Team & Awards

My team’s work, and what it did for our partners.

Everything here was a team effort, built with our partners and their agencies. Start with the team’s reel, then the award-winning campaigns, the results they drove and the people who made them.

2

Cannes Lions: a Silver and a Bronze (2025)

3

Cannes Lions shortlists

6

ADDY Awards: 1 Gold and 5 Silver

The team's reel

IMDb Creative Studio Reel

A cut of the custom campaigns my team built for studios, streamers and brands on IMDb, released in April 2026: homepage takeovers, Video Wall+, custom landing pages and games.

A team effort by IMDb Creative Studio, the advertising design team I lead as Head of Premium Advertising.

Kleenex, 2025

The Kleenex Score

A first-of-its-kind emotional impact rating system on IMDb, built with VML and Amazon and launched around the 2025 Academy Awards. A Video Wall+ takeover sent fans to a custom landing page with each film’s tear rating, videos and shoppable Kleenex products.

When
Early 2025, around the Academy Awards
Client
Kleenex
Partners
VML, Amazon
My role
Head of IMDb Creative Studio
Built with
Video Wall+, Custom Video Sponsorship, Custom Landing Page

A team effort with VML and Amazon. I led IMDb Creative Studio as Head of Creative Studio.

  • 251MMpeople reached across social
  • +5.6%sales in week one, vs. the year before
  • +14.4%sales by week four, vs. the year before
  • 35%of purchases from first-time buyers
  • 2025 Cannes Lions: Silver Lion, Media
  • 2025 Cannes Lions: Bronze Lion, Creative Commerce
  • 3 Cannes Lions shortlists: Brand Experience and Activation, Direct Data & Technology, Direct Culture & Context
  • 2026 Los Angeles American Advertising Awards: Silver ADDY, Web Banner Ad or Website Takeover
Team credits 16 people

VML, IMDb and Amazon

  • Jessica GazzaniAccount Executive
  • Mika TonchevaSr. Sales Account Manager
  • Taylor OrtegaCreative Campaign Manager
  • Riel PhillipsHead of Creative Studio
  • Zoe ShiovitzSr. UX Design Manager
  • Wilson SalojUX Interactive Designer
  • Adam TomaSenior Art Director
  • Michael TruemanSr. Design Technologist
  • Michelle NelsonSr. Content Marketing Manager
  • Vanessa WesleySr. Sponsorship Editor
  • Lindsay CampbellHead of Originals
  • Alex LoganSenior Producer
  • Matt DetischSr. Production and Post Manager
  • Randall ChuEditor
  • Bapu GriscomProduction Support
  • Christopher ArensMotion Graphics
Read the full case study

USAA, 2022

USAA x Top Gun: Maverick

The first-to-market USAA Flight Simulator put Top Gun fans in the cockpit of a Navy-certified F-18 during the film’s opening weekend in 2022, alongside a Live Show takeover, 4 original videos and Instagram trivia.

When
Summer 2022, the film’s opening weekend
Client
USAA
Partners
Publicis Groupe, WM Global
My role
UX Design Manager, IMDb
Built with
Custom homepage takeovers, USAA Flight Simulator game, Live Show takeover, 4 original videos, Instagram trivia

A team effort by IMDb, Publicis Groupe, USAA and WM Global. I led the IMDb design team as UX Design Manager.

  • 190MM+impressions
  • 90+ secdwell time, the longest of any IMDb gamified placement
  • ~77Ksite visits from the takeovers
  • 0.04%overall CVR
  • 591Ksocial impressions
  • 100K+social engagements
  • ADDY Award: Gold, Best Website Takeover
  • ADDY Award: Silver, Innovative Technology
  • ADDY Award: Silver, Branded Content
Team credits 38 people

IMDb

  • Shara Angell
  • Rich Bournique
  • Lindsay Campbell
  • Dan Custer
  • Matt Detisch
  • Eric Fonseca
  • Stephanie Grenald
  • Jazmine Hall
  • Akimi Hata
  • Nate Knappen
  • Rachel Lebrun
  • Alex Logan
  • Derek Long
  • Courtney Niemann
  • Jess O’Brien
  • Sher Omar
  • Riel Phillips
  • Kate Rose
  • Wilson Saloj
  • Todd Tanner
  • Adam Toma
  • Tori Wadzita
  • Lynn Wasielewski

Publicis

  • Kayla Englot
  • Tanner Poisson
  • Kate Richardson
  • Kevin Thiel
  • Christine Tischio
  • Alexandra Lauren Young

USAA

  • Marquita Eldridge
  • Adriana Escalera
  • Kimberly Garcia
  • Alexandra Pantuso
  • Melanie Peterson

WM Global

  • Peter Garlinghouse
  • Sandra Muoio
  • Lauren Uhlan
  • Nate Wachter
Read the full case study

Sony Pictures (Columbia Pictures), 2025

Karate Kid: Legends

A digital dojo on IMDb where fans earned their own belt through three mini-games, Precision, Memory and Balance, launched at the same time in 6 languages across 10 countries.

When
Spring 2025, for the film’s release
Client
Sony Pictures (Columbia Pictures)
My role
Head of IMDb Creative Studio
Built with
Video Wall+, Mobile Video Wall+, Three custom mini-games

A team effort by IMDb Creative Studio with Sony Pictures. I led Creative Studio as Head of Creative Studio.

  • 10countries at launch
  • 6languages, fully localized
  • 3mini-games: Precision, Memory and Balance
  • 2026 Los Angeles American Advertising Awards: Silver ADDY, Web Banner Ad or Website Takeover
Team credits 7 people

IMDb

  • Giselle Snyder
  • Katie Smith
  • Jane Rho
  • Irem Gokce Aydin
  • Wilson Saloj
  • Trey Canevari
  • Georgia Argyropoulou
Read the full case study

My own recognition

Along the way

  • Featured in “Stories from Amazon Design: Meet Riel” (January 2026)
  • Guest panelist at London Horizons, representing IMDb Creative Studio with agency and advertising customers
  • 28 Days of Black Designers, #23, from Tim Hykes and AIGA (February 2017)
  • Vimeo Staff Pick for Faking The Books, my thesis film with designer Toni Fleming (2009)

Want to make the next one together?

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