The Fierce Video editorial team is proud to present its third annual Emerging Leaders Awards, recognizing the brightest young professionals rising up the ranks of the streaming TV industry. Throughout the month of May we’ll be featuring these profiles with each of our finalists. We will announce the winners during our StreamTV Show with a live awards ceremony in Denver on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. MT. Not yet registered for the StreamTV Show, running June 6-8? Be sure to register now!
Camille Schmidt/Philo:
As director of communications, Camille Schmidt works closely with the head of communications, as well as the C-Suite at Philo, to develop and execute its media strategy. She collaborates closely with internal stakeholders, as well as external partners (T-Mobile, Google, Publica, Best Buy, Amazon, Roku and all content partners) to tell the Philo story through high-impact press and thought-leadership opportunities. Prior to Philo, Schmidt graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in communications and a minor in political science. She has held agency and in-house roles, and founded a boutique PR agency, Blanc Communications, which she operated for seven years. Schmidt lives in San Francisco with her golden retriever, Keaton.
What her colleagues are saying:
"Camille has an incredible understanding of the complex and nuanced streaming TV industry and how Philo fits in. This results in her creating meaningful strategic programs including compelling weekly insights and blog posts to garner press interest. Camille operates with an owner mentality and consistently looks out for areas of improvement across not only our communications team, but the entire product and company, which makes her a valuable emerging leader at Philo. More importantly, she's a wonderful person and a joy to work with." - Michele Husak, head of communications at Philo
"Camille is an emerging leader at Philo as she uses a data-driven approach to maximize and monitor the effectiveness of her communications outreach. She has a strong understanding of how to ensure that Philo is positioned best both for our organic and paid media coverage. We have collaborated on numerous high priority initiatives including our Black Friday campaign, where she was detail oriented and a strategic collaborator. Additionally, she has taken the initiative to both secure my own thought-leadership speaking opportunities as well as ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. Overall, Camille is a valuable resource, strong collaborator and a dedicated leader." - Carolyn Ferreira, head of customer acquisition and growth marketing at Philo
Streaming Industry Q&A:
What streaming services do you subscribe to?
The real question is which streaming service don't I subscribe to? I am currently subscribed to Philo (of course) with Starz and Epix add-ons, Hulu, HBO Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, Apple TV + and Showtime.
Describe your biggest career highlight so far.
The biggest career highlight so far has to be spearheading our Black Friday/Cyber Monday media outreach and strategy over the last couple of years. Before entering the world of entertainment and streaming, most of my career was focused on tech, consumer products and fashion. I was able to use my connections and prior experience to drive tons of coverage through both earned and affiliate media. The last two years, Black Friday has been one of our strongest days of customer acquisition for Philo ever and we also saw notable growth through those channels. Coverage highlights from this year include Business Insider, Wired, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Billboard, Entertainment Tonight, The Verge, IGN, The Hollywood Reporter, CNET, Variety, TV Guide, Mashable and People.
What has been your biggest career learning experience?
The biggest learning experience I've experienced in my career is that leadership matters. I have been so fortunate to have a few female mentors, including Philo's head of communications, Michele Husak, Philo's former head of communications Alana Davis and Careste founder and CEO Celeste Markey. These three communications leaders have been incredibly influential in my career and taught me so much about not just the industry, but also to trust my gut and instincts. Only in the absence of great management at other points in my career, have I learned how special and grateful I am to have worked under managers like Michele, Alana and Celeste. They have given me the freedom and guidance to make an impact.
What's next for you in terms of new challenges in streaming TV?
Working in television, entertainment and streaming has truly been a lifelong dream, so I plan on sticking around for a bit. Late last year, we launched a newsletter for the media to share weekly insights about what's popular on our service, regional anomalies and cheeky commentary. We've heard from editors that it's their favorite email of the week, and it's been incredibly fun for us to produce, so we'll hopefully expand that in the future.