10 PR gaming firms to watch out for in 2022/2023
There are a few facts of life that exist, 1) everyone dies, 2) change is inevitable and 3) if it exists, there is PR for it. The last statement also pertains to the wide and expansive land of video games. There are now many PR firms that cater to game developers or publishers from triple AAA giants like EA, Blizzard and Ubisoft to the independent underdogs like Chucklefish, Secret Lab and Tarsier Studios. They all strive to garner attention to their platform and games.
I have compiled and researched 10 firms that specialise in gaming in one form or another. I would like to acknowledge and thank Jesús Fabre for their list detailing the numerous firms and freelancers. I would highly recommend viewing the list as there was an abundance of agencies that all had their own niche and appeal. This blog post is just to give an idea and show a small part of a growing sector in an already large industry.
1) Honest PR
Honest PR is an agency that has used their resources and services to help those in the industry connect with others whether it is content creators, media or influencers. According to their website, they have a wide range of experience that encompasses many different platforms such as mobile and indie games to triple AAA titles as well as e-sports.
The staff pride themselves on their award winning capabilities such as copywriting and content creation which lends itself to advertorials, emails and websites. Their influencer relations means that they have a large outreach on platforms like YouTube, Twitch and Instagram along with their traditional media relations of games journalists. These connections can be beneficial for online events which they attend or host as well as offering their consultancy for clients to connect with publishers and distributors.
I found them online due to their involvement with the British developer and publisher Chucklefish. Other clientele include Nacon, Epic Games and Wired Productions to name a few. These relationships have led to games such as Wildfrost (which was in the last issue of PC gamer magazine), Mundaun and Eastward. They work with the client on a strategy to gain engagement through previews, interviews, reviews and features. Their experience provides a vast range of strategies that meets the needs of the clients in terms of longevity for the campaigns and different skills.
They pride themselves on being an agency for those who do not like agencies. While they are based in the UK, they work with people in the gaming community like the press and influencers across the globe. These world wide connections allow key messages to be heard across the pond because of these international influencers. The company prides themselves on being proactive from the start to the final product. Their staff are experienced and it shows as they are prepared with exclusives, radio coverage, traditional media and even getting high profile athletes and content creators for events. Their clientele includes net marble, Active Gaming Media and Mad Catz while their portfolios consist of well known titles like Roblox. They host 10,000 influencers which they use to amplify key messages for their clients.
3) Vicarious PR
One aspect of this agency that was highlighted was their different approach to PR, they pride themselves on their holistic and data-driven methods to get results. They are operated by former video games journalists. As someone who has studied journalism before making the leap into public relations, this knowledge of journalism can be beneficial as a pr agent. This is because you will have the insight to know how to make something newsworthy by finding the right angle and appeal to fellow journalists. They provide their services to developers, publishers and the wider tech business in Europe and North America. They refer to their clients as partners to show a mutually beneficial relationship. These partners include HBO, Orc Chop Games and Behaviour Interactive. These partnerships have led to titles like Dead by Daylight, Game of Thrones: Beyond the Wall and We. The revolution.
They have a range of responsibilities and tasks which include but are not limited to press releases, media tours, media training, events and reviewing key messaging campaigns. They also emphasise the importance of earned influencer relations which involves research to make sure the influencer is the right person to relay key messaging. They also work in corporate communication to make sure the brand is just as memorable as the game. Their services include press releases, by-line content and interviews. On their site they proudly show their work that has ended up on sites like IGN and the reach it has received. Another responsibility is Crisis PR, Vicarious offers strategic plans to help brands. These tactics involve social media management and monitoring, media monitoring and speech writing.
Their holistic approach as mentioned earlier involves targeting the right people in the community such as journalists to ensure the outreach attracts the right audience. This is an approach that I would consider the most useful rather than getting someone with the largest follower account. They want to develop conversations and humanise the profession. Through this they have won multiple awards and honours for their endeavours at shows such as Hermes Creative Awards, Nyx Marcom Grand Awards and Vega Digital Awards.
4) Evolve PR
When you first visit their striking website you are greeted with their goal as an agency straight away: "A VIDEO GAME MARKETING AGENCY TRYING NOT TO SUCK."
While they do have an amusing approach, their responsibilities and tasks are similar to other firms such as media and influencer relations (which involves organic and paid for events and crisis management.) Their methods have attracted quite a few notable clients such as Sega, Merge Games and Frictional Games for products like Cyberpunk2077, Fortnite and consoles like the Sega genesis mini.
