Esports Marketers and Brand Managers – How to Get the Most Out of Higher Education

Why study to be a digital marketer and brand manager – who needs them and how much they earn?

It turned out to be quite easy to answer this question: on all the sites that offer applicants to find verified offers from employers, there were a large number of vacancies for digital marketers, product managers and, a little less often, for brand managers. And the conclusion is simple: everyone needs these specialists.

Digital marketers and product managers are searched for everywhere – from firms from the Russian hinterland to the largest companies from the center of the capital, with offices, if not in Moscow City itself, then at least overlooking fashionable skyscrapers. And this is not surprising: almost the whole world has suddenly moved online, and the ability to promote a product through digital channels has become even more in demand than a few years ago.

Many students have probably heard from their parents phrases like “there are already too many managers”, “there is no one to work, some marketers are left” and other statements that refer us to the age-old conflict of generations. However, every year the demand for professions related to online is only growing. We are “digitizing” slowly but confidently enough.

In 2023, both the natural course of progress and the coronavirus influenced the demand for online professions. The pandemic accelerated the adaptation process even in those areas that, in general, did without online – for example, classical education has seriously grown in terms of remote mode over the past year and a half, and office workers realized that five days in the office is completely unnecessary.

How much do digital marketers get? Unfortunately, not all companies in vacancies report on the future salary – most often because of the too large “fork”, which depends on the skill of the applicants. Yes, it’s a little annoying, but many people do it. In the esports industry, it is extremely rare to find out before an interview how much a future employee is going to pay, while a resume and portfolio, and, if necessary, a test task, are requested immediately.

In Moscow, companies that “declassified” the lower limit of remuneration promised from ₽100 thousand. Even if you cannot agree on a higher rate due to lack of practice and completed projects, this will definitely be enough for bread and butter and new games on Steam.

Most of the offers related to digital marketing and management were found at Mail.ru – and absolutely all vacancies were marked that the company was also engaged in e-sports and games. Among the equally eminent companies that are in search of specialists, there were MTC and even Group-IB – Interpol’s partner specializing in cybersecurity. It is high time to find and punish those who steal valuable profiles of players and streamers, because sometimes their accounts cost at least $ 5 million.

What skills do employers require in these specialties?

Applicants for most positions that pose risks to the company usually require seniority. And this is a fair attempt to minimize risks: if you really trust a product brand in the hands of a beginner, then he must have a convincing portfolio and a positive background. Let’s consider the requirements and tasks using the example of vacancies for the position of a digital marketer.

The employer’s standard requirements go something like this:

• higher education in marketing / business / economics;
• understanding the principles of campaign optimization;
• deep knowledge in marketing and internet marketing;
• the ability to configure and analyze Internet analytics;
• analytic mind;
• creativity, understanding of the principles of writing advertising texts, creating attention-grabbing images, trends;
• additional knowledge about related professions;
• work experience from a year in a similar position.

At the same time, employers offer the following tasks:

• analysis of digital channels to promote the project;
• participation in the creation of a project vision and control of its development at all stages;
• setting and describing tasks for development teams, QA and designers;
• preparation of marketing and pre-sale materials;
• brand development;
• work on public cases;
• planning and support of the creation of PR-publications.

The list is impressive, and taking into account the need to get experience from one to five years, it seems overwhelming at all. Because of the overestimated requirements, most universities have long begun preparing students for real life precisely with practice “on the battlefield”. For example, students of the multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Sales Management at the Institute of Industry Management of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration undergo internships in the largest Russian and foreign companies: Coca-Cola, Gartner, NAFI, Rémy Cointreau, Philip Morris International and others. Most often, such large companies formalize you for the duration of the practice, and the coveted line in the resume will be provided – a little, but the experience will appear. Will it affect your career? Undoubtedly. I know people who stayed at the company where they had their internship – for example, at Cybersport.ru, over the past year, two interns got the coveted job, showing themselves.

How to get the necessary skills and be ready to work immediately after training?

The Institute of Industrial Management of the RANEPA presented a new training format – a multidisciplinary bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Sales Management. The course allows you not only to master the chosen profile, but also to gain skills and knowledge in a related field. In fact, while receiving a diploma of higher education, you can also count on the same official document on professional retraining, if in the senior courses you simultaneously completed training in a second specialty.

The ability to understand a wide variety of areas of activity, at least at a basic level, in order to get involved in a team’s work on a large project, is what every employer requires at the moment. This does not mean that multitasking is important: usually large companies try to make the employee do something specific, what he does best.

However, it is important for any firm that the entire team has a complete understanding of the picture while working on a product, and for this, its members must have at least basic knowledge of related areas of activity.

By the way, if you wish, you can additionally go to cybersport courses from the IOM RANEPA and receive a certificate of completion of the course as an esports manager of a team or organization. With such a set of skills and knowledge, finding a good place in a company that is directly involved in esports or is just with the industry on a short foot is not difficult.