NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Diply, a leading social video and entertainment publisher and comScore Top 10 lifestyle property, today announced the expansion of its direct advertising sales team in New York and Chicago with three new hires: Sara Colodner, East Coast Director of Brand Partnerships, Natalie Merlino, Senior Manager of Brand Partnerships, and Maggie Parker, Central Region Sales Director.
“We’ve spent the past 12 months growing Diply’s social video footprint. With more than 1.2B social video views each month, the time is right for the rapid growth of our direct sales team,” said Dan Lagani, Diply President and Chief Revenue Officer. “All are outstanding additions to the Diply team bringing a deep blend of video, branded entertainment, and digital media experience. This marks the start of significant investment to build Diply’s U.S. marketing and media industry presence.”
Sara Colodner, East Coast Director of Brand Partnerships
Sara Colodner is the East Coast Director of Brand Partnerships at Diply where she’s tasked with building and managing the East Coast sales team and introducing the brand to market. She joins Diply from KIN Community, where she served as Director of East Coast Sales. During her tenure, Colodner managed the overall sales strategy and brought together the world’s leading lifestyle creators to deliver high-quality, female-focused video content and scaled media executions across lifestyle verticals, including food, fashion, beauty, DIY, home, and entertainment.
Prior to KIN Community, Colodner worked at StyleHaul as Sales Director. She created custom solutions for clients, including high-production video, native influencer video, pre-roll assets, and robust social amplification programs. Past clients include Sherwin-Williams, DSW, TJ Maxx, Showtime. Nickelodeon, L’Oreal, Elizabeth Arden, Macy’s, American Express, etc. Colodner holds a dual Master’s degree from Bank Street College of Education and a Bachelor of Arts from The University Of Michigan.
Natalie Merlino, Senior Manager of Brand Partnerships
Natalie Merlino is the Senior Manager of Brand Partnerships at Diply where she’s tasked with driving Diply’s new business revenue expansion and introducing the brand to the market. She brings more than a decade of experience in digital media leveraging multi-platform solutions for clients, including P&G, J&J, Walmart, Dannon, Coca-Cola, NBC Universal, Viacom, and L’Oreal.
Merlino joins Diply from KIN Community, where she served as Senior Sales Executive and owned key strategic partnerships. Prior to KIN Community, she worked as Director of Advertising at HowAboutWe and helped launch their media sales division and created the go-to market strategy for native digital video solutions. Merlino graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and minor in Marketing from the University of Rhode Island.
Maggie Parker, Central Region Sales Director
Maggie Parker is the Central Region Sales Director at Diply where she is responsible for building and managing the Chicago based sales team and establishing the Diply brand in the Midwest. Parker joins Diply from Adobe, where she led sales of programmatic video for key agencies and brands, including the cpg, dining, retail, and telecom categories. At Adobe, Parker partnered with advertisers to create data driven video strategies and measurement frameworks to identify and optimize for top performing media.
Prior to Adobe, Parker represented CafeMedia as a Senior Sales Executive. She collaborated with marketers to connect with mom consumers through community word of mouth activation and branded video content within leading women’s lifestyle and parenting platforms. Former client partnerships include Olive Garden, SC Johnson, Walmart, General Motors, Kellogg’s, and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Parker holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Michigan.
About Diply
Launched in 2013, Diply is a leading social video and entertainment publisher and comScore Top 10 Lifestyle media property. With a unique blend of fun and engaging social first content, Diply generates more than 5B social impressions and 1.2B video views powered by 1,500+ original videos and stories monthly. Headquartered in London, Ontario, Diply has offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto.
