VGPR #002: Wrong Answers Only
Comic-Con@Home, an interview with Post Horn PR, new media updates, and PR jobs
[Hi, I'm Lizzie Killian, and you're reading VGPR, a newsletter featuring interesting developments and topics impacting public relations in the video games industry. For more about VGPR, read here.]
Since I published the first issue of VGPR last week, I’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response from other PR professionals in the industry, as well as indie game developers, journalists, students, and more. Thank you so much for the support so far, whether it’s kind words, thoughtful suggestions, subscribing to the newsletter, or sharing it with people who might find it useful. These all help give me the energy to continue working to put together a fun little resource. Keep ‘em coming and send any feedback, suggestions, and submissions to vgpr.insider@gmail.com.
In this issue: new media updates and PR jobs, thoughts on Comic-Con@Home, and an interview with Post Horn PR.
A new challenger appears
Why should we pay attention? Albert Burneko plays video games, even if in “Dad Mode.” Kelsey McKinney is no stranger to the Goose. Drew is also a self-proclaimed “fellow GAMER.”
Comic-Con@Home
Like many events this year, Comic-Con faced the tough challenge of quickly pivoting to a digital event format. The live event cancellation was announced in mid-April, with Comic-Con@Home revealed two months later.
Comic-Con@Home recently took place, and Variety has shared some data on why they considered the digital event “a bust.” A lot of it boils down to the lack of fan engagement:
…none of the pre-recorded “Walking Dead” panels — indeed, none of the Comic-Con@Home panels at all — included any kind of fan interaction, the most elemental reason for Comic-Con’s 50-year success. Even the comments sections have been turned off for Comic-Con@Home YouTube panels.
Sure, there are panels and announcements, but with no opportunity for fans to cheer or even ask questions, there’s simply less incentive for anyone to immediately tune in. Additionally, some participating companies made their announcements separately from Comic-Con’s event. As more events explore digital formats, it will be important for PR people to learn quickly from these events and do some thinking about a new set of digital event “best practices.” For another take, check out io9’s “What Lessons Can Future Conventions Learn From Virtual San Diego Comic-Con?”
Also ICYMI, with all the digital streams that have taken place in the last two months during an E3-less summer, GamesIndustry.biz found that in terms of awareness and impact, apparently these “showcases did not suffer from the absence of E3,” which raises potential challenges for another major brand in games.
Also in the media
WIRED and TheWrap are looking for stories. While these guidelines are mostly meant for freelance writers, it helps give PR an idea on what kinds of stories these outlets are looking for and can help us be more effective in crafting pitches for these outlets and its freelancers.
Also on that note, check out Freelancing With Tim’s list of pitching guides for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Slate, Business Insider, and more
Because I can’t stop talking about video games and music together, Pitchfork shared its “Favorite Video Game Music of the Past 20 Years”
VENN launches this Wednesday, August 5
Ross Miller is leaving The Verge and Polygon
Alex Santa Maria is now covering games at Screen Rant
Tom Caswell is also covering games for Digital Trends
And Marc Saltzman’s #PRPetPeeve: “Twice today I got a vague email pitch, to cover their client's product/service/app. And so I replied to ask for additional info -- to see if it's a fit for me -- but instead I receive back a website link. So now I have to do homework? This is a lazy pitch, folks.”
An Interview with Post Horn PR
Last month, at some late hour Monday night, I was scrolling through Twitter before bed (pro tip: never do that) and saw a tweet from Javy Gwaltney announcing Post Horn PR, his pro-bono initiative to help indie game developers with PR. What an awesome idea! It not only helps indie devs with navigating the media landscape and getting their game seen for the affordable price of zero dollars, but also helps PR professionals perhaps gain new skills, continue practicing existing skills, and even have room to experiment with new communications tactics.
You can read the full interview with Javy Gwaltney and Kaitlyn Red Wing here.
Also in PR
Evolve PR shares a handy social media asset guide
UK PR people talk about PR things with games industry professionals Spike Laurie and Andy Payne (in this discussion, Ansible PR & Communications, Bastion, and Swipe Right PR)
Andy Salisbury joins 343 Industries as Community Communications Manager on Halo
Working From Home
Thanks to everyone who has submitted their WFH setups (submit yours to vgpr.insider@gmail.com)! This week’s comes from staunch Bey stan and Tara Bruno PR “Timbfluencer” Alex Shea.
Alex says: “I prefer three monitors because I use the smallest one, my MacBook screen, as a display for Slack, etc.; then I use the other two for things like copying information from an article and pasting into a coverage grid or report more efficiently.” Always on his desk:
A flash drive for backing up all Important Documents and receipts for Tax Stuff
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones. “They’re very nice and I love them.”
A tape measure, “in case I get distracted shopping for clothes online and need to check my measurements”
PR Jobs
Bethesda Softworks - Public Relations Manager (Rockville, MD)
ByteDance - Communications Manager, Games (Mountain View, CA)
Discord - Director of Communications (San Francisco, CA)
Epic Games - Communications Lead (Cary, NC)
Facebook - Technology Communications Director, AR/VR (Menlo Park, CA / Seattle, WA / San Francisco, CA)
Nexon - Head of Marketing & Communications (El Segundo, CA)
Ready At Dawn - Marketing & Communications Manager (Irvine, CA)
Skillz - Head of Communications (Remote / San Francisco, CA)
TriplePoint - Multiple Positions Open (San Francisco, CA)
Ubisoft - PR Intern (San Francisco, CA)
(Be sure to check out some of the job openings from last week’s issue, too!)