VGPR #003: "Nice Tweet"
Twitter's top tweets, my interview with Polygon's Chris Plante, and working from home foreverrrr...
[Hi, I'm Lizzie Killian, founder at FIFTYcc PR. You're reading VGPR, a newsletter featuring interesting developments and topics impacting public relations in the video games industry. Send feedback, questions, ideas, and submissions to vgpr.insider@gmail.com, or drop me a note on Twitter!]
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In this issue: Twitter shares its top gaming tweets, my PR-centric interview with Polygon’s Chris Plante, keeping PR accessible, WFH weirdness, media updates, and new jobs.
Nice Tweet
The basic question for games PR is always “how will I get my game seen?” A feature in The New York Times is great, but personally I hear about games most often via Twitter (including if a NYT article about games is tweeted). Whether it’s people talkin’ ‘bout Bugsnax, retweeting Fall Guys’ “very spicy tweets,” or players using built-in social functions and photo modes to share Animal Crossing and Ghosts of Tsushima screenshots, people love to tweet about gaming.
Even if that means tweeting their Instagram story about gaming:
Last week, Twitter released its insights on gaming and esports for the first half of 2020. It’s full of interesting Top 10 lists, including breakdowns on some of the most tweeted-about gaming events of the year.
Keeping PR Accessible
When you distribute PR materials, you have a big potential audience, from traditional journalists and influencers to consumers. Accessibility advocates Can I Play That? have put together a great guide on best practices to make sure your assets don’t inadvertently leave anyone out (Thanks to Gearbox Head of Games PR Austin Malcom for the tip!)
UK Head of Communications for CD PROJECKT RED Holly Bennett asked whether PR pros may unknowingly be using insider jargon in ways that limit or confuse their audience
And finally, from the Department of “Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That,” check out The Art of Describing a Product in One Sentence, which is not just useful for crafting concise pitches, but also tailoring effective email subject lines
My Interview with Polygon’s Chris Plante
This week I interviewed Polygon co-founder, editor-in-chief, and fellow Substack aficionado Chris Plante. We talk about what makes Polygon unique and how to pitch them, Chris’s top three PR “don’ts,” and why the rise of newsletters may become an increasingly important PR opportunity. Chris had fun, thoughtful, and insightful answers that I guarantee are worth your time!
An excerpt:
So what’s a Polygon story: show me something that will bring my audience together, and I’ll show you something worth writing about. It doesn’t need to be part of a major franchise, but it does need a reason to exist, something that helps us separate it from the infinite other things people can do with their free time, and ideally something our readers will want to share with one another.
You can read the full interview with Chris Plante here.
Also in the media
The Washington Post’s Launcher reports: VENN is sleek and well-produced. Will gamers give the TV network a chance?
The Evolving World of Working From Home
That eerie sense you have that sometimes the days just seem to go on and on? It’s not your imagination: work days are getting longer. Some companies in games are responding directly
In a world where more people spend their days at home, clothes are changing fast. Some are saying to lay off the sweatpants. Others feel attacked, and say sweats are just fine. In a world where “professional attire” sellers are on the ropes, what do you think “looking professional” means for PR people in the world of WFH?
From an old New Yorker piece on freelance life, these self-administered kudos are now distressingly familiar to many:
And of course, a VGPR subscriber work-from-home snapshot:
This is definitely one of the cleaner setups I’ve seen, and has caused me to eye the empty coffee mugs and LaCroix cans on my desk with shame. Kaydie at TriplePoint PR told me:
Quarantine is my first time working from home for an extended period, so I’ve taken it as an opportunity to optimize my space. I believe that finding a harmony of aesthetic and function for your space is key to a productive, stress-free day. I also offer this hot tip: declutter your desk nightly to start the following morning with a clear mind!
Kaydie’s workspace essentials:
Tumbler with ice water
Wireless phone charger for that neat, cordless aesthetic
Rolling cart full of books to sneak a quick read at her desk or take with her on couch breaks
One very good boy (can you find him?)
PR Jobs
Activision - Influencer & Content Creator Strategist (Contract) (Santa Monica, CA)
Activision - Senior Manager - Corporate Communications (Santa Monica, CA)
Amazon - PR Manager, Amazon Games (Irvine, CA)
Bethesda Softworks - Public Relations Manager (Rockville, MD)
Discord - Director of Communications (San Francisco, CA)
Electronic Arts - Director, EA SPORTS Communications (Orlando, FL)
Epic Games - Communications Lead (Cary, NC)
Golin - Digital Manager, Influencer Relations (Temp) (Los Angeles, CA)
Nintendo - Manager, Public Relations (Redwood City, CA)
Twitch - Consumer Communications Manager (San Francisco, CA)
Ubisoft - Communications Manager (Berlin, Germany)