Welcome to the world of Video Game Public Relations (PR)! Whether you’re just starting your journey in PR or you’re here out of curiosity to understand what makes this industry tick, you’ve come to the right place for an overview of the basics. This blog series is designed to serve as an overview of PR essentials, tailored specifically for professionals taking their first steps in the PR arena or those who are eager to understand what PR entails in the world of gaming.
The landscape of PR is vast, encompassing strategies, tools, and practices that evolve all the time (See what I did there?) to meet the demands of an ever-changing industry. Here, we aim to demystify the core concepts and introduce you to the pillars that hold up the world of PR. From understanding the intricacies of the sales funnel to mastering the art of building a PR plan, this guide is your starting point.
Remember, the field of PR is about storytelling and creating narratives that resonate with your audience. It’s about building and maintaining relationships, managing expectations, and ultimately, doing everything in your power to align with your goals and/or those of your clients in a realistic manner. Keep in mind, not all games are game-of-the-year contenders, but most games can resonate with a particular audience —you just gotta find it. As we navigate through the basics together, I hope this guide provides you with valuable insights and tools that will not only inform, but also inspire you to dive deeper into the world of PR.
So, whether you’re drafting your first press release or planning a comprehensive marketing campaign, let’s embark on this journey together. Our PR basics overview is designed to be both informative and accessible, ensuring that you come out the other end with a solid grasp of key concepts and a spark of excitement for what’s possible in the realm of public relations. Or simply to impress all of your friends with your PR knowledge.
This is Part 1 of a 4-part series. You can navigate to other entries below:
- Part 1 – Video Game PR Essentials – You are here!
- Part 2 – The Sales Funnel
- Part 3 – Building a PR & Marketing Campaign
- Part 4 – The Life Cycle of a PR Campaign
The 6 pillars of Game PR
In the ever-evolving landscape of game PR, staying ahead means keeping up to date with emerging trends and adapting to the constant motion of the industry. While the terrain may shift, there are six things to keep in mind that are essential to crafting a successful PR strategy for your game. These elements will guide you and help increase your game’s chances for success in a competitive market.
1. The Game Itself: The Cornerstone of Your Campaign
The single most determining factor in your PR campaign’s success is, unsurprisingly, the game itself. An exceptional PR campaign and widespread media coverage can generate significant buzz, but if the game falls short of expectations, you will likely fail to meet sales forecasts at launch, and in the worst cases —depending on whether or not you overpromised or misrepresented your game during the campaign— your and your client’s reputation could take a hit.
In order to be successful, you need your game to be GOOD.
If you identify that the game is not standing out through early market research, internal testing, behind-closed-doors alphas, mock reviews, etc. and you are involved early enough in the development process, then encourage the development team to pivot to a different game idea.
It is a harsh reality of our industry, but unless you have a really solid foundation, your game is likely doomed to join the endless ranks of average games coming out on a daily basis, most of which struggle to make up development costs —a solid game is your best PR strategy.
2. Press: Your Amplifier to the World
Think of the press as your megaphone or loudspeaker. They help broadcast your game’s key milestones and biggest stories to a wide audience through news articles, features, and impressions pieces like previews and reviews. Mastering the art of press communication—understanding the right channels, crafting compelling press releases, and pitching engaging stories—is incredibly important.
Building genuine relationships through networking and being approachable will make the press more inclined to cover your game. This is unfortunately not something that can be rushed and will come to you slowly the more you interact with the medium, the more you participate in trade-events, the more stories you pitch, the more reviews you secure, the stronger those connections will be.
3. Content Creators: Expanding Your Reach
Influencers and content creators on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok play a role similar to press outlets —providing an avenue for you to reach a wide audience— but they require a tailored approach. Understanding the diverse landscape of content creators— from reviewers, guide/walkthrough makers, lets players, completionists, speedrunners, video essay producers, etc.—and tailoring your outreach to match their interests is key to capturing their attention and that of their followers.
Creators today are formal professionals, with busy schedules and many commitments. As such, it’s important to respect their time, accommodate their schedules, and often work through talent agencies or managers. Be open to involving creators in activities traditionally reserved for press, such as pre-launch events, hands-on opportunities, and early game access. You’d be surprised at the impact content creators have on game discoverability.
