WB hikes Kandel to sr. pub VP
As Kandel puts it, "It's one world. There isn't separating between domestic and international. We don't want international (publicity) to be a stepchild tagging along. We want it to be a full-fledged member of the family. In the publicity end, that's kind of tagged along."
Friedman
confirmed that the promotion "reflects our belief that when we look at a movie at the beginning of its life, we should not focus on one market, which has been the tradition. We look at what it needs in Japan, Australia and so on and so forth, and analyze our needs from that."
Kandel believes the global approach is a reflection of the changing marketplace. "It's clear the way news reportage and entertainment coverage is going that you really cannot make a separation between America and the rest of the world. Very often what I've observed, when domestic and international are separate, is that you are not maximizing the resources of the studio. If the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, it's a waste of resources."
In her new position, Kandel points to the handling of a PR campaign of "Forever Young" as an example of her plans. "When we do big magazine pieces, we plan for worldwide rights. For example, the USA Today cover story on Mel Gibson -- it was a question of acquiring the piece to make it available for international papers."
Upgrading the quality and quantity of photographic and electronic news materials is also a priority.
Kandel joined Warner Bros. in 1986 as was promoted to veepee of publicity in 1987 and her present post in 1989.
