced brand and growth marketer, creative leader and content producer who has dedicated his career to tapping the power of storytelling to grow brands and transform businesses.

Most recently serving as Hulu's SVP-Head of Marketing, Donaton overaw a team of 250 marketers responsible for marketing strategy, subscriber acquisition, engagement & retention, brand marketing, creative, social, paid media, partnerships and consumer insights & analytics. He joined Hulu in 2019 as VP-Head of Creative, where he launched and built Greenhouse, an award-winning in-house agency that produced campaigns for the Hulu brand and content. He also introduced the streaming industry’s first branded entertainment unit to drive incremental revenue and innovative advertising formats.
Prior to Hulu, Donaton served as the Global Chief Creative & Content Officer at Digitas and a member of its Executive Leadership Team, leading the agency's worldwide creative practice including its campaign, branded content, experience design and production capabilities. Donaton also served as Head of Content for The Americas for Digitas parent Publicis Media and was the chief architect of the Digitas NewFront.
Before joining Digitas, Donaton was Global Chief Content Officer at Interpublic Group’s UM and head of UM Studios, where he led a team of award-winning content strategists and producers who developed creative programs and innovative experiences for clients including Chrysler, Coca-Cola, J&J, BMW and Sony. Prior to UM, Donaton founded Ensemble, an Interpublic-funded content studio, where he served as CEO from 2009 till 2013.
Earlier in his career, Donaton was publisher of Entertainment Weekly and before that publisher of Advertising Age. A longtime journalist, he served as editor of Ad Age for more than a decade after rising through its editorial ranks as a reporter, bureau chief and executive editor.
Donaton coined the phrase “Madison & Vine” and is the author of an acclaimed book by the same name. The book helped launch the branded-content revolution by declaring the entertainment and advertising industries need to converge to survive.
Donaton has won numerous awards, including from the Producers Guild of America, Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD and London International Advertising Awards. He was inducted into the AAF’s prestigious Advertising Hall of Achievement. Donaton served as president of the Entertainment jury at Cannes in 2013 and 2019. He is also known for his industry thought-leadership, which has been published in numerous media outlets including Fast Company, Adweek, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Ad Age and MediaPost.