New Year + New Look + New Address = Awesome

by Jason Wonacott

When Wonacott Communications opened its doors back in 2007, I had one goal: To provide our interactive entertainment and digital media clients with the benchmark results of a major public relations agency while being affordable, adaptable and approachable – and while offering an up-to-the-minute perspective on the constantly evolving communications mediums. Now, as we head further into 2012, we are on the cusp of our five-year anniversary.

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 17, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Red Sox fans, and I know you’re out there, we have a lot to be upset about as famous knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is on the verge of retiring. But there could be life after baseball for him – he could join up with retired Red Sox pitcher Curt Shilling’s game company, 38 Studios and help promote its new release – Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. Maybe Tim can be a marketing coordinator or something.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet? Social Media and the New Reality of Breaking News

by Sarah Arvizo

Image: www.WhitneyHouston.com

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 10, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Everyone remembers the classic Milton-Bradley board game, Battleship, right? Did you know Hollywood decided to turn it into your movie? Yes? Well, Activision just announced this week it was turning the movie about the board game into a first person shooter. Really? I’ll repeat that. REALLY?!

Super Bowl Advertising; the Times They Are a Changing

by Alex Van Lepp

Last Sunday, more than 111 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl. But just a few days later, neither I nor most of the people I’ve spoken to remember much about it -- or the ads that companies spent millions of dollars to air during the broadcast. (Though I’m sure if my Chargers were playing, it would be a different story.) So I have to wonder: Is it worth it for companies like Bud Light to spend $1.2 billion to be official sponsors of the NFL or air a commercial during the Super Bowl?

How Games Publishers Can Capitalize on iPhone Versions

by John Hardin

Or 
“How Capcom Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Mobile Games”

The title of this entry is taken from Capcom’s DS and iOS game, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective. It is a creative puzzle game that leads players on an “interactive mystery” to catch their murderer, allowing them to manipulate inanimate objects to find clues and change the fate of other people involved in the killing. GTPD, with its unique gameplay and storytelling techniques, was released for the DS in January 2011 to critical accolades and uninspired sales.

Wait, uninspired sales? 

What Aspiring PR Pros Can Learn from “Downton Abbey”

by Nathalie Nourian

As has been documented on this very blog, I am obsessed with quite fond of the British TV phenomenon, “Downton Abbey.” This beloved series provides me an escape, a glimpse back at the Edwardian Era and major costume envy, but it also provides some good lessons for fellow lovers of period drama looking to carve out a career in PR. Here’s the scoop (WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD): 

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 3, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy post-Groundhog day, everyone! I hope that if you were stuck in a 10,000 year loop yesterday, that everything turned out for the best and you haven’t been permanently scarred by a Sonny and Cher tune.
 

Crisis PR Do’s and Don’ts, Brought to You by Komen and Planned Parenthood

by Racheal Caswell

Politics aside, as a PR professional I’m floored by the way Susan G. Komen for the Cure decided to handle communications regarding its decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood.  Instead of coming out of the gate with strong messaging about how its main priority is supporting women, the organization stayed silent. Instead of participating in thoughtful, well-crafted conversations with the outpouring of women posting on its social media pages, they again stayed silent. And in the meantime, they completely lost control of the messaging.

Death Lives in San Francisco

by Wonacott Communications

Last week, Wonacott went up to San Francisco to staff an event for the upcoming Darksiders II. We’ve worked with THQ before – we drove the campaign for the Homefront North Korean BBQ food truck (pun intended) that caused a lot of commotion at E3 2010 and again just before the game’s launch in 2011 – and we were excited to have the chance to once again show them what we can do.

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 27, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Darksiders 2 held a huge preview event in San Francisco (which we helped out on!) and the game’s previews started hitting this week. The new game reveals the second Horseman of the Apocalypse, Death, and follows his story concurrently with War’s story in the original Darksiders. It’s a really interesting “Pulp Fiction”-y approach to the sequel, and is shaping up to be a franchise in its own right and not a rehash of other titles.

Virgin Gaming, Sir Richard Branson’s foray into interactive gambling, hit a huge milestone this week with 1 million registered users, and $7 million in prizes awarded to date. Virgin Gaming allows users to place wagers on matches and is partnered with publishers including EA and Take-Two, with Madden NFL ‘12 and NBA 2k12 being among the most popular titles to bet on. 

