Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning

📌 Core Information

🔹 Job Title: Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning

🔹 Company: Blizzard Entertainment

🔹 Location: Irvine, California, United States

🔹 Job Type: On-site

🔹 Category: Marketing

🔹 Date Posted: 2025-04-22

🔹 Experience Level: 15+ years

🔹 Remote Status: On-site

🚀 Job Overview

Key aspects of this role include:

• Defining and implementing global marketing strategies for Blizzard's portfolio of games
• Collaborating with cross-functional teams to optimize marketing investments and improve campaign effectiveness
• Leading a high-performing marketing strategy and planning team
• Serving as a thought leader within Blizzard Leadership, influencing senior leadership on marketing priorities

ASSUMPTION: This role requires a high level of strategic thinking, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration. The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in marketing strategy and planning within the gaming, entertainment, or tech industries.

📋 Key Responsibilities

✅ Lead global marketing strategic planning across Blizzard’s portfolio, ensuring alignment with business goals and franchise priorities

✅ Define and implement multi-year marketing strategies, identifying opportunities for innovation, audience expansion, and competitive differentiation

✅ Establish clear marketing frameworks that guide annual planning, campaign execution, and performance optimization

✅ Collaborate with analytics to establish marketing KPIs and measurement frameworks, ensuring campaigns are data-driven and performance-oriented

✅ Collaborate with analytics, finance, and business operations to optimize marketing investment strategies across Blizzard’s portfolio

✅ Drive strategic insights, executive marketing reviews, and reporting to inform decision-making and continuously refine marketing effectiveness

✅ Leverage industry trends, competitive positioning, and player insights to identify new opportunities for marketing impact

✅ Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing marketing strategy and planning team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability

✅ Serve as a thought leader within Blizzard Leadership, influencing senior leadership on marketing priorities, budget allocation, and strategic bets

ASSUMPTION: This role requires a strong understanding of the gaming landscape, including player behaviors, industry trends, and competitor strategies. The ideal candidate will have experience with live-service game marketing and global marketing planning across key international markets.

🎯 Required Qualifications

Education: Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or a related field (or equivalent experience)

Experience: 15+ years of experience in strategy, planning, strategy consulting, or FP&A within gaming, entertainment, or consumer tech

Required Skills:

• Expertise in portfolio management, multi-channel marketing execution, and audience segmentation
• Strong analytical mindset, with experience using data-driven insights to optimize marketing investments and performance
• Deep understanding of the gaming landscape, including player behaviors, industry trends, and competitor strategies
• Exceptional leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills, with a track record of influencing stakeholders across complex organizations
• Experience with live-service game marketing
• Expertise in global marketing planning across key international markets
• Passion for Blizzard games and a deep appreciation for player-first marketing

Preferred Skills:

• Experience with marketing in the gaming industry
• Fluency in multiple languages

ASSUMPTION: While a Bachelor's degree is preferred, relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree. Fluency in multiple languages is not required but may be beneficial for this role.

💰 Compensation & Benefits

Salary Range: $164,800.00 - $304,800.00 Annual. These values reflect the expected base pay range of new hires across all U.S. locations. Ultimately, your specific range and offer will be based on several factors, including relevant experience, performance, and work location. Your Talent Professional can share this role’s range details for your local geography during the hiring process. In addition to a competitive base pay, employees in this role may be eligible for incentive compensation. Incentive compensation is not guaranteed.

Benefits:

• 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

Working Hours: Full-time, typically Monday through Friday, with some flexibility based on project needs and team availability

ASSUMPTION: The salary range provided is an estimate based on industry standards for similar roles. The actual salary offer may vary based on the candidate's experience, skills, and the Company's internal equity.

📌 Applicant Insights

🔍 Company Context

Industry: Blizzard Entertainment is a leading entertainment company, known for iconic video game franchises like Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo. They operate across North America, Europe, and Asia, with a focus on interactive entertainment.

Company Size: Blizzard Entertainment has 5,001-10,000 employees, making it a large organization with significant resources and opportunities for career growth.

