An Example of Good PR - The Bourne Conspiracy
A couple of weeks ago, we had mentioned on a podcast that good friend of the site Flynn DeMarco received a strange cell phone in the mail. The phone had a curious text on it stating that a car will come to pick Flynn up at a certain time and on a certain day. Nothing else. Obviously, because he is a games journalist this was a promotional device. He speculated as to which game it could be promoting, and the whole thing had a fantastic sense of mystery about it.
It must be the weather or something, but I am in PR rant mode. The car finally came to pick Flynn up and all the mysteries were revealed. According to what progressed, I'd say this was PR done right. You see, it was all for the new Bourne Conspiracy game, and not only was Flynn taken to a strange, unmarked warehouse to play the game and talk to the devs, but he was provided with some really clever swag.
Swag is a simple way for companies to promote their games. Journalists LOVE getting swag, and they love showing it off even more. It's a bit cheap though and bordering on payola, but when you're clever it can have a massive impact. Not only did Flynn receive a nifty case, but a USB drive with assets, an audio recorder with the interview he just conducted on it, an MP3 player with music from the game, and a dossier with fake surveillance photos of Flynn and a background profile. It all fits with the Bourne theme, and is impressively clever.
This is how you do it, people. Wow us with your game, make us feel like we are a part of the experience. Read the full article at Kotaku.
[link via Kotaku]
