THE COMPANY
Blizzard Entertainment is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. After establishing the Blizzard Entertainment label in 1994, the company quickly became one of the most popular and well-respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard Entertainment has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record of #1 games spans more than two decades, including its most recent releases, Overwatch™, World of Warcraft®: Legion™, Hearthstone® , Diablo®III: Reaper of Souls™, and StarCraft® II: Legacy of the Void ™. The company has also garnered broad critical acclaim, achieving multiple Game of the Year awards across each of its blockbuster franchises. In addition, Blizzard Entertainment’s online-game service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players. In addition to games, Blizzard Entertainment is also positioning itself as a broader media and entertainment leader. In January 2016 Activision Blizzard acquired Major League Gaming (MLG), a global leader in esports. In partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, the acquisition has led to the formation of two key businesses; Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues and MLG Media Networks.
Activision Blizzard Esports Leagues is uniquely positioned to create long term value via the creation of individual gaming leagues for Activision Blizzard franchises and commercialization of the Blizzard and Activision esports portfolio through brand partnership and media rights sales. Leading the charge, The Overwatch League (OWL) represents one of the first truly global, culturally relevant esports leagues, combining the best of traditional sports and esports. 2017 was a critical year for the Leagues business. The Overwatch League team saw great success as they signed 12 world-class owners, launched programming to a very large audience, and quickly became the most commercially successful esports program in history. Similarly, the Call of Duty World League (CWL) team successfully launched the Global Pro League from the MLG studio in Ohio and have continued to grow the already popular Call of Duty esports scene.
MLG Media Networks has been formed with the mission to become the go-to destination to watch the best players play the best games. To achieve this, the business is focused on building the MLG brand and creating advantaged capabilities, distribution, and business models to become the premiere platform for owned and third-party content across all Activision Blizzard franchises.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Blizzard Entertainment, a division of Activision Blizzard, was founded in 1991 under the name Silicon & Synapse by Senior Vice President & Executive Producer Allen Adham, President & CEO Michael Morhaime, and Chief Product Officer Frank Pearce.
BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT MISSION STATEMENT AND CORE VALUES
Mission Statement: Dedicated to creating the most epic entertainment experiences...ever.
Core Values: Blizzard Entertainment’s eight core values represent the principles and beliefs that have guided our company throughout the years. These values are reflected in employees' decisions and actions every day.
- Gameplay First -- Everything we do at Blizzard Entertainment is based on the success of the gaming experiences we provide our players. The goal of each discipline within the company -- be it art, programming or customer support -- is to make our games as fun as possible for as many people as we can reach.
- Commit to Quality -- “Blizzard polish” doesn’t just refer to our gameplay experiences, but to every aspect of our jobs. We approach each task carefully and seriously. We seek honest feedback and use it to improve the quality of our work. At the end of the day, most players won’t remember whether the game was late -- only whether it was great.
- Play Nice; Play Fair -- In our business first impressions are important -- but lasting impressions are everything. We strive to maintain a high level of respect and integrity in all interactions with our players, colleagues, and business partners. The conduct of each Blizzard Entertainment employee, whether online or offline, can reflect on the entire company.
- Embrace your Inner Geek -- Everyone here is a geek at heart. Cutting-edge technology, comic books, science fiction, top-end video cards, action figures with the kung-fu grip…. Whatever it is they’re passionate about, it matters that each employee embraces it! Their unique enthusiasm helps to shape the fun, creative culture that is Blizzard Entertainment.
- Every Voice Matters -- Great ideas can come from anywhere. Blizzard Entertainment is what it is today because of the voices of our players and of each member of the company. Every employee is encouraged to speak up, listen, be respectful of other opinions, and embrace criticism as just another avenue for great ideas.
- Think Globally -- Everywhere on the planet there are people who play Blizzard Entertainment games. While respecting the cultural diversity that makes people unique, we strive to grow and support our global gaming community. We also seek the most passionate, talented people in the world to enrich our company and help us forge the future vision of Blizzard Entertainment.
- Lead Responsibly -- Our products and practices can affect not only our employees and players -- but the industry at large. As one of the world’s leading game companies, we’re committed to making ethical decisions, always keeping our players in mind, and setting a strong example of professionalism and excellence at all times.
- Learn and Grow -- The games industry is ever-changing. Technology improves, techniques change, and design philosophies become outdated. Since the founding of Blizzard Entertainment, we’ve worked to improve through experience, teaching one another and cultivating the desire to be the best at what we do. We see this as an individual responsibility as well as a company one. Employees can count on their peers, managers, and the company itself to be supportive and help them gain the knowledge and training they need.
Description: Within Blizzard is a one-of-a-kind creative agency that develops visionary marketing solutions for the world’s top selling games, including online, television and mobile advertising, packaging, outdoor, retail advertising and more for our five game studios.
Position Description
We are seeking a Head of Creative Services with a passion for entertainment to build out and lead an internal agency as we create and grow the next great pop-culture universes in gaming and entertainment. We are looking for an exceptional leader - a visionary, a strategist, a marketer. Someone who is seeking a place where they can empower creative talent while embracing their inner geek. Marketing and advertising is your trade and passion but games, movies, comics and the stories that drive them are your life. We are looking for a passionate, innovative and dedicated leader to help tell the story of our brands in an ever-changing media world. More specifically, responsibilities include:
- Building and scaling an internal creative agency that can handle building and delivering a steady stream of interesting and relevant content across each of Blizzard’s core franchises.
- Dramatically increase the throughput of content across each franchise.
- Improve the process, turnaround time and quality of creative execution.
- Support and manage the relationships with Blizzard’s agencies.
- Create internal capability and act as a disciplined leader to distributed creative resources.
- Move the existing organization from being reactive to proactive.
- Build strong relationships across each of the franchises and internal creative functions.
Y1 Success
- As part of a newly established integrated Marketing team, develop world-class creative platforms and assets for Blizzard's franchises.
- Assess talent and resourcing and make appropriate recommendations on organization design to best support current creative needs and prepare for the future.
- Partner with Blizzard Head of Marketing on the selection and management of external creative partners.
- Provide leadership and stability to internal creative teams, with a focus on team morale, cohesion, and role clarity.
- Support all 2021 and 2022 franchises and launches by creating the foundation for global branding and build excitement in partnership with the commercial teams.
- Create partnerships with other Creative Leaders across ABK to leverage creative successes and processes to support the businesses.
Position Requirements
- 10-15 years of experience in creative advertising and/or marketing
- Experience managing creative employees effectively as well as collaborating with various departments.
- Detailed project management skills and ability to multi-task.
- Enjoys the challenge of growing and managing a world class internal creative agency.
- Ability to shape the department’s structure and processes to meet an ever-expanding need for innovative and high-quality creative assets.
- Proven ability to think globally and help steer regional success of Blizzard’s marketing creative throughout the world.
- Leads the charge on building out asset management technology and processes on a global scale.
- Has a clear track record of managing creative people in an agency or equivalent environment.
- Thinks strategically about communication challenges and helps to focus the thinking of others around clear objectives.
- Is a powerful magnet for the best and brightest in the industry.
- Has a sincere passion for branding, advertising and story-telling as well as games, comics, movies and media.
Blizzard Entertainment is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by applicable law, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.