The 2009 Brand Builder honorees accepted their awards at a reception Wednesday night in Manhattan during the Promax/BDA conference.
In attendance at the event, sponsored by Promax/BDA, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, were honorees Time Warner Chief Marketing Officer Sam Howe, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Executive V.P. of Marketing Susan Kantor, and Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White. YouTube Director of Content Partnerships Jordan Hoffner was also honored but was unable to attend.
The executives were recognized for their talents and expertise in helping to make their brands instantly recognizable to consumers. (Click here to read profiles of the honorees.)
"There was a time, maybe not too long ago, when 'cable' and 'brand' was a bit of an oxymoron," said Howe. "But cable has come a long way." Howe was recognized for his willingness to take "calculated risks to create brand recognition," according to B&C and Multichannel News Publisher Larry Dunn, who gave out the awards.
White was congratulated for helping to "transform a once failing sports franchise into one of the world's fastest growing sports."
"Most of the people in this room are people I was chasing around for the first four years trying to get [UFC] on pay-per-view and cable," White joked. "I never thought I'd see this day."
Cantor, credited with helping the syndication launch of Two and a Half Men and the TMZ marketing campaign, was recognized as "one of TV's most influential marketers."
Upon receiving her award Cantor joked, "they said it was chocolate...but they were lying." She thanked a number of people at the reception who had helped her along the way and spoke of her long journey through the industry. "I think all the experiences we have in our career makes us who we are."
