Dear fellow PR people:
Why? Just why?
And also..wha??
Author: admin
Inside The Mind Of ‘ZombieEye’
Kihon Games‘ Creative Director Dan Kopycienski (@ZombieEyeDK) takes Gamasutra readers on an insightful journey into creating an independent online game. The man did it before with “PoxNora,” which was so good, Sony Online Entertainment threw some dollars at it. Itching to get back into the collectible card game arena, Kopycienski has been hard at work on his version of PoxNora 2.0, “Conquest of Champions” (a game you can join in beta right now). Read all about it on Gamasutra.
If You Love “Magic: The Gathering”…
“POXNORA” CREATORS COMBINE COLLECTIBLE CARDS WITH TACTICAL STRATEGY IN NEW CROSS-PLATFORM GAME “CONQUEST OF CHAMPIONS”
Multi-Platform Game From CCG Veterans Now Available In Beta For Mac, PC Gamers
December 10, 2013 — Tucson, AZ — Kihon Games (kihongames.com) are going back to their roots with their new online collectible card/tabletop tactical strategy game, “Conquest of Champions,” now in beta.
Players with a Mac or PC can join the beta of “Conquest of Champions” by backing the crowdfunding campaign at https://www.conquestofchampions.com/funding/. “Conquest” was created by veteran game developers who have a passion for the collectible card game (CCG) genre, having worked together on the popular CCG “PoxNora” when Sony Online Entertainment acquired it.
“Conquest of Champions” combines deck building, crafting and card leveling with the best of competitive turn-based tactical strategy. Players must strategically build their deck and defeat their opponent by summoning fully animated creatures, casting devastating spells and launching weapons in battlegrounds reminiscent of tabletop miniature warfare. Players can alternate turns in real-time matches or leisurely in the asynchronous mode.
“We learned many things developing ‘PoxNora.’ Now as the Kihon team, we’re eager to incorporate those lessons into this new experience. We’ve created a game that will entertain our dedicated, enthusiastic fanbase,” said Dan Kopycienski, Creative Director, Kihon Games. “We listened to what collectible card and tactical strategy gamers want and we’re excited to deliver the best of both to them with ‘Conquest of Champions.'”
The beta currently features several multiplayer head-to-head modes as well as single player campaigns. The free-to-play game will be expanded to iOS and Android to be one of the first truly cross-platform CCG and tactical strategy mashups. Future expansions are already in development and will include additional campaigns, new cards, expansion content, tournaments and guilds. “Conquest” will launch with 3 Factions, 6 Heroes, a multitude of map layouts and more than 130 cards to collect and customize.
Previously, Kihon made their company debut in 2011 with an iOS game based on the smash YouTube video “Baby Monkey (Going Backwards on a Pig).” Kihon followed “Baby Monkey” with “SketchPhrase” and “Dojo Danger,” all available on the iTunes Store.
Livin’ Outside the Box With Drift Innovation
When it comes to wearable POV cameras, GoPro has dominated the category with a force that even Apple would be envious of. Thanks to GoPro, the popularity of these types of cameras have only increased, opening the marketplace to (better) alternatives. Enter Drift Innovation.
In 2009, Drift had the right idea – that there needed to be more options for consumers, and the cameras needed to be intuitive. Drift wanted to simplify action cameras and make them as easy to use as a regular ole point-and-shoot. They wanted to make it so easy for someone to just buy an action camera that they could start shooting right out of the box and not have to figure out what does what or buy additional accessories. Drift released their first camera that year, and in 2012, released their flagship camera, the HD Ghost.
The HD Ghost was an immediate success and Drift began to be uttered in the same sentence as GoPro. Utilizing R&D from both their sponsored athletes and HD Ghost users, Drift set out to enhance the HD Ghost with the new Ghost-S.
The Ghost-S is Drift’s most powerful – yet easiest to use – camera to date. With impressive specs that rival GoPro, the Ghost-S also features the longest battery life on the market (3.5 hours), the ability to shoot 1080p @60fps and accessories that most other companies sell as add-ons. It’s the perfect combination of power with simplicity.
