Associate Director, Paid Media Activation

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Job Title: Associate Director, Paid Media Activation

Reports To: Sr. Director Mobile User Acquisition

Location: Irvine, CA (Hybrid)

We’re looking for an experienced paid media leader to join our Performance Marketing team in Irvine, CA, to lead paid media investment across Blizzard’s mobile, PC, and console games.  You will manage a team of channel specialists focused on tactical planning, buying, and optimizing to drive best-in-class campaigns that engage with new and existing players.

The Associate Director will utilize their data-driven decision-making and work closely with the channel specialists, other Performance Marketing teams (e.g., Planning Strategists, Analysts, Project Managers), and game publishing/marketing teams to plan and activate media plans that drive direct business impact.

Candidates will be skilled in team management, have a highly technical understanding of core digital platforms (including “hands-on keyboard” experience), and be familiar with core and emerging performance marketing approaches, platforms, and measurement. This is an excellent opportunity for a qualified individual to make a measurable impact at one of the largest gaming companies in the world.

This role is anticipated to be a hybrid work position, with some work on-site and some work from home. The potential home studio for this role is Irvine, California.

Primary Responsibilities and Duties
Team Management – 50%

• Manage the day-to-day global activity of all paid media campaigns, covering social, video, search, programmatic, site direct channels

• Guide team workflow, being a conduit between the Activation team and other departments

• Train and guide the team on buying best practices for their channels, such as bid strategies, optimal ad account structure, machine learning optimization techniques, etc.

Media Buying Operations – 20%

• Shape measurement plans in partnership with the Analytics team and help to lead future-proofing our measurement capabilities

• Work cross-functionally with internal teams and partners to support the channel specialists through establishing asset needs, trafficking, and adhering to creative best practices

• Take ownership of financial tracking, making sure the team is set up to ensure proper billing and payment

Partnerships – 20%

• Maintain strong partnerships with internal teams and international
  counterparts

• Collaborate with key media vendors and build partnerships that deliver innovation and strong results.

• Drive larger team projects on the future of media buying and activation.

• When applicable, help manage external agency buying support

Learning & Development – 10%

• Monitor trends in the paid media landscape; keep tabs on emerging platforms and advertising units

Qualifications

• 10+ years of paid media planning and buying experience

• 5+ years of direct team management experience
  Experience buying in-platform with numerous ad platforms, including but not limited to Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, Google, or programmatic trading desks

• Experience with both demand generation and demand capture tactics, as well as full-funnel campaigns that cover awareness, consideration, and conversion objectives

• Proven track record operating in a highly collaborative environment with cross-functional commitments

• Solid understanding of different attribution methodologies, paid media metrics, and deploying and interpreting results from A/B, split tests, conversion lift studies, and brand lift studies

• Expert at Excel; proficiency with other MS Office products

Key Attributes

• Team leader with the ability to coach and grow a team of channel specialists – both soft skills and technical buying skills

• Great communication and interpersonal skills, and an ability to communicate with both business and technical teams as well as management effectively

• Analytically minded with the ability to granularly analyze complex data and make clear strategic recommendations

• Deep understanding of digital marketing channels, analytics, and user behavior.

• Creative thinker with a problem-solving and process improvement mindset

Pluses

• Gaming work experience, or a general understanding of the gaming landscape (ex. different business models, trends, game genre differences, audiences)

• Experience with performance marketing for both mobile apps and non-mobile products

Your Platform

Best known for iconic video game universes including Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, and StarCraft®, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment experiences. Blizzard Entertainment has created some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed and genre-defining games over the last 30 years, with a track record that includes multiple Game of the Year awards. Blizzard Entertainment engages tens of millions of players around the world with titles available on PC via Battle.net®, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

Our World

Activision Blizzard, Inc., is one of the world's largest and most successful interactive entertainment companies and is at the intersection of media, technology and entertainment. We are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises including Call of Duty®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™ and Bubble Witch™. Our combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making us the largest gaming network on the planet!

Our ability to build immersive and innovative worlds is only enhanced by diverse teams working in an inclusive environment.  We aspire to have a culture where everyone can thrive in order to connect and engage the world through epic entertainment. We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!

The videogame industry and therefore our business is fast-paced and will continue to evolve. As such, the duties and responsibilities of this role may be changed as directed by the Company at any time to promote and support our business and relationships with industry partners.

We love hearing from anyone who is enthusiastic about changing the games industry. Not sure you meet all qualifications? Let us decide! Research shows that women and members of other under-represented groups tend to not apply to jobs when they think they may not meet every qualification, when, in fact, they often do! We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and strongly encourage you to apply. 

We are committed to working with and providing reasonable assistance to individuals with physical and mental disabilities. If you are a disabled individual requiring an accommodation to apply for an open position, please email your request to accommodationrequests@activisionblizzard.com. General employment questions cannot be accepted or processed here. Thank you for your interest.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status, among other characteristics.

Rewards

We provide a suite of benefits that promote physical, emotional and financial well-being for ‘Every World’ - we’ve got our employees covered!  Subject to eligibility requirements, the Company offers comprehensive benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision, health savings account or health reimbursement account, healthcare spending accounts, dependent care spending accounts, life and AD&D insurance, disability insurance;
• 401(k) with Company match, tuition reimbursement, charitable donation matching;
• Paid holidays and vacation, paid sick time, floating holidays, compassion and bereavement leaves, parental leave;
• Mental health & wellbeing programs, fitness programs, free and discounted games, and a variety of other voluntary benefit programs like supplemental life & disability, legal service, ID protection, rental insurance, and others;
• If the Company requires that you move geographic locations for the job, then you may also be eligible for relocation assistance.

Eligibility to participate in these benefits may vary for part time and temporary full-time employees and interns with the Company.  You can learn more by visiting https://www.benefitsforeveryworld.com/.