Jason Haikara
Encyclopedia
Jason Zachary Haikara is a Partner at MediaLink, a next-generation consultancy firm that represents Fortune 100, media and technology companies. Previously, he was the Co-President of Webby Award
winning global digital entertainment studio Filmaka. Before Filmaka, Haikara was a senior marketing executive at Fox Broadcasting Company, and part of the team which launched The Simpsons
, In Living Color
, Beverly Hills, 90210
, Melrose Place (1992), The X-Files
, That 70's Show, Family Guy
, 24
, American Idol
, House
, and other television hits.
Haikara is a three-term Co-Chair of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Website Committee which oversees Emmys.com
and a 2011 appointee to its Interactive Media Peer Group Executive Committee. He previously served on its Brand and Marketing Committee. Haikara is the Executive Producer of the web series Apathy Apartments and the feature film The Middle of the Middle. In 2010, he was inducted into the International Academy of Web Television
.
and the Super Bowl
, he was appointed to the Harvard School of Public Health's Mentoring Media Workgroup
. In 2001, Haikara was named network’s Senior Vice President of On-Air Promotion Scheduling , a newly created position
In his final years at FOX, 2004–2007, Haikara became Senior Vice President, Internet Marketing and National Promotions and, then, Senior Vice President, Marketing. Haikara directed all aspects of the network's online and digital presence, including marketing, creative, original content and distribution During his tenure overseeing digital marketing, The Simpsons.com won a 2005 Webby nomination for Best Television Website and Drive
became the first series nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award under the Television Academy’s new “broadband” eligibility guidelines for content which premiered on Fox.com. Haikara also managed cross-platform marketing campaigns which integrated network advertisers with primetime programs such as AOL
and Ford’s sponsorships of The O.C.
and 24, respectively. In 2006, he was an Executive in Charge of Production of the Fox Fall Preview special.
, feature films as well as content for ad agencies, media companies and major brands such as Cisco
, DIRECTV
, FX Network, Red Bull
, SABMiller
and SNICKERS
. Filmaka’s branded entertainment
creative has been featured in Lincoln
and Ford Mustang
commercials during the CBS
broadcast of the 2009 Grammy Awards and on NBC
primetime, respectively.
In 2009, Filmaka’s original web series The Ten Commandments of La Vida Loca won the Webby Award for Best Drama Series. Filmaka’s first feature film is Swinging with the Finkels, written and directed by one of its community members Jonathan Newman
, starring Martin Freeman
and Mandy Moore
.
. After a one year stint at Grahm Junior College
in Boston, Massachusetts
where he studied music engineering, Jason Haikara graduated with a B.A. in Speech Communication from the University of Miami
, Coral Gables, Florida
. Haikara was the Editor-in-Chief of The Miami Hurricane
newspaper and a member of the Student Government Entertainment Committee, among other activities.
Webby Awards
A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....
winning global digital entertainment studio Filmaka. Before Filmaka, Haikara was a senior marketing executive at Fox Broadcasting Company, and part of the team which launched The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
, Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American drama series that originally aired from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000 on Fox and was produced by Spelling Television in the United States, and subsequently on various networks around the world. It is the first series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise...
, Melrose Place (1992), The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, That 70's Show, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
, American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, and other television hits.
Haikara is a three-term Co-Chair of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Website Committee which oversees Emmys.com
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and a 2011 appointee to its Interactive Media Peer Group Executive Committee. He previously served on its Brand and Marketing Committee. Haikara is the Executive Producer of the web series Apathy Apartments and the feature film The Middle of the Middle. In 2010, he was inducted into the International Academy of Web Television
International Academy of Web Television
The International Academy of Web Television was founded in 2008 and is devoted to the advancement of the arts and sciences of web television production. In 2009, the IAWTV held the first Streamy Awards ceremony, an annual event created to recognize excellence in web television production. The...
.
