Communications and Marketing | Alumni Office
Annick Vins, Computer Science (Diploma)
Annick Vins has answered the questions in our alumni questionnaire. Thank you very much!
What is written on your business card?
Senior Audience Marketing Manager GSA. I have been working in marketing at the French games publisher and developer Ubisoft Entertainment since 2007. My office is in the German office, based in Düsseldorf.
What are your tasks; what does your typical working day look like?
There is no such thing as a "typical working day"! And that's one of the great things about my job. Of course, like everywhere else, there are routine tasks that have to be done. But most of it is always new and exciting every day. I'm currently working on setting up a new YouTube channel and the associated social media presence. Firstly, a strategy has to be developed as to what content should be shown on the channels. Secondly, content creators, so-called influencers, need to be found who can create the desired content. And once the content is ready, the next step is to build a community around the brand. This again requires a strategy. Then there is also a media strategy and weekly reports to monitor success. Of course, none of this really has anything to do with the technical content of my media informatics degree. But a lot of what I learned during my studies does help directly and indirectly (see question below).
What is the coolest thing about your job? What don't you like so much?
The games industry is one of the nicest industries you can end up in. In my case, I've turned a hobby into a career and spend time with people who share this hobby in my day-to-day work. The industry is also very dynamic and has its finger on the pulse of the times, both in terms of technology and content. This always makes the job extremely exciting. You can expand or change your field of work every few years. In my many years at Ubisoft, I have managed projects in every field of digital marketing: website development, social media, content creator, eCommerce, media planning, etc. That's the advantage of an innovative industry and working for a market leader. There is also the international environment. Ubisoft operates worldwide and we exchange ideas with colleagues from the head office in France on a daily basis.
However, as a woman, I am still exotic in the games industry, as I was when I was studying computer science, even if things have improved in recent years. I would be happy to have more female colleagues and can only encourage all female graduates to join this industry. We need you!
What knowledge and skills that you need in your job today did you acquire or learn during your studies at H-BRS?
My current job in online marketing no longer has much to do with the technical part of my studies, at least at first glance. The breadth of the course helped me a lot when I started my career. After university, I joined an advertising agency where I worked as a customer consultant for online marketing. I was the interface between the customers and the web programming teams. Knowing what is technically possible, what doesn't work or what takes (too) long and is therefore too expensive for the customer was simply essential for this job. In my position at Ubisoft, it's more about project management and digital marketing. But knowledge of video formats, image compression, etc. also helps a lot in (online) marketing. To give you an idea: when I started at Ubisoft, Facebook didn't exist in Germany yet ... It's invaluable to learn how to learn new things independently during your studies.
Curious, funny, sad things during your studies - what would you tell your children?
Of course I learned a lot during my studies. See above! But above all, I met some of my best friends there!
What advice would you give to our students who are about to start their careers?
Stay interested and think outside the box. When I started studying, I still thought I would become a web developer. The nice thing is that you also get to know other subject areas during your studies. This allows you to recognize what you can and like and what you don't like. In any case, I didn't become a web developer...
"For me, the Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg is..." - Would you like to complete this sentence for us?
... the place where it all began!
We would like to thank our alumna Annick Vins for these insights!
Are you also interested in the games industry? H-BRS has been offering a Master's degree course in Visual Computing and Games Technology for several years now.