CAA has hired video game marketing veteran Christopher Erb for a key post in the agency’s brand consulting division.
Erb is the founder of Tripleclix, a strategic marketing firm focused on gaming and its connections with consumers and brands. Staffers from Tripleclix will join Erb in working for CAA Brand Consulting, aiming to help clients build consumer relationships through video games.
The consultancy has a role in advising, managing, activating and measuring more than $5 billion in client partnerships across sports, entertainment, gaming and corporate social responsibility.
Founded in 2014, Tripleclix is based in Westlake Village, CA, with employees in Seattle, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Orlando. Its client roster has included major game publishers like Xbox, Sega, and Skybound Entertainment and consumer brands like Kellogg’s, Ferrara, and Swarovski.
Erb began his career in as a marketing exec at Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro whose portfolio of studios includes Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. He went on to become VP of Brand Marketing for EA Sports and EVP of Brand Marketing for Legendary Entertainment before launching Tripleclix.
Paul Danforth, CAA Managing Director and President, CAA Sports, put the gaming push into broader context. “As we continue to scale globally, we are actively expanding our capabilities and expertise,” he said in a statement.
Aubree Curtis, Global Co-Head of CAA Brand Consulting alongside Liz Gray and Jeff Eccleston, said the gaming industry is evolving quickly and shaping culture across the world. She added that clients of the marketing division are “eager to engage with these powerful audiences” and Erb and his Tripleclix team will “accelerate our momentum in this space.”