The Team:

The EA SPORTS NHL® and EA SPORTS UFC Marketing and Communication team is a close knit group of 20 high performing, diverse, functional experts who are passionate about winning as a team.  The group loves sports, video games and pop culture and takes tremendous pride in collaborative work and relentless growth as world class marketers.  Successful team members have shown the ability to fit within a team-based environment, to be highly adaptable in a constantly changing industry, to have a blend of book-smarts and street-smarts, and to generally carry positive energy that benefits the greater team.

The Role:

The entertainment battle used to be fought in the living room. Now, it’s being waged anytime, anywhere on phones, tablets, TV’s, PC’s, consoles, streaming set top boxes, and more. Emerging business models are giving consumers new ways to consume content, from free-to-play to subscription, we’re becoming a live service, opt-in society with endless entertainment options. The battle for the living room has become a battle for people’s time, where brands who are able to establish meaningful, long-term relationships with consumers thrive. In this new era of entertainment, our players are at the heart of everything we build. We engage with our players 365 days a year on every platform they interact with, whether it’s through our videos, our social media, at retail, our post-launch content and services, or our customer support center.

We are seeking a leader to join the EA SPORTS NHL marketing team, who demonstrates strategic & brand / business building capability who can lead the 3-5 year outlook on:

• Our console product businesses – including the launch of EA SPORTS NHL products on XBOX One and PlayStation 4, exploring new platform opportunities and partners for our IP, and creating a unified brand identity that is consistently expressed through all of our marketing activation.
• Our “live service” businesses including Hockey Ultimate Team and EA SPORTS Hockey League – pioneering new ground on player engagement, loyalty programs, and competitive gaming experiences.

This person will shepherd our players through their end-to-end journey, from the time they first engage with a mode, to 6 months after, year over year retention, and beyond.

Duties and Responsibilities Include:

• Build long-range brand vision and strategy, partnering with Development, that drive cross-platform product and marketing roadmaps that meet player and market needs to achieve the long-term vision of a brand.
• Be the player expert – aligning cross functional insights around acquisition and engagement segments that define who our audience and current players are, what their motivations and expectations are, and designing brand experiences, products, and marketing plans to deliver against and exceed player expectations.
• Provide strategic oversight on key franchise business, finance, and resource decisions.
• Lead the live service strategy and align with development team to curate a long-term (3yr+ roadmap) for the live services experiences (and businesses):
  • Console Live Services including Hockey Ultimate Team, EASHL, and Content Updates.
  • Competitive Gaming Programs
  • Loyalty incentives (Rewards)
• Team with game development partners to usher in new methods, experiences and live service modes that lead the industry and maintain best-in-class execution and inspire players to engagement year round, all season long.
• Represents the gamer through the process of improving current and creating new digital experiences and business models, with a particular focus on player experience, player value and accessibility.
• Partner with Consumer Insights team to guide more effective methods of proctoring player insights.  Synthetize large volumes of consumer feedback into tangible and actionable insight that the studio team can use to optimize player experience, strategy & execution throughout the season.
• Guide and align large scale initiatives that generate mass acquisition and engagement across platforms to live services experiences (i.e. Movember/ Hockey Fights Cancer HUT promotions)
• Work with publishing teams to guide digital marketing initiatives, i.e. support on first party stores, Ultimate Team content on  XBL/PSN and the evolution of mobile interaction with console experience
• Partner with internal leadership teams (legal, finance) and sister franchises (FIFA, Madden, UFC) to share best practices and roll-out initiatives that lead EA SPORTS into the future of games as live services and lifestyle brands
• Lead a cross functional team which grows the competitive, loyalty and live services businesses
• Manage live service marketing team to drive the development of live service asset plans and create/manage asset calendar to meet the needs of our business.
• Work with internal and external groups (Advertising, Graphic Design, PR, Audio/visual asset creation, Online Marketing, Social Media, Events, Partnerships, Talent Relations, etc.) to develop all consumer marketing programs and materials.
• Partner with fellow leaders to maximize year-round player engagement through cutting-edge competitive gaming tournaments, with a focus on competitive gaming as a lifestyle
• Drive player trust, retention and loyalty through unique live services programs, offers, content, and more, with a focus on week over week retention and daily play advocacy.
• Oversee live services team marketing budget
• Analyze daily performance data, including sales and in-game telemetry, to identify opportunities and challenges, then create strategies and tactics to drive results

Skills Required/ Desired:

• Experience in setting vision, marketing strategy, and managing cross functional partners and plans related to direct-to-consumer e-Commerce platforms or business.
• Experience in managing player-engagement focused digital product or service experiences.
• Deep passion for a) EA SPORTS NHL franchise, b) the world of hockey, c) NHL fandom
• Rich insight and interest in the world of gaming. Passion about the video game industry. Owner of an XBOX One or PlayStation 4, with a strong history in gaming, is preferred.
• Experience in launching direct-to-consumer entertainment products.  Global product launch experience is a major plus.
• Knowledge and passion for the eSports/ competitive gaming universe is a major asset.
• Experience in brand and product strategy including brand vision, product positioning, and the ability to differentiate between marketing objectives, strategies, and plans.
• Experience working directly with a research and development group – and proven ability to partner with and shape product development.
• A team player. Ability to work in a collaborative, democratic, team-influence culture.
• Experience in leading a team of direct reports to achieve results.
• Be adaptable to a fast-paced, innovative environment where tight deadlines are common.
• Strong work ethic and ability to proactively own projects.
• Excellent oral & presentation communication skills.  Experience as a spokesperson (internal or external) a major plus.
• Strong written communication skills.
• Proven ability to synthesize data and tell an articulate business story based on insights.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Experience working with a licensor is a major plus.

About EA SPORTS:

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including EA SPORTS UFC, Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, SSX, and Fight Night boxing.