Katia Ameri@KatiaAmeri
📝Recap: Taking your Game from Zero to One Million, with panelists from a16z, MAVAN, Riot Games, AppsFlyer.
My favorite takeaways from @DougMcCracken, Head of Marketing at a16z Games:
- Marketers need to build their marketing vision around the game vision. It sounds obvious, but too often, product and marketing are totally separate. Make sure you’re integrated with the product on day one, playing the game, understanding the audience, and getting buy-in on everything you're doing.
- On hiring for marketing: Startups will hire a doer who wears a lot of hats, which is important, but you’ll also want to hire someone who can go deep on the marketing of that product.
- Why is brand important early on? Most people think brand is flashy, but really, product is holistic. I urge startups to think about building the minimal viable brand. Who is your audience? What is your culture?
- Define a minimal viable brand to help you build the internal direction you need. Make sure you have a North Star. Imagine you’re in a boat—if you have a North Star, you’ll have much more direction than if you don’t, and you zigzag.
- While you love your product, start with the assumption that no one cares about it. It’s your job to make people care about your product and to help them understand what you’re building, try it out, and hopefully love it too.
#LATechWeek