Sybo has appointed Seriously, Rovio and Nokia veteran Philip Hickey as their new chief marketing officer.
Sybo, most well-known for their iconic mobile title Subway Surfers, will be welcoming the mobile industry vet (and former pro-basketball player) to the team as their new CMO. Hickey comes fresh from his previous role as EVP of brand and marketing at Seriously Digital Entertainment, the creators of Best Fiends, which was unfortunately shuttered in late 2022 by owner Playtika. However, with this new role, Hickey will be bringing his expertise to a new studio and a decades-long success-story with Subway Surfers.
Commenting on the appointment on his LinkedIn, Hickey wrote about the success of Subway Surfers and the role the creative team took in facilitating this. “This proven staying power comes from a commitment to bringing fresh content and immersive experiences to a highly dedicated fanbase. I am grateful to have inherited a highly accomplished creative team with a collective curiosity for new forms of engagement. From the game’s ongoing World Tour for our global audience to a thriving presence on TikTok and YouTube, their unstoppable drive has kept Subway Surfers on the pulse of what inspires and entertains fans the most.”
CMno problemo
With the shutdown of Seriously, plenty of veterans from the studio will be stepping into roles across the industry and taking their years-long expertise with them. In this way, Sybo’s gain is Playtika’s loss, as Hickey will be stepping into the role with many years of experience on another favourite franchise, Best Fiends. However, it’ll be a challenge for anyone to build on the existing popularity of a game like Subway Surfers.
But if there’s anything that’s obvious in the mobile game industry, it’s that sitting on your laurels is not an option as there’s always a call to engage with your audience in new ways. Subway Surfers’ presence on TikTok is one such example of a studio seeking out new avenues in media to promote their title, and it will be interesting to see what new approaches Hickey brings to the role in the near-future.
