Getting To Know Michela Pace - Marketing Operations Manager At GameOn

Getting To Know Michela Pace - Marketing Operations Manager At GameOn

We catch up with Michela Pace, the recently appointed Marketing Operations Manager for GameOn’s Fractional CMO service, to find out more about the role and how data-driven marketing is helping companies get the most out of their marketing spend.

Congratulations on being named Marketing Operations Manager of GameOn’s Fractional CMO division. Tell us more about the role.

Thank you, I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining this incredible team where I’ll be supporting the Fractional CMO team, led by Alex Wilson, working closely with our growing line-up of clients. This includes designing comprehensive marketing strategies and then deploying them through hard-hitting initiatives and creative campaigns.

Our clients are demanding more from their marketing activity, so we are expanding the scope of our services so that we not only meet but exceed expectations while sticking to the budgets we are given.

This means we now offer everything from website builds and event organisation to social media management, affiliate and streamer partnerships, media placements and more. I’m really excited to be working across all these areas and more as we continue to build out our Fractional CMO service offering.

How has your past experience prepared you for the position? And how will you bring this experience to the role?

I’ve joined GameOn from Swintt, where I was Marketing Manager. I actually joined Swintt as an intern back in 2021 but was quickly offered a permanent position as Campaign Coordinator. I then progressed to Marketing Executive before being promoted to Marketing Manager. Over that time, I was involved in a wide range of marketing initiatives, including managing game launch campaigns and content calendars, organising events, handling merchandise and working with media partners to build and grow Swintt’s profile in the industry through press releases, interviews and editorial features. In terms of marketing a slot studio, I’ve pretty much done it all, and I’ll be bringing this understanding and experience to GameOn’s clients as they, too, look to drive brand visibility.

As you say, you were part of the team that took Swintt from new kid on the block to an established and successful content provider. What were the biggest lessons learned along the way?

I learned that a studio’s marketing activity needs to be comprehensive and coordinated. You need to have a very clear understanding of the audience you are trying to reach and where their attention is found, and then craft very specific campaigns and communications to reach it. It’s important to think outside the box and be creative – studios can sometimes take themselves a little too seriously – but also to use data to understand what is and isn’t working and then optimise accordingly.

Events and social media are just as effective as they have ever been, and merchandise still puts a smile on the recipient’s face and helps to keep your studio front of mind. But this needs to be supported by strong foundations, including a sleek corporate website, clear and concise game sheets and bold collateral and assets. If you can bring these components together cohesively, you’ll start to build momentum behind the studio and achieve the recognition required to get your games in front of operators and players.

What current marketing trends are you seeing, and how can operators and suppliers leverage the opportunities they present?

Definitely streaming. It has continued to gain momentum as a way of getting closer to the player. Streaming offers an unmatched opportunity for operators and suppliers to build more authentic, engaging connections with their audiences, while also enhancing brand visibility, driving acquisition, and deepening customer loyalty.

Also, there’s been a strong shift to data-led marketing, both in terms of creating strategies and campaigns and in proving their effectiveness. Clients want to see that the strategies we are putting forward are more than just creative thinking, and they also want to understand the impact they are having and indeed the return they are seeing on their investment.

This can be easier said than done, but GameOn is working on a number of tools to better track activity and show customers just how well their campaigns are performing. Data really does help companies maximise their marketing spend, cutting back on tactics that are not delivering results while ramping up activities that are.

How does GameOn’s Fractional CMO offering support clients?

We are a full-service PR and marketing agency with an incredible client list that includes operators, suppliers, affiliates and other stakeholders. GameOn made its name through its traditional PR service offering, but today we are so much more than that, having evolved our proposition to include social media, events, design, website builds, affiliates and more. A major driver of this is our Fractional CMO offering, which has proved to be an instant hit as it allows clients to enjoy the benefit of having a CMO but for a fraction of the cost.