Episode 101 / Bandai Namco Entertainment / Lee Kirton / Marketing and PR Director / Using Brand Assets to Inspire Kids' Imaginations
Bandai Namco’s Lee Kirton on the Power of Video Games in Education and More
Lee Kirton appears to have the dream job as Communications and Marketing Director for Bandai Namco Entertainment, the video games industry and entertainment as a whole being his bread and butter. His Shiny New Object is using brand assets to inspire kids’ imaginations – using his unique role to create a connection with children that allows them to learn more.
Lee’s career has been built around video games and his genuine drive to engage with people and help others. From his first “foot-in-the-door” role when he was 20, he hasn’t left the organisation he joined originally, working his way through PR and customer service jobs up to his current position. But it was not easy to get to where he is now: “It was most certainly down to a lot of hard work” fuelled by his belief that everything he did was furthering his career.
This is why Lee’s advice for new starters in marketing is getting that “foot in the door.” He believes there are lots more opportunities out there now, thanks to an ever-changing job market where new occupations like social media manager keep being created. It’s actually in social media that Lee thinks that even the most introverted marketers can find their path, allowing them to develop relationships with people without ever meeting them.
We talked about social media as a great way to interact with customers and to build relationships because Lee’s best investment in his career has been in people and relationships. Within his organisation or in the outside world, his interactions with others have developed his career and taught him about the importance of establishing trust.
For his Shiny New Object, Lee harnesses his interest in relationships and his passion for giving back to the community by using brand assets to inspire kids’ imaginations. He told me about a fantastic collaboration he’s done using one of Bandai Namco Entertainment’s most famous characters, Pacman, and Amazon’s Alexa, creating interactive storytelling for children and parents. Pacman is the catalyst to transport kids into a fictional planet where they can make decisions and learn about their consequences, ultimately with educational outcomes.
This type of innovation can be limitless, as Lee says: “The key thing [for me] is looking out for that opportunity of being the first to market. I’ve always been very focused on being the first for everything.”
For more on Lee’s creative ideas and advice to new marketers, check out the full podcast episode here.
Tom Ollerton is the Founder of Automated Creative.
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