I am looking for a change in direction and I have always loved video games. My dream job would be to hold a marketing position at either a publisher or a studio. However, I don't know if my personal skill set and experience is enough. I have been an independent sales representative working in the motorcycle apparel and accesories industry for six years. For the past year I've been working for one of the largest licensees of Harley-Davidson apparel and accesories, covering a territory that included the entire states of PA, NJ, MD, DE, and VA I have a four year BS in marketing. I have participated in roughly 21 trade shows during my career. I have a track record for increasing sales and pioneering new products succesfully. I have very strong presentation skills. I have excellent writing skills. I have great communication skills both face to face and over the phone. I have some experience developing product literature and newsletters. I know how to sell, its in my blood. If I am putting together a resume for a marketing position at a game company, what of the above would be useful? What do I lack that could cost me a position? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Ham, you wrote:
>My dream job would be to hold a marketing position at either a publisher or a studio.

Development studios don't have marketing positions.

>I have a four year BS in marketing. [And experience]

Good. Now all you need to do is live near game publishers. Location, location, location, right? Right? And start marketing yourself to game companies. And see the other tips in FAQ 27 - http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson27.htm
And I might have written a column on marketing - see http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_archive.php

Good luck.

Afterthought. I recommend two books to you:
Secrets of the Game Business
Introduction to Game Development

And you should subscribe to GameBiz Daily and Gamasutra's daily newsletter. Google them.

Thanks for the great advice and resources. I'll be checking into those links and books. You'd be suprised by the way. There are developers that hire marketing people.

Also, one company I was looking at mentioned that a couple years experience in either games or consumer software was a plus. The games part is a no brainer, but it's good to know that if I can't break into the game industry right away, I'll probably have a much easier time getting into consumer software and can try again in a couple years with more experience under my belt.

I found your column on marketing.

http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Feb04.php

Fantastic stuff. This really makes me feel good about my chances, as I did a lot of activities with "game activism" in college, and I have reviewed and discussed games on a regular basis for years on the BigSushi forums.

Thanks again for the helpful advice.

Hi Ham,
You're welcome. But one thing. You wrote:

>There are developers that hire marketing people.

Teach me. Who are the clients? What kind of campaigns would you do? Is this full-time, 24 months a year, every year?

Well, there are two studios offering the position in my area. Bethesda Softworks is advertising a marketing position. They need a guy that can update their website with written content, help create packaging, manual art, etc. I'm applying there for fun, but I'm sure they are looking for someone experienced in the game industry. Also, they seem to be looking for a one stop shop marketing and graphic design guy. Unfortunately I'm not a graphic designer.

Mythic Games is looking for a marketing assistant, and their job description makes more sense for a marketing major. Helping to set product deadlines, doing threat analysis, helping to come up with promotional materials, being a liason with media and development partners, going to trade shows, being a "demo champion" (I guess that's the guy that demos games during trade shows), doing special projects. This job sounds like an overall entry-level marketing troubleshooter kind of job and I think it could be a good oppurtunity for me.

As far as the terms of employment, that's a good question and I don't know the answers. I'll let you know if they get back to me though. I'm going to contact all of the developers in my area and see what advice they can give. Unfortunately there are no publishers that I could find in my area :(

Watching the management/marketing stuff from a developer's viewpoint, those guys are able to move between different industries quite easily. If are good at what you do and sounded like you'd researched the specifics of game marketing, I'd interview you (if I were a publisher I mean).

Quote: Original post by Hambone Wilson
Unfortunately there are no publishers that I could find in my area :(

Right. Move.

Another option is to work for one of the many PR agencies that work within the games industry. Some of the really big developers (like Bethesda - who are basically a publisher) have in-house marketing/PR people but most others use an agency.