The media and influencer relations involves cosplay contests and guides, creative physical press kits and livestream or let's plays. They also do marketing in the form of event management and planning such as managing a presence at shows like E3 as well as events and awards applications
They offer a wide range of services that isn't just limited to PR but also social media and community management which is an area I am interested in, research and analysis and video content which includes gameplay content, social media content or live action commercials for games such as Amnesia Rebirth, Soma and Green Hell. Their website also hosts a blog which has posts that are beneficial for anyone who is looking to develop their knowledge on topics such as ones about press kits, review keys or use of hashtags to name a few.
Advertisement for Amnesia:Rebirth
One aspect that is impressive is that Evolve has developed a tool for video game promotion known as Terminals.io. A system that automates common queries so that time and energy can be focused on the unique and challenging aspects of a campaign. Since its inception, 500 games have been launched with the technology, which include their titles such as WeHappyFew and the Witcher. It allows people to get access to their games, cut down time due to a contact database, newsletter/press release builder and review key distributors. It is now a hub of 20k creators that can get access to content that is relevant to them and for game developers or publishers to get in contact with users and content creators as well as an efficient way to stay up to date
5) Dead Good PR
Since its inception in 2012 by former game industry veteran, Stu Taylor, the PR agency has expanded to a North American audience. They are in-house with a focus on organic and paid influencer content. Their showreel showcases their work such as the Sinking City, Bendy and the Ink Machine and Disco Elysium which has won multiple game of the year awards including BAFTAS. The team took a unique approach to promote the game by not having an embargo (which is an agreement not to disclose any information relating to the game until a specific amount of time) and encouraging a gradual play-through rather than a rushed one which allowed a constant flow of reviews. It has been highly rated on sites like Metacritic, IGN and PCGamer as well as being featured in Time magazine.
This success in projects has also led to working with clients like Sega, Hasbro and Red Barrels. They have a team that is involved with influencer relations of 4,500 contacts that can deliver paid and earned relations. Other services include media planning, writing and distributing press releases which are on their site which is great for up and coming PR professionals to understand how to write a press release in a specific style and to view a real life example.
6) We are Bope
This PR agency that is based in London specialises in not just gaming PR but also for the latest gadgets. They aim to remove the mystique surrounding the industry and the confusing vocabulary used in order to make the content relatable and appealing for consumers and clients. They are members of the PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association.) Their accreditation is not the only aspect that legitimises them but their clients as well. They have worked with Warner Brothers, V&A, Deliveroo and Sega.
They tend to have a focus on media stunts such as an emergency burrito button for hungry gamers and when promoting Lego Dimensions, they sourced iconic movie cars that would appear in the game and paraded them to the press. These newsworthy events seem to have paid off as they have been praised in media such as Wired, Eurogamer and The Sun as well as by PR experts for brands like Sega and Warner Bros. (In an upcoming blog post, a campaign they worked on is mentioned. Any guesses ?)
They have their own press office which is used for contacts, IP protection and media monitoring. Other facilities include their own radio studio located in Farringdon which has increased their reach to a larger audience nationally and beyond. They discuss a range of topics such as festivals and cryptids. They also have a blog that discusses PR and technology. Besides the standard influencer relations that has become expected with the firms, they also provide crisis management and media training. They also showcase their creativity through the designing and editorial team who put together press kits, trade shows and events.
Their team consists of gamers who have worked as journalists, copy writers and strategists, this has allowed them to gain experience in the industry and from working with brands like Flaregames and Ubisoft. Since the pandemic, they have a work from anywhere approach. This has allowed people from all over the world to be hired and not have to relocate out of their means. Their experience in the industry as professionals and casual gamers means they are knowledgeable on trends and understand their limits which is why according to their site they will turn down clients if they can't offer them the very best. They pride themselves on the dedication they do have for their clients and they also offer at the forefront B2B (Business 2 Business) models which includes developing the client's brand through analysing competitors, developing a persona through fact finding workshops and Search Engine Optimisation to name a few.
They have their own podcasts and blog that details everything related to gaming PR and also have a similar approach regarding media (their experience allows them to pitch the game in a newsworthy and appealing manner) and influencer relations, An example from their sites is their campaign to promote a mobile relaunch of the Ubisoft title, Mighty Quest for Epic Loot. To achieve this task, they targeted mobile and pc publications, wrote press releases in the relevant style and tone as well as offering interviews exclusive content. Through these extra phases, the game received a total of 66 million views online, half of which was the first week of launch.
