Santa Monica, CA – Global independent animation studio ZAG continues to build its brand roster on a global scale and has created a new Franchise Marketing Director role, with the appointment of veteran industry marketing executive Michael Berreth to the position. The announcement was made today by Jeremy Zag, Founder and CEO, ZAG.

Berreth joins ZAG with over 20 years of experience working on some of the world’s most beloved consumer brands including Disney’s Winnie-the-Pooh and girl property Strawberry Shortcake. In this new role, reporting to Julian Jacob Zag, EVP, Global Operations and Head of Consumer Products, he will be responsible for steering franchise marketing strategy for ZAG’s brands. These include the globally popular Miraculous™, which follows the adventures of secret superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir as they defend their beloved city of Paris from evil villains; and the cinematic CG-adventure series Ghostforce™, which centers on three elementary school students who secretly form a superhero team—the Ghostforce—to fight the ghosts of New York.

Berreth will work with ZAG’s business partners across the globe to develop customized marketing plans that will drive business growth and retail development. Internally, he will collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop marketing strategies, messaging, and collateral materials that will generate excitement, drive sales, and manage brand integrity. Berreth will also develop a digital marketing strategy.

“With Michael’s extensive background and expertise, he is uniquely positioned to develop and implement marketing strategies that reflect our mission and values to content and licensing partners and stakeholders, and we are thrilled to have him join our management team as we continue to build our brand franchises around the globe,” commented Jeremy Zag.

“ZAG’s content has captivated a diverse global audiences with its top-tier, family-friendly narratives that blend real-life elements with a little magic,” added Berreth. “This is a wonderful opportunity to work with a best-in-class studio with its focus on developing global entertainment franchises that become iconic in the hearts and minds of their audiences everywhere.”

Most recently, Berreth led the start-up of a successful boutique youth marketing agency, Marketing Brands Consulting, where he handled marketing for clients such Magic Jump Inflatables, Darby Pop Publishing, and Sky Zone Franchise Group. Prior, he served as Head of Marketing at DIC/Cookie Jar Entertainment (now WildBrain) for six years; globally managed the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise across The Walt Disney Company; and launched The Fast and the Furious on DVD for NBC Universal. He began his career managing major consumer packaged goods brands at Nestlé and Kellogg’s.

About Miraculous™
Miraculous™ – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir continues to be everyone’s favorite superhero story and has been ranked by IMDB amongst the Top 10 Best Animated Shows in the last 20 years. Available in over 120 countries, season five of the series is available across the globe and the highly anticipated superhero blockbuster Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir, The Movie launched in July 2023. With a core audience of 52% girls and 48% boys ages 6-12, and a massive fan base of young adult “Miraculers,” (ages 15-25), Miraculous has become a digital planetary craze with over 37 billion views on YouTube (authorized and user-generated content); over 250 million downloads of the official app; and over 550 million+ plays on Roblox. Over 300 million products have been sold and retail sales have surpassed US$1B worldwide to date. Miraculous is the winner of 30 awards including Best Animated Series in the Kids Programming category at the 2023 Kidscreen Awards.

About Ghostforce™
The stakes are high, but always incredibly fun in Ghostforce. Liv, Andy, and Mike are three elementary school students who secretly form a team of superheroes to fight the ghosts of New York. Its founder and commander, Ms. Jones, is a brilliant scientist who does everything she can to better identify ghosts and even created a fourth member, Glowboo, an Artificial Intelligence that works with phantom energy. With each mission, Liv, Andy, and Mike transform into Myst, Fury and Krush, superheroes armed with the powers of the capturing ghosts and high-tech gadgets invented by Mrs. Jones. They are the only ones who can hunt down ghosts and fight them… before they rush back to school, so they don’t miss the next science class!

Ghostforce originally launched on Disney Channel in Germany in September 2021, and immediately became market leader on all commercial kids’ channels on its premiere run. Ghostforce airs on Disney Channel and Disney+ across Europe (excluding France), the Middle East, Japan, and India; on TF1 in France, in the U.S, on Disney XD, and in Latin America on Discovery Kids and SBT in Brazil.

About ZAG
ZAG is a global independent entertainment studio specializing in world-class storytelling across TV, film, and digital platforms. ZAG’s foundation is rooted in compelling characters, limitless imagination, and masterful storytelling infused with original musical scores. The company is home to world-class entertainment properties under the ZAG HEROEZ label, including Miraculous™ – Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir as well as Ghostforce. ZAG is also currently in production on Melody, an animated feature starring Katy Perry; and has a 10-movie deal with Cross Creek Pictures. Visionary director and composer Jeremy Zag founded the ZAG Kids and Family Entertainment Group in France in 2009, further expanding the company to the USA in 2012 with the Global Brand Franchise office in Santa Monica, California. ZAG now has offices in Paris, London, Montreal, Santa Monica, Miami, Mexico, Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, Frankfurt, Dubai, and Shenzhen. ZAG’s Consumer Products Division includes the licensing and merchandising, gaming, promotions, and toy groups, and focuses on developing products and experiences beyond the screen into brands that inspire the new generation to discover their true character. https://www.zag.com