Anita Wong, Head of PR at Indigo Pearl, explains how to not die at gamescom in this very timely PR survival guide that will help you get through the week without any incidents
G
amescom. Equal parts spectacle and endurance test. It’s where world premieres collide with 20-minute power
meetings, and where sleep, nutrition, and phone battery all mysteriously vanish by day two. It’s brilliant, it’s brutal, and it takes a special kind of stamina to survive it. And if you’re not careful, it’ll chew you up and leave you weeping softly into your Kolsch. Whether it’s your first gamescom or your fifteenth, here are a few tips to not wind up that way, and make it out in one piece (or a few manageable pieces to be stitched back together at a later date):
ACCEPT THE CHAOS Schedules will change. Someone’s previous meeting will run over. A booth location will be misread. A calendar will be double-booked. It happens constantly - because we’re all human. By the end of the day, your carefully arranged schedule will look more like a Choose Your Own Adventure gone wrong.
But the key thing is to adapt with grace (or grit your teeth and try very hard to). The people who handle changes well are the ones media and influencers remember more fondly, and are more likely to return to, even if the make-up appointment has to happen remotely. Just as appointments can disappear, new ones can materialise out of thin air. gamescom is the place for chance run-ins with someone you haven’t seen all year, unexpected introductions in the halls, or a spontaneous chat that turns into 20 minutes of valuable hands-on time. The real key to surviving gamescom? Go with the chaos. Have a backup plan and don’t underestimate the power of being a (mostly) calm person in a very stressed-out and dehydrated room.
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pretzel. Do yourself (and your team) a favour: schedule real meals. Make a note of where Marketpoint is. Say yes when someone offers to grab you something. If you’re exhibiting, this is your secret weapon. Offer drinks. Offer snacks. Offer a place to sit down that doesn’t smell like convention carpet. If you become known as the booth with great Wi-Fi, coffee, or - in one particularly memorable year - tiny little steak sandwiches, you will get visits. From creators, media, and anyone and everyone in need of a pit stop.
PREP LIKE YOU’RE GOING TO WAR (BECAUSE YOU KIND OF ARE) You will not have time to write a press release in a hotel lobby while eating cold chips at 11PM. You might think you will, but you won’t. The best PR teams have as much of their materials as possible - fact sheets, headshots, trailers, B-roll, etc - ready to go before the bags are even packed. Get ahead of it and save your sanity.
The golden rule: follow up before they forget you exist. Don’t let the appointment - or worse comes to worst, the inevitably madly busy day - end without sending that thank-you note, embargo (or the lack of one), and assets. Strike while the memory’s hot.
EAT. NO, REALLY. EAT.
Obvious one, but you’d be amazed how many people forget to eat at gamescom. You race between appointments, run on adrenaline and hotel coffee, and suddenly it’s 6pm and you’ve only consumed three mints and a panic
FINALLY: TRY NOT TO PASS AWAY A bit dramatic? Sure. But gamescom is a marathon disguised as a sprint. Look after yourself. Look after your team. Check in, check out, and try to have some fun in the chaos.
GET PEOPLE’S NUMBERS. ALL OF THEM. Wi-Fi will betray you. So will your inbox. Don’t rely on DMs or calendar invites alone - grab mobile numbers for everyone you’re meant to see: media, creators, clients, colleagues… everyone.
WhatsApp becomes the unofficial command centre of gamescom. A quick “running late by five” or “under the giant hanging cat” can save an appointment, or even spark a new one. It’s the fastest way to pivot when plans inevitably shift.
SLEEP. ONCE. PLEASE. I’m not your mother, but even one solid night of sleep during the week can reset your brain, save your immune system, and stop you from hallucinating a second Geoff Keighley. Try to pace yourself. Have one early night, and don’t blow all your energy on day one. gamescom is a long week, not a speedrun.
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