8) PR Hound
This agency has a global reach with a specialty in gaming, mobile and electronics. Their team has a collective of 70 years in the industry and this experience has led to them working on over 100 titles and with clients like Casual Bit Games, Campfire Games and Still Games on games like Rollercoaster Tycoon World, Marvel Heroes and Rocket League.
While they offer the same useful standard services as their other firms which include press release drafting. They boast around 35,000 of key contacts that operate on Youtube, Twitch and social media which includes the top 20 influencers that fits the category and genre of the game you are developing and promoting. They also have a press office that deals with enquiries, monitoring print and digital media known as clipping.
Another service that does not seem as common is that they have expanded to kickstarter and crowdfunding to help indie titles reach their goal. Titles that have found success include Umbra and Insomnia with goals of $406,979 and £58.776 being achieved. They also do an accessibility assessment to see how inclusive and diverse a game is for disabled players. They have raised $2,600,000 for indie players on crowdfunding sites, which according to their site is unmatched to any other UK PR agency.
Renaissance PR's practitioners have been offering their services since 1997, 18 years before Renaissance PR's inception in 2015, as time has progressed their services and tactics have as well. These include earned and paid influencer coverage and marketing, This fits with their core belief on making sure the right people hear the key messages such as the appropriate content creator that fits the genre. Other skills include assets management, store page optimisation and communication planning. Renaissance PR's connections also lead to legal consultancy for developers, they also offer event management and production. Their collective experience has helped launch successful campaigns that they showcase on their website. Their campaigns range from local, in the UK to worldwide.
In a local case study, Renaissance worked on the UK campaign for Outer Worlds, this included getting page coverage on the Guardians culture section and a preview for 40 prominent features and content creators. This coverage led to positive reviews and the game becoming the 14th largest title for playstation in 2019 and 9th for Xbox one. It was also the 3rd most viewed on Twitch and 9th top performing for influencers.
Their core beliefs lie in ethical communication and transparency for all involved clients and media included. This approach seems to have led to a positive relationship with their multiple clients, 90% of which they still work with, these clients include Payload Studios, 505 games and Leonardo Interactive. Through this, they have helped with games such as Martha is dead, Kao the Kangaroo and Scorn.
10) Plan of Attack
Plan of Attack is an international firm with a team that consists of communications specialists, journalists and dev specialists. This allows a constant stream of work regardless of time zones. Their collective experience ensures they know how to write press releases, how to develop an appealing store site and website.
The name refers to how they do strategic communications by planning the campaign based on the game and goals and deciding on the course of action that can lead to trade shows, concept, and deciding on angles for interviews and features. They discuss key messages and points with developers to make sure they highlight the appeal of the game. They have experience in press tours hence they know the best places to set up, whether a booth or a private room, they can also do the public speaking if developers and publishers are unable to or are uncomfortable with the task.
Plan of Attack also helps develop social media tactics and they work on developing a brand with personality, media training and crises management which include making sure the community and developers are on the same page and are being acknowledged. Their strategies have led them to work with clients that consistently of Humble Games, Habbo and Thunderful and have worked on titles such as the Gunk and Loot River
Final Stretch (which I need because my back is killing me)
In conclusion, each of these titles brought something new to the table yet there are noticeable similarities, influencer marketing and the idea of targeting and curating the right people is an important takeaway from this post. I will discuss why it is important to pick your influencers, content creators and publications wisely in a future blog post. There were numerous other similarities between these firms that highlighted key skills to have for any new PR specialist that can be tailored to fit the gaming community such as press release drafting to send to video game publications.
The differences between the firms shows how they help with the additional needs in an expansive online community that has developed over time and finding solutions to the problems such as crowdfunding, Terminals.io and accessibility. Brands have become public figures due to the rise of online platforms and thus PR issues that were not a concern 20-30 years ago are now specialties in a practitioners toolkit such as brand management and crisis communications. All in all this is the tip of an iceberg that is only going to increase with the online gaming community as more people get introduced to the hobby. I’ll leave you with the resources to research and a bad back due to being stuck at a desk typing.
Next blog post: The good, the bad and the bizarre of campaigns |Thursday 24th November 2022|
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