Waukster Online

One of the most unique sections of Waukster Online is the Level Up Employee Interviews. Last month we were able to catch up with our Chief Financial and Human Resources Director, Rick Laig. Today, I’m going to feature another special interview with the Marketing Director of Level Up Games, Jake San Diego. Jake has provided a strong and clear direction for the team. He’s really one of the movers here in the company and I really believe that the company needs people like him to make sure that everything is moving. Anyway, without further delay, here’s the interview. Hope you guys enjoy reading!

Wauks: Thanks for accepting this interview! I’m sure the readers of the blog are interested in knowing who the Marketing Director of Level Up is. Anyway, let’s get started. What was your job prior to joining Level Up?

Jake: Before working for Level Up, I was in advertising. I worked at 4 different ad agencies for a total of 8 years specializing in media planning and strategy. But my very first job straight out of college was for this trading firm who had mango puree from Cebu as one of its main products. A routine day for me then was standing in a Makati building cafeteria doing product sampling… that’s no bullshit. What interested me in it was the livelihood program we were pushing together with our products; we encouraged the underemployed to become entrepreneurs to augment their meagre incomes by selling our products and convincing their friends or families to do the same. I saw something noble in it back then; still do. Sadly the company didn’t make that much money so some of us new hires got retrenched. Coincidentally, that’s when one of the advertising agencies where I was able to drop my resume gave me a call.

Wauks: Interesting. What made you join Level Up? Wasn’t it a risk for you since you had a good career in advertising?

Jake: It wasn’t much of a risk since I really decided to call it quits from advertising. I had it with back to back days where I go home at 3am in the morning only to come to the office at 8am the next day since your work is not finished yet. At that time I was already starting my own family, my first daughter was about to come and I was so excited to become a dad that I just took a sabbatical leave from work for a year to be the one to take care of her.

When my second daughter arrived, that was when an ex-office mate from called if I wanted a job. Most of you would probably know her, Sheila Paul, she used to be the one who headed Marketing in Level Up! I already knew what the company was about because of my nephew who is an avid Ragnarok player. Sabi nya “sige tito Jake, tangapin mo!” To me, it sounded really exciting so I went for it. The rest is history.

Wauks: What were your thoughts when the merger was announced?

Jake: All I can think of was “oh f*#&! Our enemies are going to invade our sacred halls!” LOL. Seriously, before the merger it was thoroughly explained to us by LU management when the right time came to announce to the entire company. I won’t deny that there was this cloud of nervous anticipation in the air from both sides before the actual integration happened. But when it did, it was surprisingly smooth. I found out that there was hardly an adjustment needed as both companies have a lot of similarities, both in terms of operations and structure as well as the culture. It was also greatly aided by people from LU having friends from Netgames.

Wauks: What was the first thought in your mind when you heard that I was joining LU (since I’ve always been a critic when I was a player LOL)?

Jake: When I heard about you joining Netgames even before talks of the merger came, I thought, well he definitely hates us so I’m sure he’s going to find a lot of friends working for our competitor. *chuckle* When talks of the merger came, it didn’t really register that we will soon be officemates with one of Level Up’s most vocal detractors. That’s probably because it was overshadowed by the many possible repercussions due to the merger. That or… siguro kasi hindi ka pa naman talaga ganun kasikat kaya di ko naisip. Bwahahaha! But when the preparations for the merger came, most of the senior managers from both sides of the company were tasked to meet and facilitate an easy transition for both sets of staff. That’s when I got to talk to people from Netgames and in the course of our discussions your name came up. Thankfully for you they didn’t have anything bad to say.

Wauks: What’s your most memorable moment here at Level Up?

Jake: Charo Santos-Concio doing game trials at Level Up’s conference room. Yes, the host of Maalaala Mo Kaya and the current president of ABS-CBN. It came during the time we were talking to ABS CBN for Ragnarok the Animation in 2005. I actually met both Gabby Lopez and Ma’am Charo. I’ve been with the media department of 4 advertising agencies for 8 years and I haven’t gotten the chance to even come close to these two media icons. So you have to understand how surreal it was for me that just into my second year working for LU, a gaming company at that, that I was able to cross paths with them. Both were really cool individuals, very pleasant to deal with. To me it was a testament that people have started acknowledging gaming as a legitimate business here in the Philippines… and it was the next best thing to becoming a contestant in Game Ka Na Ba or that Wowowee segment with the giling-giling girls.

Wauks: Are you a gamer? What LU titles have you tried and what titles have you went on “addik” mode?

Jake: Of course it was Ragnarok that opened me up to the idea of playing in virtual worlds. When I was a kid I used to play the staple, old school Atari and Nintendo games until the wee hours of the morning. But it stopped when I went into high school and found out more about girls. Lolz. When I joined Level Up! as its Marketing Communications Manager in 2004, I had to immerse myself in the games and its communities in order for me to promote them better.

It was such a fun thing for me to do, imagine doing research by playing games. So it was not difficult for me to get to like playing all of Level Up’s games. In terms of being “adik mode” to particular titles, I can’t claim such an honor because I have to balance my playing time with work and family life. Right now, the game which takes most of my playing time is Perfect World. You of course know already that I also play WoW. But RO still holds a special place in my (gaming) heart. *sniff-sniff* ?

Wauks: What’s your response to the claims of some competitors who are saying that they are number 1?

Jake: All I can say to that is it is so easy to talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? One has to be really careful in making claims, you have to make sure you can back it up with hard, credible data.

One such claimant was in fact prohibited by the Advertising Board of the Phils. from continuing with their superiority claims in their ads for failing to prove that they are indeed number one. Level Up! on the other hand was able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Level Up! Live is the biggest online gaming event in the country. In doing so, advertising rules say that we hold that title for a year. And that is just one example, but it paves the way for us to continue proving that we are in it not just to be called number one, we are in it for the long haul. Kasi hindi kami nandirito para mangaya, we are here to create something out of nothing, to do more crazy stuff that nobody has ever heard before.

To put it plainly, Lance Armstrong didn’t become number 1 just by saying that “hey, I’m number 1.” He proved it in Tour de France… 7 consecutive times.

Wauks: Give three adjectives that embody Level Up as a company.

Jake: Innovative. True. Resilient*.

*this means that Level Up! is far from being a perfect company, but it will always strive to find solutions to problems it is faced with.

Wauks: Give three adjectives that describe Level Up as a work place.

Jake: Crazy. Fun. Crazy-fun.

Wauks: Do you have a message for all the LU Gamers reading this blog?

Jake: Sabi nga ng isang TV station, para sa amin, kayo ang tunay na number 1. Maraming, maraming salamat po sa suporta ninyo. Ang Level Up! ay naging Level Up! dahil sa inyo.

Like what I said earlier, we are far from perfect, pero makakaasa kayong gagawin namin ang lahat ng makakaya namin para sa inyo.

Keep playing Level Up! games!

Wauks: Do you have a message to all LU employees reading this blog?

Jake: To the beautiful people of Level Up!, even if it doesn’t seem so, I love you all. Let’s keep on pushing; let’s keep reaching for the stars. For it will only be through our combined strength that we will be able to achieve our goals.

Keep the faith! GO LEVEL UP!!!

Again, I’d like to thank Jake for agreeing to be part of the people I’ve interviewed for this blog! Maraming salamat and I look forward to working with you in the coming years.

Cheers!