MEET THE TEAM: Future

So what has changed over at Team Future?

Simon Maxwell, Group Publisher for Entertainment: There have been a number of key personnel changes over the last ten months as we restructure the business slightly.

Our market-leading games and film portfolios have merged to create one entertainment division, which will give our clients easy access to a bigger audience.

We’ve added two new publishers and plan to appoint two more. Clair Porteous from IPC’s Nuts will join us to run our film portfolio and we have moved Stuart Galbraith to run the Xbox and kids’ titles. James Binns has taken on a wider role adding our online properties CVG.co.uk and GamesRadar.com to his PC and Edge portfolios.

There have been a number of changes to the sales team structure, too. We spent a long time looking for people from an entertainment background who have a lot of experience marketing to a young, passionate, male audience. We are better placed than ever to drive the business forward and realise all the exciting projects we have planned for this year.Click on the above image to see the full-size version

* Click on the above image to see a full-size version

Why make these changes?

Stuart Galbraith, Associate Publisher – Xbox & Nitro: When speaking to our clients and partners in games, we increasingly hear of their desire to tap into the film enthusiast audience.

Similarly, the film studios are keen to target gamers throughout their theatrical campaigns and on to DVD and Blu-ray. With consoles becoming rounded entertainment devices that play films and deliver streamed programs or downloaded content, the lines are blurring even more.

Are you looking to add more names to the publishing and sales team?

James Binns, Head of Edge International, PC Gaming and Online: Yes, I have been helping Simon to find two associate publishers for games; one working with me to bolster our online offering and one assisting Simon with PlayStation. We have been searching for the right candidates over the last six months and hope to announce the appointments soon.

How does this position Future’s games offering moving forward?

Lee Nutter, Publisher – Nintendo: We pride ourselves on already working closely with our official partners and games publishers.

The new structure enables us to build even stronger relationships with our clients, as well as allowing us to deliver more campaigns and provide a unique multi-platform offering: on page, online, on disc, on console and on stage.

Additionally, we can develop trading relationships with organisations, like our recent collaboration between GamesMaster and The Mirror, to bring our expertise to a wider, casual gaming audience.

How can the games and films portfolios work together?

Sean Igoe, Ad Sales Director for Games: By working more closely, we will be able to provide efficient and effective solutions for our clients, so the advantages are huge.

In the games market, we find that our consumers’ first passion is games and their second is going to the cinema and watching movies. For the film market, it’s the reverse.

These two markets are completely interlinked – many games have been turned into movies, and movies into games. The convergence of these two divisions into one entertainment group is a natural move for Future.

Is there much readership crossover between film and games?

Rob Elms, Advertising Director for Film: There is a small amount of crossover in readership, but more crucially there is notable crossover in reader attitude and behaviour.

Our consumers are key influencers for all game and film releases. Not only do they often pre-order or buy early, play or watch longer, but they also inspire their peers about what products to buy and what films to watch.

With a combined print readership of over 850,000 and 9.8 million unique users online, it’s an integral way for clients to reach the market.

What are the internal targets for the games portfolio?

Simon Maxwell: My aim for the next 12 months is to provide our clients and partners with easy access to our audience.

Through the developments we have planned, we will guarantee Future’s portfolio continues to be dynamic, innovative and ahead of the game.