Find out more news from around the world of digital entertainment in this week’s edition of the Online Entertainment Insider, and have a great weekend!

What’s By-line? How to Use Contributed Content to Build Buzz

by Morgan McDowell

The beauty of bylines as a PR pro is not only that they offer a reprieve from some of the dry tech writing we all have to do and let us flex our creative writing muscles, but also that they give us the opportunity to tell as much of our client’s story as we want, and to give the industry a glimpse into the people and personalities behind the corporate image.

Contributing articles and blog posts is also a great tactic for getting the names of key executives in target publications on a regular basis, establishing clients and executives as experts in their field, and helping to keep companies in the spotlight during lulls in their news cycle.

Here are some tips on how to do it right.

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 20, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Friday, everyone! I didn’t want to get too political about SOPA, but it turns out that the legislation is spilling over into the video games industry in a big way. Since the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is still supporting the bill, Firefall Studios fought back by forming the League for Gamers (LFG) – a representative group that plans on boycotting this year’s E3 until the ESA rescinds support. We won’t know what the actual impact on E3 will be until we get closer to June, but it will be interesting to see how the politics play out. 

CES the j5create Way (and the value of Unveiled)

by John Hardin

Last week I had the chance to dust off the fancy clothes in my closet and head out to the glorious Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. Oh, and while I was there, they let me attend this little show called the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). 

Let me back up a little bit. Wonacott client j5create, which makes a line of PC and Mac cross-platform transfer and KM switches (technospeak for “awesome”), was debuting new products for their sophomore year at CES, and needed some help managing press appointments. Luckily I was the chosen one to help j5create navigate the crowds at the show, and after months of preparation, I found myself in Las Vegas last Saturday...

My One-Year Wonaversary: A Reflection

by Sarah Arvizo

When I stepped out into the bright sunlight, from the darkness of the movie house…oh wait. When I stepped into the office of Wonacott Communications, straight from The University of Texas’ sweet and safe embrace, I had only two things on my mind: Getting a job, and…getting a job. A year ago today, el jefe made that a reality for me.

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 13, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Friday the thirteenth! It’s the last day of CES, so if you’re at the show or following the news coming from it, you have an idea of all the awesome stuff we’re going in 2012. I do a lot of gaming on my PC, so I was really glad to see Razer, Samsung and Intel show off some incredible gaming computers, including the enigmatic Project Fiona. I’m looking forward to the games that will take full advantage of these beefy computers.

10 Questions with Our Employee of the Year 2011: Nathalie Nourian

by Wonacott Communications

Anyone in the working world can tell you that receiving Employee of the Year (EOY) is not an easy feat, most especially in the field of public relations (*ahem* the second most stressful profession). It is a recognition that rewards only the most deserving of candidates, and for the year 2011, Wonacott Communications is proud to honor Nathalie Nourian, an account executive on our Interactive Entertainment and Technology practice.

Online Entertainment Insider - Jan. 6, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Happy New Year! Hopefully yours started as awesome as mine. The ancient Mayans predicted that in 2012 the world will come to an end. I sure hope not as a number of great games are scheduled for release this year, including BioShock Infinite, Halo 4 and Mass Effect 3. I know some of the staff would be pretty upset if they didn’t get to play these new titles.

10 Questions with Wonacott EOQ Chan Lim

by Wonacott Communications

Each month Wonacott honors one outstanding staffer as the Employee of the Quarter (EOQ). For the last quarter of 2011, that honoree is Assistant Account Executive Chan Lim. Chan joined Wonacott in mid-2010 as an intern while he was finishing his graduate degree in Public Relations at USC. After graduating in June 2011 he joined the agency’ s Interactive Entertainment and Technology team full time, bringing to the office a geeky affinity for fast-action role-playing games, gizmos and gadgets, and… sneakers (Chan can often be seen walking around the office in slippers, while the sneakers he wore to work rest comfortably under his desk).

Pondering the Ramifications of Gamification

by Sara Campbell

There’s an interesting post from SAY Media over on the Marketing Society blog today about the growing trend of brands using game mechanics to increase consumer engagement. As the writer muses, aren’t we all “a bit worried about being slowly transformed into reward-seeking hamsters”?