For the record, I understand that my primary goal is to obtain a four year degree. As a marketing student aspiring to work for a video game publisher (or a developer with in-house marketing), what takes the place of demo reels and portfolios? Right now, I'm focusing my efforts on obtaining internships dealing with marketing/pr/event coordination (which is my way of gaining "experience" before graduation). I understand that networking is extremely important, but the process seems a little more daunting to a marketing focused individual (especially with the recent changes to e3). Is GDC still my best bet? Am I on track to becoming a worthy candidate? Any comments, suggestions, links, or criticism are welcome with open arms.

Dear Darling, you wrote:

>what takes the place of demo reels and portfolios?

Nothing. Except maybe a place in line at the homeless shelter.

>Right now, I'm focusing my efforts on obtaining internships dealing with marketing/pr/event coordination (which is my way of gaining "experience" before graduation). I understand that networking is extremely important, but the process seems a little more daunting to a marketing focused individual (especially with the recent changes to e3).

It does? Why's that?

>Is GDC still my best bet?

For what?

>Am I on track to becoming a worthy candidate?

How the heck should anybody know that? You gotta give us more info, Darling!

Tom

Thanks for the timely response, Tom.

A lot of the information out there is based on game development. Bottomline is I'm not sure of the guidelines I should be following as a marketing student.

I have a decent understanding of what a demo reel or a portfolio should consist of for an artist or programmer (artwork, code, a finished game). I have no idea what a marketer should have outside of school projects.

Given that GDC is mainly for developers, would you recommend that a marketing major make an appearance (for networking purposes), in a suit no less?

Are marketing jobs in the industry considered entry level?

Some personal info: I'm just starting out on my marketing degree. I haven't a single internship opportunity fleshed out yet. I'm barely old enough to drink legally. I live in an area where game companies are almost unheard of. I won't relocate until I have a degree in my hand. I'm willing to work hard to achieve my career goals.

Hello Darling, you wrote:

>A lot of the information out there is based on game development.

I think what you meant to say was, "There's a lot of information to be found about the development side of the game biz, but not much about marketing." That's true, but you'll find a lot of marketing stuff if you'd simply subscribe to the game trade dailies: GameBizDaily, GamaDaily, and FierceGameBiz.

>Bottomline is I'm not sure of the guidelines I should be following as a marketing student.

You mean, "The bottom line is..." There ARE no "guidelines." Are you currently in a marketing undergraduate program? Nobody in life has much in the way of "guidelines." That's both a blessing and a curse. Yeah, mostly a curse, but the good news is, you have a lot of leeway in creating your own life.

>I have a decent understanding of what a demo reel or a portfolio should consist of for an artist or programmer (artwork, code, a finished game). I have no idea what a marketer should have outside of school projects.

Ask the professors in your marketing classes for their ideas. Marketing is marketing, no matter what the specialty.

>Given that GDC is mainly for developers, would you recommend that a marketing major make an appearance (for networking purposes), in a suit no less?

I never recommend the suit. But yes, you would learn a lot at GDC. You would also learn a lot by simply sitting at your computer and doing smart careful research every day for a couple more years.

>Are marketing jobs in the industry considered entry level?

Wrong question again. What you meant to say was, "Is there such a thing as an entry-level marketing job in the game industry?" To which the answer would be "yes."

>Some personal info: I'm just starting out on my marketing degree.

Why did you add this last? You gotta put the most important information for any research quest up front, not at the end! Marketing 101.

Quote: Original post by othersider
A lot of the information out there is based on game development. Bottomline is I'm not sure of the guidelines I should be following as a marketing student.

I think that that is because you are looking in the wrong place. Game dev forums have info on game dev and not marketing. You want to be looking for web sites/forums that focus on PR and marketing - they don't have to be game dev related because marketing is a transferable skill - the basics are the same whatever the industry. You can learn the basic marketing skills anywhere and then apply them to the games industry.

Obviously you should look to intern at a publishers but don't limit yourself. Apply to any media companies (TV, Film, book publishing etc).

[Edited by - Obscure on December 4, 2006 11:32:34 AM]

Consider approaching this from the other side:

Put together a list of potential companies you would like to work for. Watch their jobs pages to see if they have any opening in marketing. If they do, check out the requirements. If you can't find any, consider emailing very politely to ask. You might get a few answers.

In general though, most marketing is handled on the publisher side. You will have the most luck looking there. Most third party devs don't handle much marketing internally.