Scott Garner 90Ox 92C
Scott Garner is a senior programming and brand strategist with 25 years of experience in content curation, marketing, and research for leading Fortune 500 companies. Garner uses a data-driven approach to build competitive and strategic business plans that successfully define, differentiate, and accentuate a brand’s platform to connect with consumers. He currently runs his own consulting firm, Conqueror Media, focused on helping both large and small clients navigate the rapidly evolving media and entertainment industry. Scott specializes in consumer insight and primary research, trend tracking, competitive landscape analysis, content library management, domestic and international program strategy, and content acquisitions and management.
Most recently, Scott has been consulting with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network on overseeing Primary Custom research for the networks. He recently conducted an intensive primary and quantitative political tracking study over five months to determine the political ideology and critical issues concerning young female African-American voters to inform the #OWNYourVote campaign (2020). Additionally, he created a persona-based audience engagement study where he crafted exacting profiles of the Oprah viewer base. Scott has been engaged as a Program Strategy Consultant for VENN (a newly launched digital network), which targets gaming audiences. Garner has been working with the company to establish its launch schedule, build out global programming, and generate best metrics assessment practices for its long-term strategy. He is also a board member and consultant for Binj (an iOS/Google app), which helps consumers streamline their content choices through algorithmic mechanics.
From 1992 to 2017, Garner was a senior research executive for some top female and children’s entertainment brands. From 2011 to 2017, Garner served as executive vice president of program planning and acquisitions for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Between 1999 and 2011, Garner served as a senior executive at Lifetime Networks and Disney Channel Worldwide, where he was involved in the successful planning and launch of multiple content franchises. Scott started his qualitative, quantitative, and media research career with posts at Sesame Workshop, Cartoon Network, and Nickelodeon/Nick Jr.
Scott has a Ph.D. program in Media Psychology at Fielding University in Santa Barbara. In 2020, he was a Fielding Michael R. Neal Fellowship recipient. At Fielding, he worked on numerous research projects examining Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as well as the LGBTQQIA2+ projects with the American Psychological Association (APA). He has also conducted primary research examining the psychological drivers for Peloton. The focus of his doctoral degree in Media Psychology examined audience engagement with diverse audiences across traditional and newer media platforms. Garner also holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication & Education from Teachers College—Columbia University (New York City) as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in English & American Literature and French Studies from Emory University (Atlanta). Scott is currently serving as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Psychology for Oxford College—Emory University and an Adjunct Assistant Professor for Carnegie Mellon’s Master in Entertainment Industry Management (a joint program with CMU’s College of Fine Arts and Heinz College).
In his personal life, Scott is an avid swimmer, has completed several marathons and triathlons, and recently has taken up tennis. Scott likes to travel and remains fluent in French (as he has dual U.S. and French citizenship). He resides in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with his husband and their two dogs.