Meet Tran Duong, Marketing Manager

With a personal creed of “marketing by day, design by night, and doodles by later night,” Tran spends a lot of time engaged with art and design and perfecting her craft. As a graduate of Singapore Management University, she earned a marketing degree focusing on digital marketing and consumer behavior. Along with the design and animation skills she picked up on her own during school, she has brought her many talents to numerous projects, having interned for CNBC APAC with the Creative Solutions team (now Studio C), working with clients such as Toshiba and Nikon.

From there, she moved on to JWT Singapore, where she got more opportunities to work with clients and sharpen her skills handling dev teams and managing relationships. Tran has also had experience with Spout360, a former esports startup, focusing on the SEA esports scene. There, she focused on content creation while also supporting event ops and partnership pitches while working with well known titles such as CS:GO, Overwatch, FIFA, and Dota 2. Tran also worked with an education SME, but her passion for the games industry and the unique and interesting challenges of working with startups posed too strong of a pull, and Tran started with The Iterative Collective in 2019.

Tran’s love for the indie game scene translates seamlessly into her work supporting indie devs getting their games the recognition they deserve, and she especially wants to be a facilitator of community in the gaming world. Tran strongly believes in the power of visual storytelling and community  engagement and loves how passionate and dedicated players can be when it comes to a title they love. The amount of creativity and hard work Tran sees from fan-made content always blows her away, and she wants to build a community where people feel empowered to create such content as well as  help support more game devs so they can get to a place where their own communities feel like a cozy place for players to return to again and again.

Why do you feel like indies deserve special support and recognition? What excites you about them?

Indie game developers deserve special support and recognition because they bring so much passion and creativity to the gaming industry. These small teams, often with limited resources, pour their heart and soul into their games, and the end result is often truly unique and captivating.

What excites me most about indie games is the connection between the developers and their players. Unlike larger studios, indie developers often have a more down-to-earth approach, and they value feedback and support as a crucial aspect of building their game. They are often incredibly responsive and appreciative of their fans, making the gaming experience that much more personal and enjoyable.

Another reason to support indies is the potential for discovering hidden gems. With limited resources, indie games can often go unnoticed, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth a second look. I’ve stumbled upon some of my favorite games through indie developers, and I believe that everyone should have the chance to experience these incredible works!

What do you love about working at TIC?

I love working here because there’s always room for experimentation, creativity, and growth. The environment encourages trial and error and embracing new ideas, which is perfect for someone like me who loves learning new things. One of the things I appreciate most is the sense of involvement and ownership in the company. We all have a voice in the direction and decision-making process, which makes it feel like our effort is going towards something we truly believe in. Last but not least, the flexibility is a game changer. I love the fact that I can work from anywhere and still be in sync with my team. With us being used to working in different time zones, we’re still able to be productive while maintaining a work-life balance!