Sr. Director, Brand For EA Sports

Job Description

EA SPORTS the brand and it's collection of storied franchises, including Madden NFL, FIFA, NHL, and more, is the crown jewel of Electronic Arts and the envy of the industry. Its reach extends far beyond just video games and permeates all angles of sports and culture. The EA SPORTS portfolio engages 250M+ players and viewers each year across dozens of platforms, both in-game and out. For nearly 30 years, EA SPORTS has left an indelible brand impact built on a foundation of authenticity and competition. While EA SPORTS has seen explosive growth over the years, our aspirations are even bigger for the future. We exist To Grow The Love Of Sports, and to do so, we will need to expand our reach to even more platforms, regions, and across more sports. To be successful, the EA SPORTS brand must evolve alongside a new generation of sports fans and players who are fundamentally changing the consumption of sports entertainment- from linear to digital, from full games to highlights, from season-long to daily fantasy. It's a new game, and EA SPORTS must graduate from reflecting the real-world of sport to becoming the sport.

The Sr. Director, Brand for EA SPORTS will lead a collection of both internal and external resources to chart the future of the EA SPORTS Brand. Reporting directly to the Head of EA SPORTS Brand, the Sr. Director will be responsible for creating and developing a new team dedicated to the EA SPORTS parent brand. In this new role, you will need to define the problem and opportunity statements through a variety of stakeholder interviews and immersion work. From there, you will partner with our internal player insights teams and external brand agency to build a brand roadmap with short and longterm phases, KPIs, and investments. With each successful phase, additional resources and investment will be unlocked. The Sr. Director will need to drive internal alignment on the brand roadmap, including the EA SPORTS Leadership (Studio + Marketing) team, up to potentially the EA Executive team.

The EA SPORTS Brand Roadmap should aim to answer key questions relating to our business, players, and inform our future strategies, including:
• What does the EA SPORTS brand mean to Gen Z & A, and how is that different from older generations?
• How do players differentiate the EA SPORTS brand from the individual franchises brands, and Electronic Arts as a whole?
• • What attributes are shared, which are franchise specific?
• What regional differences exist?
• What brand investments need to be made to support a future where the EA SPORTS portfolio is the product (as in a subscription) vs. bespoke titles?
• How elastic is the EA SPORTS brand, particularly when it comes to more casual game experiences, e.g. mobile match 3 games, arcade titles, etc.?
• What business opportunities exist at the EA SPORTS parent level that we aren't taking advantage of, e.g. EA SPORTS bundles, merchandising, sub-licensing?
• How do we measure the health of the EA SPORTS brand and what targets should we set?

Additionally, the Sr. Director will partner closely with the VP, Head of EA SPORTS Strategy to advance several strategic initiatives across the portfolio that reside at the intersection of our games and the brand. For example, EA SPORTS games as sports entertainment platforms, competitive gaming, universal avatar, simulated fantasy sports, health and wellness, brand elasticity across new genres and sports, and more.

This role will also be responsible for authoring and guiding the EA SPORTS competitive gaming brand strategy, working cross-functionally to align investments, KPIs, and growth strategies.

Depending on the candidate, additional responsibilities may include brand responsibilities for the EA SPORTS mobile portfolio.

Key Deliverables include:
• Establish EA SPORTS brand guidelines, both in-game and in marketing
• Multi-phased EA SPORTS brand roadmap (gates, deliverables, KPIs, investments)
• Establish EA SPORTS brand health KPIs across the portfolio, including at the individual franchise level
• Partner with Head of Brand for Electronic Arts to deliver brand intersection guidelines and operating model
• Lead team of both direct and indirect reports
• Lead external agency resources
• Drive EA SPORTS brand budget
• Partner with VP, Head of EA SPORTS Strategy to define and deliver Sports Platform concept and roadmap

Experience & Skills
• Thrives in less defined problem spaces
• Ability to develop new teams
• Passion for brand, sports, entertainment
• Creativity and risk taking
• Strong operational and process orientation
• Managing and briefing agencies
• Strong cross-functional experience in brand, marketing, and commercial
• Digital native with keen understanding of Gen Z & A
• Can successfully navigate matrixed organization with several key stakeholders
• Executive presence and communication
• Competitive gaming experience a plus
• Sports experience a plus
• Gaming and/or entertainment marketing experience a plus
*Location is flexible (Orlando or Vancouver)

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gpk0xx-3-140-185-147-42 in your application.