Navigating The Gaming PR Dance

PhPetey writes "I recently began reviewing games and gaming culture for a U.S.-based national trade publication. I find the most difficult aspect of my job so far to be the lack of communication skills possessed by many of the people involved with the public relations departments of various developers and publishers. Simply establishing a basic relationship with these organizations is mind-numbingly difficult, as calls and emails repeatedly go unreturned. Are there any tips and tricks from experienced gaming journalists that could make this process any easier?" Tips from people who just pretend to be journalists to get free games are, of course, also appreciated.

Comments

Bend over backwards to make it easy on them

[Teppy]

We're a small game developer that has gained a bit of notoriety, at least to the point where I can't keep up with the PR opportunities the way I'd like to.

When I do pick which to do, I choose the ones where a small amount of my time can go a long way. If someone wants an email interview, that's pretty tough because it takes a couple hours away from coding. If they would like an in-game tour, that's a bit easier - I can show them the highlights of the game, and then let them explore. If they want to do a review, and just want to spend a few minutes on the phone, that's best of all - I never turn down one of those.

So, my advice is to go out of your way to make it easy on the person you're trying to reach. At least that works on me :)

Interesting...

[dogzilla]

Reading the one comment on here by an actual developer and several other online articles/posts on this subject elsewhere, I'm developing a new perspective on the supposedly harsh world of game development.

From what I've seen/read, many of the same game developers who are crying about how hard it is to develop a successful title are also the ones who can't make time for their PR duties. Complain about the big studios all you like, but if you're a small developer you *need* each and every PR opportunity that comes your way, and if you're "too busy coding" to take the time...well, good luck getting anyone's ear next when you need them.

I think this is another sad case of geeks underestimating the need for good sales/marketing/presentation. We all hate to do marketing/sales, but if you want to be successful in business - any business - great code isn't enough and maybe isn't even the most important thing.

If you're anyone but the top 5 developers/publishers and you're turning away *any* PR opportunity for any reason, you should either have your head examined or hire someone that can do the job properly.

It depends

[iocat]

[note: I used to be a game journalist]

It depends on who you're contacting. If you're contacting the developers, don't bother. Other than a few, most don't do their own PR, they let a publisher do it for them. If you contacted me or my company, I could talk to you generally (and would, happily), but couldn't mention any specific product we're doing, or send you screens or builds. Why not? Because that's contractually the publisher's right, and we're forbidden, contractually, from doing it. (We can, and do, get the permissions to post info on our website once products are announced).

So if you're contacting the publishers, you need to make sure you're calling the right person. The PR game from the publisher's side is them desperately trying to place info where it will be seen by the greatest number of people who matter to them. So, as you'd expect, enthusiast magazines like GameNow! get screens, press releases, new game builds, interview opportunities, etc. pretty much as a matter of course.

So do large mainstream magazines, like Time, and magazines that appeal to the demographic, like Maxim. They get anything they want, but typically use a lot less of what they get (since they cover things other than games).

Generally, most publishers will use a mix of in-house PR and contracted PR agencies. In-house people usually dedicate themselves to key accounts, so you may have one person who's job is enthusiast press, and one who's job is mainstream press. The out-of-house PR is usually dedicated to creating things like mass-mailings and dealing with less important media outlets, like small fan-run websites, and weird press inquiries, like those from freelancers.

If you're a freelancer, the reality is that they are going to want to hear from your editor, not you, at least until you've built up a pretty strong relationship. If your publication isn't an obvious fit, and you're a freelancer, and you want something they don't want to give out (like exclusives or game builds) chances are you're going to get shuffled to the bottom of the pile and get no calls back.

So, what do you do? The easiest thing is to work you way up. Find out who you need to talk to at each place, and ask to be put onto the email press release list, or for access to the press section of their site. This costs them nothing, so it is most likely to happen. Once you're getting press releases, when you want to cover a specific game, call them about the specific game, why you want to cover it, and make it easy for them.

Yes, their job is getting information out, but that doesn't mean they're supposed to drop everything when you call. They already have their hands full with their existing portfolio of publications, and are likely to think that they are pursuing all worthwhile opportunities, so your job will be partly to convince them that your outlet is a worthwhile opportunity -- you'll need to do some PR for yourself before you can get the game PR people to come around!

The number of fan web sites who barrage game PR people is pretty high, so to stand out, you can't just expect them to come to you. It can be tough, but it can be done -- I was launch editor of one of the first game fan sites (it wasn't a hobbiest site, but run by a publishing company) and it took a lot of work before we were taken seriously by the PR companies.

Good luck!