Stu: Yeah, that’s when we started to really see the demand for influencer outreach increasing, with clients expecting their agencies to deliver this in tandem with traditional media PR. However, our take on that was that you couldn’t just copy and paste what you do for media to a wholly different, and “new” entertainment sphere. It took a certain degree of humility to acknowledge that we did not have the same level of expertise with influencers as we did with media, so hiring talented individuals that had that unique set of skills and vocabulary was the next step.
You’ve recently opened up a new Canadian subsidiary, and expanded your team in the UK. What has driven this recent growth, and what possibilities does it open up for Dead Good? Carly: We’ve always been a global agency, but we sensed that the perception was that because we had a UK head office, we were only UK and European focused. So, it felt appropriate to formally establish a subsidiary in North America to build our presence on that side of the Atlantic. It had always been part of the long-term business plan, and we chose Montréal because we had established client relationships here.
Stu: Also, we love the city and the Quebec province itself is somewhat of a video game mecca. You’ve got an incredible number of indie developers and small publishers, as well as established studios like Ubisoft, Eidos Montreal, Warner Bros., and Bethesda. Our North American presence has been mutually
beneficial for clients, as they can have the convenience and savings of having one agency channel that can handle stuff like press tours and events on a global scale. Truthfully, the pandemic did slow down our North American expansion plans a little, but with shows like PAX, Twitchcon, and Gamescom back on the calendar, we feel more than ready to ramp things up.
Last year you launched your comic book publishing arm, Dead Good Comics. What inspired this push into comics, and what can we expect to see from the publisher? Stu: It was always something in the back of my mind when we set up Dead Good, but the primary focus back in 2012 was to focus on one thing – games PR – and then build up from there. I’m an unashamed comic book nerd, and this passion has crossed over into the games industry a few times, beginning with writing
May 2022 MCV/DEVELOP | 49
and producing the official Perfect Dark comic strip for Nintendo of America back in 2000. From a consumer point of view, I felt largely
disappointed by licensed video game comic books and believe that there is a lot of untapped potential to produce something that works as an expansion of a beloved IP as well as a great comic book story in its own right. The quality level that we aspire to internally is what Marvel did back in the Eighties on the likes of Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Transformers. From conversations that we’ve had with IP holders, there is a definite desire to bring their characters to comics, but they lack the knowledge of the marketplace and where to start. And that’s where we come in. We already have relationships with creators, understand the practicalities of production and printing, as well as access to the traditional comic store distribution network. Next up from Dead Good Comics is our second original title, which is coming out towards the end of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
