• Can you tell us about your career?

After graduating from ESSEC, I decided to take a year off to do two internships: the first at Orange as a Marketing Assistant, and the second at Ubisoft as Assistant Brand Manager. Before these two internships, I'd had more experience in the communications field and these two internships gave me a clear idea of what I wanted to do. So I decided to continue my studies by doing a Masters in Marketing at EDHEC, specialising in the entertainment industries. 

After that, I did a final internship at the end of my studies in Microsoft's Xbox branch, again in Marketing. Thanks to all this experience, I got my first job at Amplitude Studios (a French video game studio), where I was Junior Brand Manager for 2 years. 

Then I decided to go abroad, as the video games sector is global and I felt it was important to experience an international environment. So I went to Malmö in Sweden, to work for Sharkmob. As Marketing Specialist, I was in charge of the Bloodhunt game. I stayed there for a year before joining IO Interactive in Copenhagen as Global Brand Manager and I'm currently working on our next game.

• What is your current job? What are your main tasks?

I'm currently in charge of our next game, which is a licensed James Bond game. IO Interactive is a studio, which means that it creates games. So I'm in constant contact with the game's developers to get the best possible understanding of the next 'product' to be released, in terms of both art direction and gameplay. Based on all this information, we have to draw up and execute a marketing plan. At the moment, we're in a phase of reflection on the brand's image, on how future players will perceive the game, and also on the value proposition. So we're currently in a strategy and planning phase. To give you a very concrete example, we're trying to define when, through which channels and in what way we're going to announce the release of the game, we're thinking about how it will be marketed, and what unique elements we need to highlight. 

Because marketing is such a vast field, there are many areas to manage, such as social networks, relations with influencers, events and partnerships...

Finally, given that our next game is a licensed game (James Bond), there's a lot of collaborative work to be done with all the rights holders.

• What do you like about your current job? Why did you choose to work in the video games sector?

Originally, video games were a personal passion. My first real work placement in the sector was at Ubisoft, and that was a real turning point, both in terms of the sector and the assignments. Of course, at some point I had to think about the fact that I was working in a sector that I was passionate about and the possibility of not being able to achieve a work-life balance. But, in any case, if you feel you can achieve that balance, it's really great to work in a sector that you're passionate about! 

There are three types of company in the video game sector: 

• Publishers: they look after the marketing strategy and planning of small studios that don't have the resources to do it themselves. 

• Manufacturers: companies such as Nintendo, Microsoft and Playstation, which look after the "medium" through which games can be played. 

• Studios: The creators of the games themselves 

Personally, I liked the studios the most, because this is where you can get closest to the product. There are huge companies like Ubisoft, which are both studio and publisher, and which are so big that it's more complicated to be in direct contact with the product and the game creators.

• Can you explain Brand Management in more detail?

A traditional definition of Brand Management is successfully positioning a product in the market so that it sells as well as possible. 

In practice, this is a two-stage process: 

• Firstly, we need to understand the market: its current state, but also its future state, given that we sometimes work in the present on games that will be released in a few years' time. So we need to try and predict what the state of the market will be in the medium term. 

• Then there's the work of understanding consumers: their profile, their consumption habits, their areas of interest, etc. 

Our ultimate aim is to create a positive image and an interesting proposition for the gamer, and to try not to 'oversell' the game so that gamers have reasonable expectations and are not disappointed when the game is released.

• What are the specificities of the video game sector for Brand Management? How will the marketing strategy differ from other types of media?

In the media sector, video games are the most engaging, simply because they are an interactive medium. Gamers are much more involved in the video game economic ecosystem. They know the companies and the state of the market. So, unlike film or music, gamers are often fans of a studio rather than a particular game or artist. Some even go so far as to analyse studios' financial reports to predict the future release of a game. 

What's more, there are events and meetings in the industry that are not to be missed and that you need to be present at. More and more personalities from the world of entertainment are taking part in these events to announce forthcoming releases, like Keanu Reeves for Cyberpunk 2077 three years ago. 

Secondly, video games are a global product, so we need to be able to coordinate the release of a game in different countries with different time zones, which requires a great deal of cooperation. So there's a lot of work involved in localising the relevant machés. Most often, the target markets are the USA, Spanish-speaking countries, France, Germany and the UK. For games with bigger budgets, there is sometimes an attempt to target Asian countries, even though the Western and Asian markets are very different. 

Thirdly, video games are becoming an increasingly digital product, so we need to adapt our communications plan accordingly. So our main channels are social networks, influencers and the Twitch platform, and less and less traditional billboard advertising. 

Finally, once the game has been released, the task of retaining players continues. Some games (live campaign games as opposed to premium games) continue to offer improvements to players months after release. There is therefore a monetisation and retention strategy to be put in place. Unlike a Brand Manager in cinema or publishing, a Brand Manager in video games can spend years working on the same product after its release.

• What drew you to the chair and what did you get out of it?

I was in my final year of the BBA programme when I decided to join the Media Chair. I was already interested in the video games sector, but I was open to other branches such as film. My priority was to get my first job in the media sector. The BBA programme was versatile but didn't offer any real specialisation. The media chair gave me the opportunity to specialise, which was a huge added value. 

It also gave me a huge insight into the sector and a great deal of curiosity. We were lucky enough to meet some top-quality speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds. There was a real practical approach. Finally, even within the Chair, the students all had varied profiles, their own motivation and a fairly well-defined career path, which made for extremely rich exchanges.

• What's your best memory of the Chair?

The best memory is the trip to Silicon Valley. We visited so many companies: Netflix, Dreamworks, Universal Music, Warner. We also had a big focus on virtual reality, including a visit to WeVR. It really inspired me, and I even applied to Orange afterwards to work on their Virtual Reality application.

• What advice would you give to students in the Chair or those interested?

The 6 months I spent as a Chair were the most intense months of my life. You have to realise that the Chair will give you the chance to experience things and meet people that few professionals get the chance to meet. So you have to make the most of the Chair and realise how lucky you are. Don't hesitate to get involved, to ask questions of the speakers, even during the round tables that at first glance seem to be of less interest to you. Don't close your doors to other sectors!

• What question would you have liked to have been asked?

I would have liked to have been asked if the Chair had prepared me to work on a licence like James Bond? 

The answer is yes, the Chair has helped me because I'm in contact with a lot of partners in the music and film sectors who have contributed to the IP statute. The Chair has actually helped me to develop an awareness of the neighbouring sectors with which I work.