Founded: Blizzard Entertainment was founded in 1991 and has since become one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies.

Company Description:

• Blizzard Entertainment is one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• They are home to some of the most beloved entertainment franchises, including Call of Duty®, Skylanders®, World of Warcraft®, Overwatch®, Diablo®, Candy Crush™, and Bubble Witch™.
• Blizzard Entertainment’s combined entertainment network delights hundreds of millions of monthly active users in 196 countries, making it the largest gaming network on the planet!

Company Specialties:

• Video Games
• Entertainment
• Consumer Products
• Media
• Film and TV
• Gaming
• and Production

Company Website: http://www.activisionblizzard.com/

ASSUMPTION: Blizzard Entertainment is a well-established company with a strong reputation in the gaming industry. They offer a wide range of benefits and opportunities for career growth.

📊 Role Analysis

Career Level: This role is a senior leadership position, requiring a high level of strategic thinking, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration.

Reporting Structure: The Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning will report directly to the VP of Product Marketing & Strategy and collaborate closely with various teams, including product marketing, brand & creative marketing, social & content marketing, international, growth, analytics, finance, product, and development teams.

Work Arrangement: This role is on-site, with some flexibility based on project needs and team availability. The work arrangement may include occasional remote work, depending on the candidate's needs and the Company's policies.

Growth Opportunities:

• This role offers the opportunity to lead a high-performing marketing strategy and planning team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and accountability.
• The Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning will serve as a thought leader within Blizzard Leadership, influencing senior leadership on marketing priorities, budget allocation, and strategic bets.
• This role provides the opportunity to work on high-impact projects and collaborate with various teams across the organization.

ASSUMPTION: This role offers significant opportunities for career growth and development within Blizzard Entertainment's marketing organization.

🌍 Location & Work Environment

Office Type: Blizzard Entertainment's Irvine office is a modern, collaborative workspace designed to foster creativity and innovation.

Office Location(s): 3100 Ocean Park Boulevard, Santa Monica, California 90405, US

Geographic Context:

• Irvine, California, is located in Orange County, approximately 40 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
• The area offers a mix of urban and suburban living, with a variety of housing options, cultural attractions, and outdoor recreation opportunities.
• Irvine is known for its high-quality schools, safe neighborhoods, and family-friendly atmosphere.

Work Schedule: The work schedule for this role is typically Monday through Friday, with some flexibility based on project needs and team availability. The work arrangement may include occasional remote work, depending on the candidate's needs and the Company's policies.

ASSUMPTION: Blizzard Entertainment's Irvine office provides a modern, collaborative work environment with opportunities for professional growth and development.

💼 Interview & Application Insights

Typical Process:

• Online application submission
• Phone or video screen with a member of the HR team
• In-depth behavioral and technical interviews with cross-functional stakeholders
• Final interview with the hiring manager and/or other senior leaders
• Background check and offer extension

Key Assessment Areas:

• Strategic thinking and planning skills
• Leadership and team management skills
• Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management skills
• Deep understanding of the gaming landscape and marketing trends
• Ability to analyze data and make data-driven decisions

Application Tips:

• Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight your relevant experience and skills for this role
• Be prepared to discuss your experience with marketing strategy and planning, as well as your understanding of the gaming landscape
• Demonstrate your ability to lead and manage a high-performing team, as well as your experience with cross-functional collaboration
• Showcase your understanding of Blizzard Entertainment's games and marketing efforts
• Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers about the role, the team, and the Company

ATS Keywords: Marketing strategy, marketing planning, portfolio management, multi-channel marketing, audience segmentation, data-driven insights, gaming landscape, player behaviors, industry trends, competitor strategies, leadership, cross-functional collaboration, live-service game marketing, global marketing planning

ASSUMPTION: Blizzard Entertainment's interview process is designed to assess the candidate's strategic thinking, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration skills, as well as their understanding of the gaming landscape and marketing trends.

