Director of Marketing, North America - Pikmin Bloom

Pikmin Bloom, a geo-location based mobile game developed by Niantic, launched globally in October 2021, and has been steadily growing its user base - it now has millions of users worldwide. For wandering and spending time outside, users are rewarded with items that can either grow or feed the curious creatures called Pikmin introduced in the console game by Nintendo. Pikmin Bloom is the largest mobile game for the Pikmin IP.

Niantic is looking for a Marketing Director to lead the overall marketing strategy, go-to-market execution, and long-term business growth for Pikmin Bloom across North America. This role will serve as the senior regional marketing leader, overseeing integrated marketing initiatives across user acquisition, engagement, retention, partnerships, social/community, and live experiences.

The ideal candidate is a strategic and highly collaborative leader with deep expertise in mobile game marketing, a strong understanding of the live-service gaming business, and a passion for building impactful player experiences. This individual will lead and develop a high-performing team while partnering closely with executive stakeholders, cross-functional teams, and external partners across both North America and Japan.

As this is a global product, you will collaborate extensively with international teammates to ensure alignment, consistency, and operational excellence across all regions and major marketing initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Own the North America marketing vision, strategy, and execution for Pikmin Bloom, driving sustainable growth across player acquisition, engagement, retention, and revenue.
• Lead and develop a high-performing regional marketing organization across multiple workstreams, including user acquisition, social/community marketing, partnerships, live events, and campaign execution.
• Translate product and business objectives into integrated operational marketing plans with measurable impact across the North America region.
• Define product positioning, key messaging, and audience strategies informed by player insights, market dynamics, and competitive analysis.
• Lead go-to-market planning and execution for major product initiatives, seasonal campaigns, feature launches, partnerships, and real-world activations.
• Partner closely with Product Management, Game Design, Engineering, Business Development, Operations, Communications, Legal, Analytics, and executive leadership to align marketing strategy with broader business priorities.
• Drive alignment and effective collaboration between North America and Japan-based stakeholders across global marketing initiatives.
• Own and manage the regional marketing budget, including resource allocation, forecasting, ROI analysis, and optimization against business goals.
• Establish performance goals and KPIs across marketing initiatives, including awareness, acquisition, DAU, WAU, retention, engagement, ARPU, and revenue contribution.
• Use data, experimentation, and market insights to evaluate campaign effectiveness and continuously optimize strategies and investments.
• Build strong relationships with external agencies, platform partners, media partners, and IP stakeholders to maximize marketing impact.
• Lead organizational planning, recruiting, coaching, and talent development for the marketing team.
• Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and high-accountability culture that enables teams to execute effectively in a fast-paced global environment.
• Anticipate organizational and operational risks proactively and implement scalable processes to support long-term growth.
• Encourage the use of AI tools and automation to improve marketing workflows, campaign effectiveness, and team efficiency.
• Explore practical applications of emerging AI capabilities across areas such as creative development, audience insights, reporting, and campaign optimization.

Qualifications

• BA/BS degree or equivalent practical experience.
• 12+ years of experience in marketing, gaming, entertainment, or consumer technology industries, including significant experience in mobile/live-service gaming.
• Proven experience leading integrated marketing strategy and execution for large-scale consumer products or live-service games.
• Demonstrated success managing and developing high-performing marketing teams, including managers and senior individual contributors.
• Deep expertise in product positioning, go-to-market strategy, user acquisition, engagement, retention, and lifecycle marketing.
• Strong experience overseeing paid media strategy and execution, including creative development, agency management, media planning/buying, campaign optimization, and performance analysis.
• Experience leading highly cross-functional initiatives involving multiple internal teams, external partners, and executive stakeholders.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to balance strategic priorities, operational execution, and financial outcomes.
• Experience managing substantial marketing budgets and evaluating ROI against business objectives.
• Outstanding verbal and written communication skills, including experience presenting to executive leadership.
• Strong analytical mindset with the ability to leverage data and consumer insights to inform decision-making.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced hybrid environment with evolving priorities and ambiguity.
• Passion for creating meaningful player experiences that connect digital and real-world engagement.
• Familiarity with AI-powered marketing tools and emerging AI trends relevant to consumer marketing and live-service games.
• Interest in applying AI and automation to improve marketing workflows, creativity, and operational efficiency.