Senior Marketing Manager (Japan)

The Senior Marketing Manager (Japan) will lead Keywords Studios' marketing strategy for the Japanese market, ensuring global brand messaging and Go-to-Market activities resonate with local partners. This role involves developing Japan-specific strategies, localizing content, managing digital presence, and overseeing campaigns like Tokyo Game Show. The manager will collaborate closely with global and local teams to drive business growth and enhance brand presence in this critical region.

Must Have

• Develop and execute Japan-specific marketing strategies aligned with global objectives.
• Localize global messaging, brand positioning, and value propositions for Japanese audiences.
• Serve as the primary marketing contact in Japan, representing Create, Globalize, and Engage functions and services.
• Lead content strategy and asset production processes, collaborating with design teams for high-quality localized assets.
• Manage the Japanese version of the Keywords Studios website, ensuring content is up-to-date, culturally appropriate, and SEO-optimized.
• Manage and grow local corporate social media channels, responsible for community engagement and Japanese copywriting.
• Plan and execute paid advertising campaigns, including budget management and ROI reporting.
• Track KPIs such as campaign performance, content utilization, and marketing-originated pipeline contribution.
• Work with the sales team to ensure proposal materials, messaging, and presentations reflect a clear and consistent market position.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field.
• 7+ years of marketing experience (preferably in the gaming, entertainment, digital marketing, or technology industry).
• Proven track record of developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns in Japan.
• Deep understanding of the Japanese game and entertainment industry.
• Experience bridging local needs and global creative teams (briefing designers, managing localization workflows).
• Experience managing corporate social media accounts and website content management systems (CMS).
• Experience implementing and reporting on paid advertising campaigns.
• Native level Japanese and business level English.

Good to Have

• Experience in a creative agency or marketing services related to LiveOps, publishing support, or digital content.
• Knowledge of game development, production, or B2B service marketing.
• Certifications in digital marketing, analytics, or campaign management.

Company Overview

Keywords Studios is a global creative and technical service provider specializing in the video game industry. With over 13,000 professionals across more than 70 studios in over 25 countries, we offer three core service lines that support the entire game development lifecycle:

• Create (Development) — Game development, art production, audio production
• Globalize (Localization) — Voice and text localization, localization testing, functional testing
• Engage (Engagement) — Marketing, LiveOps, community, user acquisition

In Japan, Keywords Studios provides all Create, Globalize, and Engage service lines, supporting major publishers, developers, agencies, and IP holders with both domestic and international teams. With our Tokyo-based development studio Wizcorp, established localization, QA, player support, and marketing functions, we serve many influential companies in Japan's game and entertainment industry. As Japan is one of the world's most important and culturally influential markets in interactive entertainment, we are strengthening our marketing leadership in Japan to effectively adapt, localize, and execute our global strategy for our Japanese partners.

Job Description

Position Summary

We are looking for a Senior Marketing Manager with strategic thinking and strong collaboration skills to oversee and optimize Keywords Studios' marketing strategy for the Japanese market. As the Japan representative for the global marketing function, this role ensures that our brand, messaging, and Go-to-Market activities are effectively deployed in line with the expectations of our Japanese game industry partners.

This position reports to the Global Marketing Director and works closely with the Japan Country Manager, Create Leadership, Sales Team, and regional/global marketing personnel. As a strategic bridge between Japan and the Group Marketing function, you will collaborate with the central team to define asset requirements and leverage the global design team to produce high-quality, localized or customized creative assets for the Japanese market.

This position plays a crucial role in strengthening Keywords' presence in Japan, improving the quality and consistency of marketing communications, and supporting business growth across all service lines. By transforming global marketing strategies into culturally resonant, market-specific executions, the Senior Marketing Manager will directly contribute to our continued business expansion in one of our most critical regions.

Key Responsibilities

Marketing Strategy and Localization for the Japanese Market

• Develop and execute Japan-specific marketing strategies aligned with global objectives.
• Localize global messaging, brand positioning, and value propositions for Japanese audiences.
• Highlight market insights, opportunities, trends, and competitive dynamics to global stakeholders.

Cross-Service Line Collaboration and Marketing Representation

• Serve as the primary marketing contact in Japan, representing Create, Globalize, and Engage functions and services.
• Collaborate with Sales, Create Leadership, and regional service lines to ensure unified market positioning.
• Support the development of customized integrated proposals and solution packages for Japanese clients.

Marketing Content, Campaigns, and Brand Presence

• Asset Management and Production: Lead content strategy and asset production processes. Create creative briefs and collaborate with Group Marketing and internal design teams to deliver high-quality localized assets, presentation materials, case studies, one-pagers, and custom creatives for the Japanese market.
• Website Management: Responsible for the Japanese version of the Keywords Studios website, ensuring content is up-to-date, culturally appropriate, SEO-optimized, and aligned with global brand standards.
• Social Media: Manage and grow local corporate social media channels (X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.), responsible for community engagement and Japanese copywriting.
• Events (Tokyo Game Show): Lead the planning and execution of key local events, especially Tokyo Game Show (TGS), consulting with Group Marketing on budget, branding, and strategic objectives.
• Paid Advertising: Plan and execute paid advertising campaigns to achieve specific business objectives, including budget management and ROI reporting.

Reporting, Analysis, and Continuous Improvement

• Track KPIs such as campaign performance, content utilization, and marketing-originated pipeline contribution.
• Asset Performance: Understand the performance of specific creative assets and messages through data analysis, providing insights for future design briefs and campaign strategies.
• Regular reporting to the Global Marketing Director and Japan Leadership Team.
• Continuously identify opportunities to enhance Keywords' brand presence and market impact in Japan.

Sales Support and Collaboration

• Work with the sales team to ensure proposal materials, messaging, and presentations reflect a clear and consistent market position tailored to Japanese client expectations.
• Provide strategic input in key business opportunities where a marketing perspective is useful (e.g., positioning, storytelling, differentiation).
• Maintain a library of localized marketing assets, case studies, and presentation materials that are easily accessible and usable by the sales team.
• Coordinate with sales leadership to ensure marketing activities reinforce commercial priorities and upcoming initiatives.

Required Skills and Qualities

• Strategic thinking: Ability to translate global and regional business objectives into actionable, localized marketing plans.
• Analytical skills: High ability in data interpretation regarding asset performance, campaign measurement, and ROI.
• Creative collaboration: Ability to clearly communicate creative needs to design teams and manage feedback loops to ensure high-quality output.
• Excellent interpersonal skills: Strong relationship builder with empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to collaborate effectively across functions and cultures.
• Excellent storytelling ability: Ability to clearly and confidently shape compelling narratives for Japanese audiences, both in writing and verbally.
• Project management: Excellent organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple initiatives simultaneously (TGS planning, website updates, campaigns, etc.).
• Cross-functional collaboration: Comfortable collaborating with diverse teams across service lines, regions, and specializations.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, or a related field.
• 7+ years of marketing experience (preferably in the gaming, entertainment, digital marketing, or technology industry).
• Proven track record of developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns in Japan.
• Deep understanding of the Japanese game and entertainment industry.
• Experience bridging local needs and global creative teams (briefing designers, managing localization workflows).
• Experience managing corporate social media accounts and website content management systems (CMS).
• Experience implementing and reporting on paid advertising campaigns.
• Native level Japanese and business level English.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a creative agency or marketing services related to LiveOps, publishing support, or digital content.
• Knowledge of game development, production, or B2B service marketing.
• Certifications in digital marketing, analytics, or campaign management.