He joined us after working in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry to learn more about digital marketing and the modern consumer and is now in charge of building the brand identity of some of our most popular games!
Working in the gaming industry and at Gameloft felt natural to Ludovic, and it’s thanks to him and his team that our games are going beyond the boundaries of the game screen.
Find out more about his job and some of the exciting projects he’s worked on below!
Hi, Ludovic! Tell us about yourself.
I’m Ludovic Milhau. I’m 33 years old, and I joined Gameloft about three years ago.
Back in 2018, in order to fuel Vivendi’s strategy to become a 360-degree entertainment group, Gameloft created a brand development team, and Benoit Pourgaton came to me and proposed an exciting challenge: to build brands out of our video games and extend them outside of the video game industry.
Three years later, I lead the Gameloft brand extension strategy, focusing on our two most popular franchises, Asphalt and Dragon Mania Legends.
I previously worked for FMGC companies as a product manager in France and the Netherlands taking care of very famous brands, like Carte d’Or and Knorr. But I really wanted to learn about digital marketing in more detail and the new generation of consumers and way of consumption, and the FMCG sector is a bit “old fashioned” for these kinds of topics.
When I made the jump, I thought about what would be the most interesting sector to deal with, and as a gamer, Gameloft was an obvious choice with their strong track record in these areas!
What is your role, and what do you enjoy most about your job?
My role at Gameloft is as a senior brand development manager, and my day-to-day really varies.
I have two main missions: first, develop and ensure a brand consistency through the different games we release under a same brand (i.e. Asphalt), especially when developed by different studios. This means creating a brand book to define values, personality, tone of voice, etc., and setting up creative guidelines to ensure a “brand signature”.
Secondly, I also lead extension projects for the selected brands outside of the video game industry. From publishing to cinema, merchandising to toys, we’re open to everything! I am also involved in major activations of our main games, like the release of Asphalt 9: Legends or gaming anniversaries.
What I like the most about my job is the carte blanche I have for almost all my tasks: Gameloft is investing more in branding (like the mobile gaming industry in general), and everything I do is started from a blank page. I have the freedom to try out new things, like set up a brand tracker to measure awareness, organize workshops to define brand standards, or contact other companies to develop new projects.
I also work a lot with different game teams and external partners around the world (Barcelona, Budapest, Kharkov, Los Angeles, Brussels, etc.), which allows me to continuously develop not only my knowledge about gaming and digital marketing, but also my ability to adapt and my cultural awareness.
What are some of your most memorable moments at Gameloft?
I have in mind three very exciting moments.
The first one is the “legendary trip” at Lamborghini’s HQ, which Hugues Ossart and I organized for the worldwide release of Asphalt 9: Legends. This exciting real life activation took place during my first few months at Gameloft and was the result of our hard work!
The event was an amazing opportunity to meet talented influencers, such as Shmee150 or Tanner Fox, to understand how they work, as well as entering the exclusive and luxurious world of Lamborghini.
The second moment was the completion of two big workshops to build an Asphalt brand book. Based on these workshops (which lasted 6 hours and took many more to consolidate the findings), we built a document encapsulating various brand standards, such as the brand vision, values, communication idea, creative principles, etc. This document and these notions are key to ensuring brand consistency throughout Asphalt’s gaming portfolio and selecting new partners.
Finally, I’m super proud to have worked on the first novel based on a Gameloft video game! The release is planned for July in France. Unfortunately, I cannot say which game because it hasn’t not been officially announced yet, but it’s an amazing prequel for 10-15-year-old teens. It’s a very exciting project, with many challenges, that helps us fill in the identified gaps in our lore to build a stronger brand. I hope it will be a success!
What advice do you have for people who want to work in gaming in a similar role?
The mobile gaming industry is now a major market and bigger than the console and PC markets combined.
The free-to-play business model supported by the mobile platform is also emerging on console and PC and will slowly but surely take the lead and revolutionize the gaming industry again!
My advice for people would be to consider mobile gaming as a standard, just like console or PC gaming. It means that a brand manager working on mobile brands should be an avid mobile player and always up to date with the latest mobile franchises and their evolutions.
A brand manager should also be very curious and excited about the new marketing initiatives or collaborations in and out of the gaming industry. Being creative, open-minded, and imaginative are key skills for this role.
If you’re interested in working at a multiplatform gaming company, check out all our job opportunities in our studios around the world here! Stay tuned for another edition of Humans Behind the Game!
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