Wood joins IDW; White promoted

IDW has announced a hire and a promotion to shore up their marketing department. Dirk Wood, formerly of Dark Horse, has joined IDW as Director, Retail Marketing, a new position. AnnaMaria White has been promoted to Director, Marketing and Public Relations. Together, the moves suggest that IDW is serious about increasing their market share through renewed retail efforts.

IDW Publishing, a leader in graphic novel and book publishing, announced today that seasoned comic-industry marketing veteran Dirk Wood has joined the company as its first Director, Retail Marketing. Additionally, IDW’s first in-house marketing manager, AnnaMaria White, has been promoted to Director, Marketing and Public Relations.

“AnnaMaria has done an amazing job getting the word out about IDW books and has substantially increased our PR efforts and convention appearances,” said IDW CEO and Publisher, Ted Adams. “As IDW continues to grow, it became clear that we needed to expand our marketing team and particularly wanted to focus on direct market retailers and customers. When we made the decision to start looking for someone, there was no one we wanted to recruit more than Dirk. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know him over the last couple of years and he’s going to help us build our business in new and exciting ways.”

With over 16 years in the industry, Mr. Wood inaugurates the position of Director of Retail Marketing at IDW, bringing his extensive experience to the rapidly growing company.  In this position, Mr. Wood will serve as the main contact for comic store retailers at IDW, expanding the company’s relationship with and presence within the direct market.

As Director of Marketing and PR, Ms. White will continue to grow IDW’s consumer marketing and outreach, oversee the company’s conventions and external messaging, and serve as the primary public relations contact.

Prior to joining IDW, Mr. Wood served as the Director of Communications for Dark Horse Comics, capping his nine-year career with the company. Mr. Wood was the Operations Manager for Things from Another World for seven years before transitioning to Dark Horse Comics.

“I couldn’t be more excited about joining the team at IDW. It’s been no secret for a while now that they’re a growing force in the Industry, and joining them at this stage of my career is a tremendous opportunity,” said Mr. Wood. “I want to thank Ted and the whole crew for welcoming me into the fold so graciously. I’ve always been a big supporter of the Direct Market, and I look forward to working with the retailers to ensure that IDW is a big part of their success for years to come.”