Online Entertainment Insider - April 27, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Online Entertainment Insider - April 20, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

The rule of threes is in full-effect this weekend. For those that have been patiently waiting to once again slaughter the armies of hell, Blizzard is holding an open beta weekend right now for Diablo III prior to the game's May 15 launch. The upcoming MMO from En Masse, Tera Online, is also having a public weekend, and capping off the trifecta is WarGaming.net, which just sent out a much larger round of invites for the World of Warplanes global alpha.

Autumn Games’ Skullgirls Out Now

by Alex Van Lepp

In case you don’t follow videogames or you’ve been living under a rock for the last several months, Skullgirls, the award-winning 2D fighting game from (Wonacott client) Autumn Games and developer Reverge Labs, is available now on both Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Network. The reviews are in, and so far it looks likes the games enthusiast press is enjoying the game almost as much as we enjoyed working on it.

Games Wonacott Plays

by Alex Van Lepp

Because we service so many video games industry clients, Wonacotters are accustomed to playing video games both at home and at the office. In fact, we think of ourselves as a kind of a mini-focus group for what’s hot in the games world. That being said, we thought we’d give our Wonablog readers a taste of what’s trending in the office lately.

Things No One Ever Tells You: The Peaks and Valleys of PR

by Sara Campbell

I clearly remember getting my first “real” job – I was promoted from intern to Assistant Account Executive at Alexander Communications in Atlanta, a tech PR agency that would later be acquired by Ogilvy PR, and could not have been more thrilled about my new profession. I was so excited to be a real adult, with a salary, health insurance and a business card to prove it.

So Much Social Media…So Little Time

by Alex Van Lepp

Photo: Flickr

Facebook...Twitter...Linkedin...Google+...Tumblr...Pinterest…there are so many social media platforms out there, but so little time to engage in them all. To be honest, trying to stay updated on all the social media sites is somewhat overwhelming; I've realized it’s difficult to go even a couple of hours without checking Facebook to make sure I'm not missing out on anything, and putting off checking Twitter for even 10 minutes leaves me feeling left in the dust.

Lately I’ve been taking my social media endeavors to a professional level as an intern at Wonacott by participating in our company social media efforts. One big thing I’ve noticed so far is the importance of having plan in place to use social media strategically. Here are some of the tactics I’ve learned:

Online Entertainment Insider - March 16, 2012

by Chan Lim

Happy new iPad day, everyone. I am happy to report I’m not drafting this in front of a Mac store (that’s what interns are for). But it’s still incredible that the iPad and other iOS devices went from being expensive redundant gadgets to the largest handheld gaming platform in the world. You’d better believe we’re keeping an eye on the space. Oh, and if you get a new iPad, be sure to try out Sky Defenders! 

Online Entertainment Insider - March 9, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

Greetings from the Game Developers Conference show floor! We’re wrapping up the last day here and hope that if you attended you had a great time. There was definitely some great news coming out of GDC, but I’m pretty sure all of it was overshadowed by Angry Birds Space.

Online Entertainment Insider - March 2, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

With our new site update and corporate identity (have you checked it out yet? I’ll wait…) we decided to breathe some new life into the Online Entertainment Insider. Jason passed the newsletter torch to me, Alex Josef, vice president of the interactive entertainment practice here at Wonacott!

The Desensitizing Effects of Publicity Gone Wrong

by Kia Gilstrap

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

Imagine you’re on a weekend trip with some friends in Las Vegas. Dinner time comes around so you decide to walk around and look for a fun, new place to eat. You stumble upon a restaurant with an ambulance parked in front, and then your eyes wander to the top of the building where you see “The Heart Attack Grill” in large, red letters. Just as you take a step inside to see if the place is real, there’s a man at the center of some sort of commotion who appears to be having a heart attack.  Is “this must be a publicity stunt” the first thing that pops into your head?