The Ghost-S is available now at driftinnovation.com and at retail outlets worldwide.
Check out the awesome teaser video from Drift and read the early reviews from Engadget, Men’s Journal, CNET and CultOfMac.
Uber’s PR Win: Just Add Kittens
Brand marketers love to ponder what exactly makes something go viral on the webz. Our client John Montgomery has joked that it’s to add “magic fairy dust” and we’re pretty sure that he meant kittens. Because seriously, if you just add kittens, you’ll win the Internet.
Look no further than today’s big (and smart) PR stunt from Uber that has everyone tweeting. They capitalized on National Cat Day and partnered with the absolute best brand to partner with on such a day (meme site Cheezburger), added adoptable kittens and tada, instant PR win. Uber is also donating proceeds to local shelters to make this extra feel-good.
The brilliant stunt is a good way for Uber to steer media attention away from some of its criticisms (largely stemming from angry taxi cab companies and regulation) and to bring kittens into people’s lives. Because there’s pretty much nothing better than kittens, except of course kittens with puppies (you’re welcome).
Threshold Interactive Lights Up Hot Pockets’ Viral Videos
Kate Upton, Snoop Dogg and Larry King walk into a bar together…
The unlikely trio aren’t the setup to a bad joke. They’re the stars of Hot Pockets’ latest mind-exploding Internet video. Parodying Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend (You’ve Got What I Need)” to “You’ve Got What I Eat,” the trippy video, created by Threshold Interactive, will make you wonder if you’re hallucinating or just plain hungry.
Every media outlet from USA Today to US magazine are feeding the frenzy. Even BuzzFeed has trotted out their listicle on it (proof that the video has really made it). Hot Pockets, and Threshold, are used to this kind of attention. Their first Snoop Dogg collaboration was last year’s “Pocket Like It’s Hot,” one of the top 12 most watched brand ads on YouTube.
Their latest mind melter cranks it all the way past 11, leaving you with just enough brain cells to wonder what the next video will be like. In the meantime, fire up that Hot Pocket for us.
Jam With GOOD, SF Goodwill, ImproveSF and Adaptive Path
If there are two things that San Francisco does better than any other city, it’s advocacy and technology. The City of San Francisco knows what its citizens care about and is combining the power of advocacy and technology with its online community platform, ImproveSF.
Residents of the city are encouraged to engage and participate on ImproveSF, from crowdsourcing the design of the public library card to addressing issues of homelessness. This Friday, ImproveSF, in partnership with GOOD, Adaptive Path and the SF Goodwill, is launching the “Improve SF Design Jam: Rags to Riches” where active citizens will collaborate to address the challenge question: What local jobs and start-ups could we create from textiles now going to waste?
On Friday, Sept. 6 from 5:30-8pm, SF Goodwill will host a reception at their headquarters on 86 11th Street (cross street Mission) to kick off the Design Jam. Representatives from ImproveSF, GOOD, Adaptive Path, Goodwill and ImproveSF, including San Francisco’s Chief Innovation Officer Jay Nath, will be in attendance. Register to attend.
On Saturday, Sept. 7 from 9am-3:30pm, Adaptive Path‘s offices (Pier One, Bay 2) will host the many minds who will collaborate to come up with the best solutions to this Challenge.
Think you’re up for the Challenge? Sign up at EventBrite and get your mind grapes going.
GOOD + Purina ONE Ask: How do Pets Make the World a Better Place?
GOOD + Purina ONE® are using the power of photography to change perceptions around shelter pets and to celebrate how pets–of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds–have inspired and changed lives across the globe, making the world a better place.
The Picturing Pets challenge, launching Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 12 p.m. PDT, calls all pet owners to celebrate pets by submitting a photo of your dog or cat along with a short description that shows how they make the world a better place. This is a step toward shifting negative perceptions about pets by picturing them in a new, positive light.