While your relationship with creators is mutually beneficial, you cannot always assume they will produce coverage simply because you provide them with early access to your game. There will be times when setting aside a budget for paid or sponsored opportunities is necessary. This is especially true for creators with larger followings, as they often focus on a smaller selection of games. Without an incentive, they may have little reason to explore something outside their usual scope.
4. Brand Recognition: The Power of a Name
When working with a brand-new IP, there are no preconceptions, which offers creative freedom but also means you’ll need to build recognition from the ground up. Establishing a new IP requires putting some effort into branding, including coming up with a memorable name and developing a strong visual identity. These elements are important to create a lasting impression on your audience.
On the other hand, working with an established IP carries a certain weight —think of names like The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Ghostbusters, or Amnesia. These brands come with built-in expectations and audience familiarity, which can generate excitement and anticipation. However, they also bring their own set of challenges, as the pressure to meet or exceed expectations can be significant.
Additional notes on naming
If you are working on a new IP, make absolutely certain that when coming up with a title, you make it easily recognizable and immediately memorable. A player should be able to recall your title even if they only glanced at it briefly during a presentation or scrolling down their feed. If you have a tongue twister for a name, you are making it harder for people to remember the game in the future, and worse yet, you are making it difficult for the media and creators to cover. If they can’t pronounce the name of your game, chances are they won’t go into the trouble of mentioning it and, by extension, covering it.
5. Platforms: Leveraging Store Discoverability
Platform holder support can be a game-changer (ha, get it?), especially around launch. Developing strong relationships with platform holders (e.g., Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, Valve, Epic, Meta, Apple) is crucial for securing store features and promotional opportunities. Regular updates and proactive engagement can bolster your chances of platform amplification.
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your friendly-neighborhood marketing rep! If you’re working with a partner and are aiming to launch a product on their storefront, odds are you can connect with marketing and store teams actively looking for games to amplify; make their job easier by being proactive and approachable.
6. Social Media & Community
Social media provides a direct line of communication with your audience making it one of the most important, yet more difficult pillars to maintain. The way you approach communications in social media is likely going to be very different from the way you approach communications with partners, media, or even creators. It’s important to create empathy, and a sense of approachability.
Given the intricacies of social media and community work, as well as the potential ramifications of a poorly-led community strategy, I’m including some additional thoughts for your consideration below:
Dos and Don’ts for Social Media and Community
Depending on the type of project you are working on, you’ll want to establish a specific “voice” for your social channels very early on. It is essential that when you are interacting with the community through a studio or game account, you don’t interact as yourself. You are putting on a mask, playing a well-defined character that fits the right tone, the right language, and is perfectly suited to embody the product you’re trying to promote. Whether that character is quirky, outgoing, mysterious, joyful, somber, sassy, or something in between, is entirely up to you, but it must be defined ahead of time and must always be played in a consistent manner.
Plenty of channels are available to you for interaction with the community, be sure to play with all of them: Twitter (“It’s called X now” I hear you typing in the comments. I don’t care), Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, Reddit, Imgur, etc. Perhaps not all of them will make sense for your game, or you simply don’t have enough resources to keep a consistent hand on all, but be sure to at least understand how they all work and analyze whether or not they may present an opportunity for you to leverage.
Try and create content that is easy to replicate across all social channels, particularly achievable with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, however, be mindful that certain types of content are more suited to specific platforms like TikTok, or media type within a platform, like Instagram Reels.
When using official accounts DO NOT ENGAGE IN CONTROVERSY. Always be very careful with the way you interact and what you have to say. Remember, this is not —you— speaking, it’s a company or game. Avoid controversial topics: politics, economics, religion, these are all things a game studio or a game account has no place commenting on. Your focus must be on promoting your game, you are not here to educate, you are not here to preach, and even more importantly you are not here to take sides. Use common sense!
By understanding and leveraging these six pillars, you’ll be well on your way to crafting a comprehensive PR strategy and hopefully bettering your chances of breaking through the noise and putting your game on your target audience’s radar. Remember, successful game PR is a blend of strategic planning, maximizing engagement, fostering good relationships, and, most importantly, a good-quality game.
In our next entry, we’ll discuss the Sales Funnel, a marketing model that describes the typical consumer experience from initial awareness to purchase and beyond. With this model in mind, and leveraging the 6 pillars of game PR, we can then move on to creating an impactful PR plan.
Part 2 – Video Game PR 101: The Sales Funnel