Online Entertainment Insider - Feb. 24, 2012

by Wonacott Communications

CD Projekt Red, publisher of the Witcher series, is an anomaly in the games industry when it comes to its stance on digital rights management, or DRM. After announcing that they sold 1.5 million copies last year, they put out the statistic that there are approximately 4.5 million pirated copies. And they don’t care. They take the opinion that counter-piracy measures wind up only hurting loyal gamers; so instead, they work on improving the quality. A pretty novel suggestion, don’t you think? 

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.

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?!

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.
 

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.

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. 

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.

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).

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 30, 2011

by Wonacott Communications

Another Holiday season passing, another belt size gaining. Good thing the Krav Maga studio is back to its normal hours. Hopefully, all of you had a nice Christmas and Chanukah – whether you spent it with loved ones or on your PC playing Star Wars: The Old Republic. Before we round out the year’s final Online Entertainment Insider, we’d like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 23, 2011

by Wonacott Communications

Happy Holidays, everyone! As we wind down 2011 over the next week, we wish you, your co-workers and family the best, which hopefully involves copious amounts of Egg Nog (whiskey optional). Read on for the rest of the Online Entertainment Insider!

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 16, 2011

by Wonacott Communications

Tonight is our annual holiday party today, and I could not be more excited. We’ll be reprising last year’s “karaoke dive-bar” theme and I’m taking requests on the Wonacott Facebook page. Please note, my range includes anything you’d find in a “Monsters of Rock” collection from 1985 through 1999, and yes, this includes power ballads. If you want something sung *well*, make sure to tag our resident vocalist, Nathalie Nourian. Read on to find more of this week's news! 

Looking for a PR Internship? Read This.

by Jason Wonacott

I don't know a single public relations agency that doesn't hire or even rely on interns to some degree. At Wonacott interns play an integral role. Though we are light hearted and fun, we take our interns seriously…and we want them to take the job seriously, too. It’s a big reason our internships are paid. Sure our interns do stereotypical tasks such as building media lists, monitoring and tracking media coverage, but depending on their individual skill level, they also get to write and pitch media, and they are totally integrated into our account teams. We value their insight and ideas for both client and new business brainstorms, and they help keep aging Gen Xers like me more in touch with current cultural trends, lingo and technology.

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 9, 2011

by Wonacott Communications

In news this week, Skyrim takes top honors as the most-played game of 2011 and World of Tanks shatters records with 250,000 simultaneous players on a single MMO server. All this and more in this week's Online Entertaiment Insider!

Gift Ideas from Wonacott Clients

by Wonacott Communications

Well, it’s coming down to the wire to get gifts for the holiday season. Fortunately, Wonacott has your bases covered – thanks to some great products from our clients! So if you’re looking for some last minute gift ideas (or if you’re an editor in need a last-minute idea for a feature story. Hint, hint), then consider this our gift to you.

My First Year at Wonacott: A Trip Down Memory Lane…

by Alex Van Lepp

If you ask me, there’s no better time to start a new job at a company than right as they’re about to take a week-long paid break. So, when I was hired at Wonacott Communications as an Account Executive on the interactive entertainment team a mere two and a half weeks before the holidays, I had definitely hit the jackpot. Just a quick, but intense, couple of weeks and I was home-free until the New Year. So what happened next? Well, a lot. Following the wise advice of El Jefe Jason Wonacott and for ease of reading, I present the highlights of my year at Wonacott, in bullet form:

Online Entertainment Insider - Dec. 2, 2011

by Alex Van Lepp

Did you know that in addition to a brand new kick-ass blog, that we also have a weekly newsletter? Delivered to your inbox every Friday, the Online Entertainment Insider is dedicated solely to bringing you the latest news, features and other nuggets from the world of online interactive and social entertainment. What's that you say? "How much would such an amazing service cost me," you ask? It's absolutley free! You can sign up for the email newsletter here or you can read it every week on the Wonablog. Hit the break to read the rest of what's important from this week's Online Entertainment Insider...

“Engage, Number One.”

by Jason Wonacott