Career at Fox
Haikara started his entertainment career at Fox Broadcasting Company in 1989, rising through the network’s Affiliate Marketing, National Media, and On-Air Planning departments. In 2000, while managing the scheduling of network promotion inventory in primetime and sports, including the World SeriesWorld Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
and the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, he was appointed to the Harvard School of Public Health's Mentoring Media Workgroup
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
. In 2001, Haikara was named network’s Senior Vice President of On-Air Promotion Scheduling , a newly created position
In his final years at FOX, 2004–2007, Haikara became Senior Vice President, Internet Marketing and National Promotions and, then, Senior Vice President, Marketing. Haikara directed all aspects of the network's online and digital presence, including marketing, creative, original content and distribution During his tenure overseeing digital marketing, The Simpsons.com won a 2005 Webby nomination for Best Television Website and Drive
Drive (TV series)
Drive is a short-lived American action drama television series created by Tim Minear and Ben Queen, produced by Minear, Queen, and Greg Yaitanes, and starring Nathan Fillion, four episodes of which aired on the Fox network in April 2007...
became the first series nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award under the Television Academy’s new “broadband” eligibility guidelines for content which premiered on Fox.com. Haikara also managed cross-platform marketing campaigns which integrated network advertisers with primetime programs such as AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
and Ford’s sponsorships of The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
and 24, respectively. In 2006, he was an Executive in Charge of Production of the Fox Fall Preview special.
Career at Filmaka
In October 2007, Haikara was invited by Filmaka’s then President and former Chairman Fox Entertainment Group Sandy Grushow to launch the company which had just ended a year-long beta phase. Haikara oversees marketing, publicity, creative development and production for the studio whose global filmmaking community creates television and web seriesweb seriesWeb series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
, feature films as well as content for ad agencies, media companies and major brands such as Cisco
Cisco Systems
Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$...
, DIRECTV
DirecTV
DirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
, FX Network, Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
, SABMiller
SABMiller
SABMiller plc is a global brewing and bottling company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's second-largest brewing company measured by revenues and is also a major bottler of Coca-Cola. Its brands include Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Peroni Nastro Azzurro and Pilsner Urquell...
and SNICKERS
Snickers
Snickers is a brand name chocolate bar made by Mars, Incorporated. It consists of peanut nougat topped with roasted peanuts and caramel, enrobed in milk chocolate. Snickers has annual global sales of $2 billion....
. Filmaka’s branded entertainment
Branded entertainment
Branded entertainment, also known as branded content or advertainment, is an entertainment-based vehicle that is funded by and complementary to a brand's marketing strategy. The purpose of a branded entertainment program is to give a brand the opportunity to communicate its image to its target...
creative has been featured in Lincoln
Lincoln (automobile)
Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
and Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
commercials during the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
broadcast of the 2009 Grammy Awards and on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
primetime, respectively.
In 2009, Filmaka’s original web series The Ten Commandments of La Vida Loca won the Webby Award for Best Drama Series. Filmaka’s first feature film is Swinging with the Finkels, written and directed by one of its community members Jonathan Newman
Jonathan newman
Jonathan Newman is a British filmmaker and writer.Newman owns a film company called Serendipity based at Ealing Studios.Newman made his first feature film at the age of 25. Being Considered starred James Dreyfus and David Tennant...
, starring Martin Freeman
Martin Freeman
Martin John C. Freeman is an English actor. He is known for his roles as John in Love Actually, Tim Canterbury in the BBC's Golden Globe-winning comedy The Office, Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and Mr. Madden...
and Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of...
.
Education
Jason Haikara was born and raised in St. Petersburg, FloridaSt. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. After a one year stint at Grahm Junior College
Grahm Junior College
Grahm Junior College was a private junior college located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school opened in 1957 under the name Cambridge School of Business, as part of a chain of schools. Other branches were later based in Chicago and Philadelphia...
in Boston, Massachusetts
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
where he studied music engineering, Jason Haikara graduated with a B.A. in Speech Communication from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
. Haikara was the Editor-in-Chief of The Miami Hurricane
The Miami Hurricane
The Miami Hurricane, founded in 1929, is the official student newspaper at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, in the United States. It is published twice weekly by a staff of mostly undergraduate students...
newspaper and a member of the Student Government Entertainment Committee, among other activities.