The pet owner of the winning photo will receive:
- A feature on good.is with the winning photo and story
- A year’s supply of Purina ONE® dog food
- A pet photoshoot and photography training session with award-winning photographer Nanette Martin at an animal shelter of her choosing. Through her nonprofit organization, Shelter Me Photography, Martin has dedicated herself to teaching photography techniques so that photos of shelter pets reveal their true beauty and personality, greatly increasing their chances of finding a home.
- $1,500 donation made on the winner’s behalf to one of the following recipient pet organizations of the winner’s choice: HALO Animal Rescue Uno por Uno, Animal Human Society Bound for Home, Cat Adoption Team Kitten Foster Program or Nebraska Humane Society Camp Kindness
Be a part of this positive movement: click here to enter your photo into the challenge!
The Challenge ends Wednesday, August 14 at 12pm PT so get those photos up!
The Best Summer Camp For Girls
Do you want to be your daughter’s hero? Then you’d best sign her up for the world-famous L.A. Derby Dolls‘ annual Junior Roller Derby Camp.
The Derby Dolls are local celebrities and have been featured in recent episodes of “The Bachelor,” “Bunheads,” “Bones,” and countless other TV shows. As a community-focused organization that is women-operated and women-owned, the Derby Dolls host health fairs, fundraisers and job fairs and were at the frontlines of the recent and successful campaign to elect their councilman and early champion, Eric Garcetti, to Mayor.
One of the coolest things that the Derby Dolls is their annual Summer Camp for girls ages 7-17. This year, from July 15 through July 19, camp attendees will be trained by some of the country’s best roller derby skaters and learn about teamwork, community, leadership and athleticism. Sound too hardcore? It’s not. The camp is organized by different skill levels (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) and girls with no experience skating will learn how to roll on eight wheels.
We’re proud to support the L.A. Derby Dolls in their efforts to make girls even more awesome. To sign your daughter up for the Junior Derby Summer Camp, visit http://juniors.derbydolls.com/summer-camp/ or email [email protected]
Are You A NonProfit That Needs PR Help?
As individuals, we at Change Communications have long been passionate about causes and organizations that improve communities and advance civil rights. After all, we named ourselves after an oft-used Gandhi quote (sorry to be so clichèd but it’s a darn good quote!). In our years working with nonprofit and community-based organizations, we have noticed a tremendous void in their PR and communications efforts. Namely, that many organizations simply couldn’t afford this extremely important aspect of their operations. With tighter budgets and federal funding going by the wayside, many nonprofits cannot sustain their organizations without PR/communications, but most of them can’t afford it or don’t have the energy/resources to dedicate towards it.
When we started Change Communications, our intention was to dedicate a significant amount of time doing pro bono work to help nonprofit organizations that we are passionate about. We haven’t been able to dedicate as much time as we initially wanted, or thought we would, due to the reality of running our little PR firm but we have spent some time working with a few great community-based nonprofits that our friends have steered us toward. Now it’s time to open our services to others looking for this kind of help.
If you’re a U.S.-based not-for-profit (with 501(c)(3) status) that serves the community for progressive causes, we want to help you. We don’t work on political campaigns and we are nonpartisan. We also want to stay focused on domestic organizations because, quite frankly, the international market is a difficult one to tackle, and we want to leverage our strengths.
If you’re an organization that actively fights to suppress people’s rights, e.g. if you’re against gay marriage, want to limit a woman’s right to choose, or think that it’s totally cool for oil companies to destroy the environment, then we have NO interest in helping you. In fact, we will actively work against you.
So if you fall into the category of being a domestic nonprofit and you are in need of PR/communications support, just send over an introductory email that has the following details (and please make sure that all of the below is included):
-Short, 1-2 sentence explanation of your nonprofit organization
-Link to website and to social media platforms
-Your basic PR/communications needs
-Your business and marketing goals
-Will you have a dedicated point of contact who will serve as the PR liaison?
You can send this email to katy(at)bethechangepr.com with “Nonprofit needs help” in the subject line, or hit us up on Facebook and Twitter. We won’t be able to assist every organization that contacts us but we’ll hopefully be able to steer you in the right direction.
We are looking forward to changing your communications, and hopefully, helping you change the world.