Tristan Zimmerman

Vice President, Digital Marketing
Having risen to Vice President, Digital Marketing, for Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, Tristan Zimmerman leads a team that is bringing the innovative approaches to shows from the production and distribution company: The Wendy Williams Show, entering its 11th season this fall: the authentic and entertaining Caught In Providence, returning for a second season; and two upcoming FOX Television Stations tests – the Jerry O’Connell talker Jerry O (a co-production with Funny Or Die that is debuting Aug. 12 for three weeks) and its collaboration in November/December with producer Will Packer for the wide-reaching and multicultural entertainment news magazine show, Central Ave. 
 
Named as one of Broadcasting & Cable's 2015 Digital All-Stars, Zimmerman shuns convention to raise the social media profiles of TV shows. As the digital lead for Wendy, he produces a monthly reality web series, The After Show, in which Wendy takes viewers behind the scenes of her program. This exclusive online content is highly rated on the show’s YouTube channel, providing viewers with an intimate look into Wendy’s life off stage; unlike any other talk show host,  it allows the audience to have unprecedented access to her, including getting to hear Wendy’s uncensored opinions on viewers’ “Ask Wendy” questions and seeing her wearing her street wig or without makeup. 
 
Zimmerman successfully integrated social media into the show in a way that adds to the overall experience. His site gives viewers a seat at the table unlike any other show in daytime. With Wendy referring to her studio audience as her co-host, she values what viewers at home have to say and makes them a part of the live conversation each day. Recently, more behind-the-scenes videos of the talk show’s celebrity guests have been added to give its audience the opportunity to ask their favorite stars a question.
 
He also  created a social media destination for celebrity news; viewers turn to The Wendy Williams Show to hear her  take on the latest Hot Topics, and log onto their Facebook and Instagram pages after the show to stay updated on breaking celebrity news. The site engages with its audience and asks for its take on topics, which is a useful barometer to gauge - in real time - what stories its audience cares about the most. Additionally, the show’s social media audience serves as a valuable tool for advertisers and sponsors that want to reach Wendy’s engaged, loyal and powerful followers across all of its digital platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram. Accordingly, Zimmerman has developed digital campaigns for the show’s integration partners that effectively communicate their brand messaging in a way that will resonate with a very valuable audience. 
Over the past year, Zimmerman and his team have focused on optimizing mobile and video on the show’s website, as well as utilizing Instagram stories to give followers a behind-the-scenes look as the daily live TV show is prepared. All of this continues to result in steadily increasing numbers across all of Wendy’s social channels: 
 
Facebook: 3 million followers
YouTube: 2.263 million subscribers
Twitter: 1.515 million followers
Instagram: 1.4 million
 
In overseeing digital and social media production for Caught in Providence, the program now attracts 2.755 million Facebook followers – with 1.8 million of those joining in just 4 months.