Justin Korthof

In my first year at GameStop, I was the architect of the company’s fledgling esports initiative – multi-year content, live event, and educational partnerships with Complexity Gaming, Optic Gaming, Team Envy, Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel, Matcherino, and Collegiate Star League. Collectively we created exclusive enrichment events and content in support of amateur competitive gamers across the country.

On the Innovation Team, I worked with a small and agile group within the company, focusing on evaluation and development of new ideas that setup GameStop for its future in specialty retail.

In service to a number of clients, I oversaw the establishment of esports capabilities for the agency. Additionally, I developed custom digital marketing strategies for a variety of Fortune 1000 companies.

A true jack-of-all-trades, I was responsible for all outward-facing company communications on award-winning Orcs Must Die! and Hero Academy franchises. I served as Marketing Manager for all Robot Entertainment titles, shipping five titles to critical acclaim. My responsibilities included web site management (including Google Analytics & SEO); Hosting and Producing live stream shows; Managing and executing an email marketing calendar; Leading marketing efforts for in-game/content events; Public Relations; Managing relationships with external streamers and broadcasters; Overseeing strategic marketing partnerships; Advertising; Development of referral and affiliate programs; New Acquisition Concepts; Support with game metrics; Concepting and Directing video marketing; Trade show planning and execution; Creative support for in-game community-focused features; Publicly representing Robot Entertainment in video, podcast, and text interviews; Licensing.

As Community Manager for all Robot Entertainment titles, my responsibilities included developing a long-term strategy for attracting and retaining a community around Robot Entertainment; Liaising between the core gaming community and developers to ensure more user-friendly features and support of released titles; Website management and feature planning; Developing unique Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube presences for the studio and all of its games.

Oversaw the establishment and growth of groundbreaking communities for Gears of War 2 and Halo Waypoint. I was responsible for assisting in the organization and management of the official Gears of War forums; providing a vision and long-term strategy for gearsofwar.com, including content planning, expanding user-generated content and web 2.0 functionality; liaising between development studio, publisher, and core community base; representing a triple-A game franchise at public and press events; organizing and supporting regular community-focused gaming events; and fostering constructive relationships between studio and fan base. As Community Manager for 343 Industries, Microsoft Game Studios internal Halo group, I was part of the team that launched Halo Waypoint, a unique and interactive new community experience for Halo fans on the Xbox360 dashboard.

Beginning as an enthusiastic community leader, then acting as WB Community Manager for Superman Returns, I was responsible for liaising between a major Hollywood studio and a passionate community fan base, as well as creating weekly original content and delivering exclusive video content from the studio to the web. I expanded the site from just two hundred members in its first year to over ten thousand members and hundreds of thousands of unique monthly visits by its second anniversary. Another year later the site drew 1.2 million readers per month and 30,000 weekly podcast listeners.

Oversaw challenging communities for all EALA shooters, shipping seven titles, including those in the Medal of Honor franchise and the ultimately cancelled Command & Conquer shooter Tiberium. As Community Manager for EA Los Angeles First Person Shooters I was responsible for increasing and retaining forum, website, and newsletter traffic; online content creation such as news, blogs, and developer profiles; engaging community leaders in compelling ways to encourage the promotion of studio projects; liaising between developers and key fans to trade vital information about community expectations for upcoming titles. During my time I hosted two historic community summits that included live-fire demonstrations and the chance to play multiplayer against active duty 82nd Airborne service members on-base at Fort Bragg.

Responsible for designing and implementing a wide array of new media applications such as web sites, interactive CDs, software interfaces, screen savers, and presentations. As Technical Illustration Supervisor, I was responsible for managing a direct report; fulfilling the needs of both a Technical Publications group and those of other internal groups, such as Marketing Communications and Product Specifiers. During my time at Pelco, I won Gold and Silver Addy Awards for illustration, and established new industry standards for product installation marketing illustrations.