with stakeholders wherever they may be. At Raptor PR we are constantly evolving our offering in order to provide the latest comms tools and services to our clients that generate results. While media relations is still an important tool, we provide a number of services outside of this - from data driven strategy, to events support and community engagement. We ensure a bespoke approach aligned with individual client goals.


Do you feel the pace of change is accelerating and, if so, why do you think this is? In some ways, changes in the comms landscape are developing faster than ever, in terms of brands that are communicating and engaging with audiences having to be always-on. With the 24/7 global news cycle, there is nowhere to hide and what sometimes feels like no down time. What is a big positive here is that brands have to be transparent, honest and authentic in order to be successful. On the other hand, in terms of the games and business trade media, news stories and the urgency of publishing ‘breaking news’ has shifted, with news teams a lot more focused on analysis pieces which can offer differing perspectives on top news stories, rather than being the first to ‘break’ a story. Media and publisher monetisation models have


changed and many of the changes we are seeing are a reaction or adaptation to this - it’s a game of survival for many publishers today. Whether that is a reduction in editorial teams or an increase in paid for opportunities and subscription models the media landscape in particular is very different. As a result of this we are seeing a huge increase in focus on brands owned communications channels.


Is there anything on the horizon that concerns you? While AI has undoubtedly shaken up both the games and comms sectors, in many ways for the better, the speed of growth compared to our ability to regulate, is something that is very concerning. There is no denying that AI is a huge factor in many of the redundancies that we have seen across the games industry and the impact that it is likely to have on the media and comms landscape, particularly because of some of the points mentioned above, regarding our ability to identify trusted sources of information is particularly frightening.


What about the opportunities? What excites me at the moment is the inevitable transformation that we are set to see across the games industry in the very near future. Throughout my life I have witnessed the innovation that comes following austere or difficult times, and the current period we are in will be no


April/May 2024 MCV/DEVELOP | 39


different. ‘Survive till 25’ has been a recurring theme and I’m sure it will be a jam packed one.


What makes you excited for the future of comms? For us, creating communications campaigns that help clients deliver on their business goals (and reach their target audiences) is ultimately what gets us out of bed


“While the channels and tools we use may change, it is being able to constantly adapt and try new things that work for younger generations of stakeholders that I personally find exciting”


everyday. While the channels and tools we use may change, it is being able to constantly adapt and try new things that work for younger generations of stakeholders that I personally find exciting. Different generations prefer different formats - we are seeing a movement from longer form written content to bitsize commentary and video formats because of this. One thing I am also very happy about is the return of events following such a long period of enforced ‘staying at home’ over the covid period. I think over this period B2B brands really understood the value driven by face-to-face events and this is a huge part of our offering right now. Ultimately, Raptor is a very passionate team that is


playing a part in driving the future of comms across the B2B games industry every single day. We’ve carved out a somewhat unique niche, where we’ve now seen fellow games industry agencies follow our lead and increase their focus on B2B. So far we have navigated the comms challenges by being agile and future focussed. There is a real genuine drive for collaboration across the whole sector, through the good times as well as the not so good, and we are excited to see what the next 12-18 months has in store.


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