Christian Music’s WOW Brand Gets New Leader with Hiring Of Ryan Mcneary From Shop at Home and Aol

Nashivlle, Tenn. – A former Shop at Home Network and America Online executive has been named to lead brand development and marketing for the WoW® brand, announced by EMI Christian Music Group, Word Entertainment and Provident Music Group. Ryan McNeary assumed the position of WoW Brand Director this month, and is charged with bringing fresh focus to the brand that has sold more than 20 million albums and videos in the past 12 years. In addition to driving the A&R and marketing process for all WoW titles, McNeary will be responsible for creating an overall brand strategy that will allow for the continued growth of WoW music and print sales, the implementation of new digital and web approaches and the introduction of potential product line extensions.

"WoW has been a proven best-seller and calling card for the Christian music category for more than a decade. In its early years, WoW successfully elevated awareness of Christian music and always delivered on its promise to spotlight the best Christian music had to offer. Even without a dedicated WoW advocate, sales have remained strong in today’s turbulent retail environment, but WoW’s value as a brand has yet to realize its full potential. With his brand experience and impressive resume, we believe Ryan can help us build WoW for the future, " said Bill Hearn, president and CEO of EMI CMG.

Prior to joining the Christian music industry, McNeary held key positions with Scripps Networks’ Shop At Home, first as vice president of business development and most recently as vice president marketing/programming for the pioneering retail television channel. He had been recruited to Shop At Home from American Online for the leading Internet service provider (ISP) in the U.S., where he served as program manager for operations and product development and as senior marketing manager for e-commerce.

"We are so fortunate that someone of Ryan’s caliber was not only available, but was seeking to take the next chapter of his career journey to Christian music, " said Mark Funderburg, president of Word Distribution. "While his significant experiences at two landmark media companies will be of immense and obvious benefit to his work in the Christian music industry, we look forward to empowering him as he creatively looks at new ways to expand the reach of the WoW brand. "

Added Terry Hemmings, president and CEO of Provident Music Group: "The future benefit of the WoW brand as a both a music product and an industry category driver will be to strengthen WoW’s relationship with consumers, giving root to new branches of the WoW brand that will connect with Christian music fans in both traditional and non-traditional outlets and remaining flexible and adaptable to an ever-changing retail environment. "

Among the initial assignments for McNeary will be to focus on pulling together the upcoming WoW releases already scheduled for later this year, including WoW Hits 2008 and a WoW Gospel Christmas, both slated for October. He is also following the progress of WoW Hymns, which released in March, and WoW Gospel #1s, which released this month. McNeary will also be championing the first new product line extension – a DVD & Quiz game, created in the same spirit as the popular Scene It and Trivial Pursuit games. For 2008, McNeary is looking at potential kids and rock-focused WoW projects, part of an overall strategy to broaden the consumer base for the WoW brand. McNeary will maintain offices at each of the WoW parties’ corporate headquarters, utilizing each depending on what WoW project he is managing.

Beyond managing the product releases, McNeary sees considerable opportunities for deepening WoW’s brand and sales impact, such as making the brand available for the first time in a digital format as well as looking at web-based platforms that could make WoW a voice for the Christian music industry. "I’ve always worked for companies with an entrepreneurial spirit, and am thrilled that the WoW parties view my role here in the same way. WoW has been the most popular compilation series in the history of CCM, and I want to strengthen its position by building it as a portal into the Christian music industry for new audiences. This will help current artists find new listeners, support up-and-coming artists, and continue to build consumer loyalty for the Christian music category, " said McNeary.

About WoW:
WoW was launched in October 1995 with WoW 96, a two-CD compilation of the top contemporary Christian music hits. The project was created buy a new arrangement between the three major Christian record companies, EMI CMG, Provident and Word, quickly becoming the definitive, must-have collection of music each year and achieving platinum-selling status for the first effort. Since the WoW 96, the yearly CDs were renamed WoW Hits and the brand expanded to include WoW Worship, WoW Gospel and several specialty WoW projects. In total, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has presented the WoW brand with four multi-platinum, 21 platinum and 29 gold certifications. Since its first release, the WoW parties have contributed more than $1 million to philanthropic and industry growth initiatives.