The Marketing Machine

How Developers Use PR to Build a Brand

By Shayalyn


Ever wonder how developers build a brand for their games? How do the developers of a game, especially one that’s not attached to an existing intellectual property (like Lord of the Rings Online or The Matrix Online) go on to make a recognizable name for their title? You might think that companies carve a niche for their games, taking them from “I’ve never heard of that” to “I can’t wait to try that,” through advertising. Not so, says Sue Bohle, CEO of The Bohle Company, a prominent public relations firm. Branding is not done through advertising alone. In fact, the wave of the future is not advertising, but PR.

What’s the difference? Advertising consists of getting a message out through, well, ads. During her presentation (“Developing a Brand for Your Company and More Coverage for Your Game”) at the Online Game Development Conference she quoted the marketing standard, “Advertising is about eyeballs.” Ad saturation helps pique people’s interest. On the average, it takes a person seeing an ad at least 7 times before the message begins to register. No doubt advertising works, as evidenced by the blitz of ads spewed across various forms of media from television to the Internet, but PR takes things much deeper, engraining a brand into the public conscience.

In 1979, Sue Bohle opened The Bohle Company, now one of the 75 largest independent PR firms in the country. She has provided hands on, senior level counsel to game and other interactive entertainment companies since 1983.

Bohle, who has worked with interactive entertainment companies to brand their games since 1983, explains that building a brand starts with working out a company’s positioning. What makes Game Developer X, and the title they’re working on, stand out from the crowd of other games and developers vying for attention? Bohle recommends that developers sit down with a PR professional early on to establish what she calls “differentiation.”

Once a company knows what it is and where it’s going, it’s time for them to make a blip on the radar. That blip starts with news releases. The first news release a developer is likely to make is to announce a new MMOG title, which is also an opportune time for them to play up the strengths of their dev team and point out why they’re the people for this job. From there out, releases can announce things like new key personnel joining the team, interesting technology or licensing, and so on. “Dribble out a little information each time,” Bohle told the developers seated in the conference room, “But don’t overdo it. A press release every week is too much, and will probably start to be ignored after a while. Every six weeks is better to keep you on editors’ radar.”

A few other things Bohle suggested for generating a buzz include speaking opportunities (at conventions just like OGDC, and particularly at events attended by the gaming media), local publicity (such as local news appearances and newspaper articles), and looking for other opportunities for key players on the dev team to comment on breaking industry news. Bohle recommended that developers get on the phone or email journalists to offer expert commentary.

“PR is all about getting the key media to write about the company multiple times,” Bohle says, “which means we have to keep adding firewood--updates on the company that sustain editor interest and industry momentum.” Once the PR machine is starting to chug along, she suggests pitching a company profile. One of the targets for such profiles is business journals, although Bohle acknowledged how difficult it can be to get business journals to pick up stories with a gaming angle. “Money talks,” she adds. “Expect to give revenue numbers.” She also says that stories must be offered exclusively because magazines are highly competitive.

So, let’s say that Development Company X has a new MMO that they’ve just announced. What goes into making that MMO a success from a PR standpoint? “Two thirds of the effort that goes into making an MMO successful occurs before launch,” says Bohle. “MMOs require systematic and continuous coverage to the game community worldwide.”

Again, Bohle claims that a development company first needs to establish why they’re different and what makes their title unique, as well as how it stands out from the competition. “Viral marketing has become increasingly important,” Bohle says. Anyone who has seen developers tirelessly posting on forums spreading the word about their game has seen viral marketing in action. In fact, that’s where the term “viral marketing” comes from--word about a product spreads like a virus. (Not the prettiest of terms, but there you have it.)

And beyond the base marketing and word-spreading that goes on, we’ve all watched devs roll out their product bit by bit through news items, concept art, in-game screenshots, developer interviews, and trailers and other game videos. This is standard fare in the industry. Some of these things are released exclusively to certain big name sites (Ten Ton Hammer is an example of a site that receives exclusives) and magazines, and some are released for broad distribution (for example, the screenshots you see on every fansite within a day). Bohle states that it’s important to have a strategic plan so that there is steady coverage for a new MMO title, keeping it always in the public eye. Developers, she says, can pitch roundtable discussions, think pieces, Q&As, and dev diaries.

And then comes beta. Bohle told the developers present that closed beta was a great time to set up preview coverage for their game. She advised them to use the NDA period to negotiate exclusives. (You’ve seen the results of such negotiations in exclusive beta journals and previews on sites like Ten Ton Hammer.) While many devs are a bit protective of closed beta and reluctant to let media into the game before certain milestones are reached, Bohle recommends closed beta as an excellent time to gather valuable feedback directly from reporters.  Bohle adds, “We treat the fansites like press!” She suggests that developers offer networks and larger fansites exclusive screens and swag for contests.

Bohle also commented on how important vocal community members and large guilds can be to a game’s marketing strategy. Ever seen a prominent community member elevated to the status of moderator or class lead? Ever seen a guild get first dibs on early game testing? These are all signs of PR at work. Bohle suggests lots of fan involvement during the development period, encouraged by things like fanfiction and fan film contests, or bringing a game’s biggest fans to a launch event. “Getting fans pumped up can really help promote a game in the months before launch,” she says.

Few of us who watch games come from announcement to launch from the outside realize what goes on behind the scenes, but if you take a look at the things Sue Bohle discussed in her presentation, you’ll see that there’s certainly a method to the madness. You’ve likely witnessed it all before; you just didn’t know it.

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