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May 2006 - Strategy Magazine
Who to watch - Youth

Let's get digital - Xbox's Jen Walsh
Xbox's Jen Walsh is ahead of the curve when it comes to using

by Annette Bourdeau
page 22

When short codes and m-coupons were still just vague buzzwords starting to emerge in marketing circles, Jen Walsh was already figuring out how to work them into her marketing efforts at EMI Canada, looking to high-tech markets like Japan for inspiration. Now at Xbox Canada since last fall as marketing manager, partnerships, promotions and events, Walsh is leveraging her tech savvy and knack for staying in touch with youth culture through music, entertainment and technology to broaden the brand's appeal.

"She's got really great vision for three things that are really important to us: convergence of media, the importance of our partnership ecosystem, and how to make cultural connections with youth," says boss Jason Anderson, director of marketing at Mississauga, Ont.-based Xbox Canada, adding that she's working on two long-lead projects focusing on how to connect Xbox more closely to music and how to broaden its reach beyond hardcore gamers. "We'll start to see the fruits of her labour starting this holiday season."

Walsh's experience at EMI, during which time she also chaired the digital strategies committee for the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the association responsible for the Junos), is no doubt serving her well in tying Xbox more to music. She has already reached out to Canadian artists like Kardinal Offishall, Matt Mays and Hedley, who all participated in the Xbox backstage gaming area she orchestrated at this year's Juno awards, where they faced off with average gamers at home in a Canadian spin on Xbox's global "Game with Fame" initiative that lets gamers add participating celebs to their friends lists to potentially challenge them.

"She did a great job of weaving gaming into the Junos," says Anderson. Walsh was also able to get the Aussie band INXS (fronted by Canadian JD Fortune) to join the "Game with Fame" series in a high-profile photo opp in Vancouver earlier this year. "We hope to do lots more with Canadian artists," Walsh says.

While she's not currently working on any mobile initiatives at Xbox, she pioneered them in her role as national marketing manager, digital & wireless at EMI, where she introduced the company to text-based marketing and set up the short-code EMI EMI for users to text to for information about upcoming releases, and even receive m-coupons. "She's the queen of innovation," notes former boss Paul Shaver, director of marketing at Mississauga, Ont.-based EMI Canada. "We used to think one-dimensional around here. She made us think outside of the box, and it was invaluable to the entire team...She's left an impression. We now think digital, digital, digital."

For Walsh, however, it wasn't such a stretch; she has always been interested in technology. Her first marketing gig was at a small dotcom in Toronto, and she did a stint in production for Rogers High-Speed Internet Services. Several years ago, she visited Japan for personal reasons, and was inspired by their technological superiority. "I spent a lot of time in Japan...I'm constantly in tune with what's going on over there," she says, adding that she frequently surfs the web and reads Wired to keep up.

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