🛠️ Tools & Technologies

• Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Marketing automation and analytics tools (e.g., Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Google Analytics)
• Project management tools (e.g., Asana, JIRA)
• Data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI)

ASSUMPTION: The specific tools and technologies required for this role may vary depending on the candidate's experience and the team's needs. Familiarity with marketing automation and analytics tools, as well as data visualization tools, is preferred.

👔 Cultural Fit Considerations

Company Values:

• Creativity
• Innovation
• Quality
• Teamwork
• Integrity
• Leadership
• Fun

Work Style:

• Collaborative and team-oriented
• Data-driven and analytical
• Innovative and creative
• Results-oriented and goal-focused
• Adaptable and flexible

Self-Assessment Questions:

• How do you align with Blizzard Entertainment's values, particularly creativity, innovation, and quality?
• How do you approach cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management in a large, complex organization?
• How do you stay up-to-date with industry trends and competitor strategies in the gaming landscape?

ASSUMPTION: Blizzard Entertainment values creativity, innovation, and quality in their employees. Candidates should be prepared to demonstrate their alignment with these values and their ability to work collaboratively in a large, complex organization.

⚠️ Potential Challenges

• Working in a fast-paced, dynamic industry with evolving trends and technologies
• Managing a high-performing team with diverse skills and backgrounds
• Collaborating with various teams across the organization to optimize marketing investments and improve campaign effectiveness
• Balancing strategic planning with day-to-day tactical execution
• Adapting to changes in the gaming landscape and competitive environment

ASSUMPTION: The Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning role requires strong leadership, adaptability, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

📈 Similar Roles Comparison

• This role is similar to a Senior Marketing Manager or Director of Marketing Strategy & Planning in other industries, but with a focus on the gaming landscape and Blizzard Entertainment's unique portfolio of games.
• Unlike other industries, the gaming industry is characterized by a high degree of innovation, rapid change, and intense competition. Candidates should be prepared to operate in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Career paths in marketing strategy and planning can vary depending on the organization's size, structure, and growth trajectory. At Blizzard Entertainment, this role offers the opportunity to lead a high-performing team and influence senior leadership on marketing priorities, budget allocation, and strategic bets.

ASSUMPTION: While this role shares similarities with other marketing strategy and planning roles, it is unique in its focus on the gaming landscape and Blizzard Entertainment's portfolio of iconic games.

📝 Sample Projects

• Developing a multi-year marketing strategy for a new live-service game launch, including audience segmentation, channel mix optimization, and campaign sequencing
• Conducting a competitive analysis of the gaming landscape to identify opportunities for differentiation and market share growth
• Leading a cross-functional team to optimize marketing investments across Blizzard Entertainment's portfolio of games, balancing short-term performance with long-term growth objectives

ASSUMPTION: These sample projects illustrate the strategic, cross-functional, and data-driven nature of the Senior Director, Marketing Strategy & Planning role at Blizzard Entertainment.

❓ Key Questions to Ask During Interview

• How does this role fit into Blizzard Entertainment's overall marketing strategy and organization?
• What are the key priorities for this role in the first 30, 60, and 90 days?
• How does the marketing strategy and planning team collaborate with other teams across the organization, such as product marketing, brand & creative marketing, and social & content marketing?
• What are the most pressing challenges facing Blizzard Entertainment's marketing efforts, and how can this role address them?
• How does Blizzard Entertainment support the professional growth and development of its marketing leaders?

ASSUMPTION: These key questions are designed to help candidates understand the role's context, priorities, and opportunities for growth and development within Blizzard Entertainment's marketing organization.

📌 Next Steps for Applicants

To apply for this position:

• Submit your application through this link
• Tailor your resume and cover letter to highlight your relevant experience and skills for this role, with a focus on marketing strategy and planning, leadership, and cross-functional collaboration
• Prepare for your interviews by researching Blizzard Entertainment's games, marketing efforts, and industry trends
• If invited to an in-depth interview, be prepared to discuss your experience with live-service game marketing and global marketing planning
• Follow up with the hiring manager or HR representative within one week of your interview to express your interest in the role and reiterate your qualifications

⚠️ This job description contains AI-assisted information. Details should be verified directly with the employer before making decisions.