What We Do - UberStrategist Capabilities Deck - PR, Marketing and Biz Dev for the Video Game...
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Transcript of What We Do - UberStrategist Capabilities Deck - PR, Marketing and Biz Dev for the Video Game...
“We create profitable relationships through public relations, marketing and high-value introductions.”
Mario R. Kroll, MBAPrincipal & FounderÜberStrategist
Our team has obtained significantpositive press attention, dramatically grown
social media, and delivered customer-pleasing marketing for over 100 video game titles,
eSports organizations, hardware and accessory companies, startups, crowdfunding campaigns
and not-for-profits.
NATIONAL & LOCAL TECH & HARDWARE VIDEO GAMES
* Sample selection of major outlets where we achieved client coverage during the past ~12 months.
eSPORTS LIFESTYLE MOBILE
* Sample selection of major outlets where we achieved client coverage during the past ~12 months.
We’ve conceived and brokered $10+ million in reciprocal marketing partnerships and executed mutually-
beneficial sponsorships with fashion, music, technology, entertainment, sports and big
box retail brands.
(Value received, not cost paid.)
We are a great team and play very nicely with others.
Mario R. Kroll, MBAWith over 100 published titles on
PC, console, handheld and mobile, Mario is a video game PR,
marketing, licensing and sales management executive with over
20+ years experience, during which he helped generate over
$50 million in revenue.
Meet The Team
STRATEGY, PR & PARTNERSHIPS
CJ MelendezA passionate horror video game
blogger turned PR pro after a successful internship at Sandbox Strategies. CJ has been writing
about video games and securing favorable coverage for clients since
2009.
PUBLIC RELATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER
Ted BrockwoodTed has over 15 years in the game industry, having worked on PR and online outreach for PC, console and mobile products. He has worked on
products from publishers and developers, large and small,
including Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Disney.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Eric BoosmanA graphic artist and UI/UX designer with 15+ years experience, Eric knows
you can't judge a book by its cover, but it's better to have a great cover. He's worked on many games, including GTR2 and EA's Need for Speed series as
well as the DarkTonic indie game label.
GRAPHICS & MARKETING
GRAPHICS & MARKETING
Sara JenkinsShe’s a multi-media pro with over ten years in
marketing, game design and creative arts. From online, print, and video, to branding, game UI,
content, and web design, Sara has top-
notch skills and endless creative energy.
Mike TataA video game
production consultant, Mike has exceptional backgrounds in game design, production,
monetization and QA. He’s led work on all major platforms including on an
International Mobile Game Award nominee
and Best Overall Digital Game awarded by Meaningful Play.
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
PRODUCTION & GAME DESIGN
Jerrod Kerwin-Sweeney
While Jerrod is a quickly-growing social media
maven for our company, he also works extensively in AI and combat model design, and produces
mobile and PC titles, with a strong background in QA.
“I know a lot. But I don’t know it all.”-Anonymous Smart Person
We have an extensive network of proven, competent partners and suppliers.
They help us scale to meet demand –or provide specific expertise.
You only pay for what you need. You retain me as primary point of contact.
Who are some of your recent or current clients?
eSPORTS & MEDIA VIDEO GAMES HARDWARE &
ACCESSORIES
ASSOCIATIONS& CHARITIES
What have you done for your clients lately?
Challenges: AlphaDraft entered the DFS (daily fantasy sports) market for eSports in early 2015 as the least known compared to its competitors. AlphaDraft sought to raise its visibility, secure its seed fundraising round, and, if possible, wanted to be acquired prior to DFS giants DraftKings or FanDuel expanded their model into eSports. Delivered Results:: Achieved over 300+ pieces of press coverage -- Forbes, Fortune, TechCrunch, LA Times, VentureBeat, ESPN, Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, IGN, Fox Sports, Playboy, etc. -- quickly establishing AlphaDraft as the leader in the emerging DFS eSports space.
We also secured and coordinated several speaker engagements and interviews for AlphaDraft’s CEO, negotiated and secured heavily discounted high-visibility branding, Twitch sponsorships at E3 and PAX Prime, and ultimately assisted in a successful $5 million seed round raise and an acquisition by FanDuel after only six months.
CASE STUDY
Challenges: XOTIC PC is a mid-sized integrator and online merchant of gaming PCs. Despite being in business with stellar consumer satisfaction ratings since 1999, XOTIC PC was relatively unknown within gamer circles. They only minimally benefited from its existing infrequent PR outreach, as editors would attribute coverage to the manufacturer, not XOTIC PC. The company also participated minimally in gaming tradeshows, limiting core gamer awareness. Delivered Results:
Through a co-branded PR and seeding initiative, we helped XOTIC PC actually benefit from editorial coverage, while still providing partners with favorable press reviews for a win-win. We significantly expanded the outlets regularly covering XOTIC PC’s systems, adding NotebookCheck, Tom’s Hardware, Maximum PC, and others.
We established a trade show, influencer and press event seeding program, that grew XOTIC PC’s negligible event visibility significantly across all major (and several indie) gaming events at next to no cost. By jointly and creatively branding loaner systems for developer, publisher, key partners and XOTIC PC, we were able to dramatically increase the open display of loaner systems at tradeshows (as opposed the frequent “under the counter” hidden loaners that do not truly benefit the hardware vendor), and replace other PC vendors with XOTIC PC as systems of choice.
CASE STUDY
Situation: Mad Catz approached us in late October, requesting assistance in promoting its Saitek™ Heavy Equipment Precision Control System (HEPCS) for the very popular Farming Simulator. Mad Catz then asked us to secure last-minute holiday gift guide coverage for more than 25 combined Mad Catz, Tritton and Saitek products. Result: We organized a multi-pronged outreached that announced the HEPCS and leveraged its elevated experience compared to playing the highly popular Farming Simulator with mouse and keyboard only, bundling the game with the hardware for editor convenience. We followed this with outreach based on the fact that HEPCS also works quite well with other simulator titles, including Euro Trucking Simulator and Train Simulator. Coverage included Polygon, Kotaku, IGN, Ten Ton Hammer, TheDevilDogGamer (Youtube), Vice / Motherboard, Boy's Life Magazine and others.
We also supported Mad Catz at one of the largest farming shows, which led to several key strategic partnership opportunities. These included several agriculturally focused universities and technical schools, as well as the national headquarters of Future Farmers of America (FFA). Despite being mid-November before the holiday gift guide outreach was requested, we secured 42 gift guide inclusions and 21 standalone reviews.
CASE STUDY
That sounds pretty awesome!
How do I find out more or check out what your clients and partners think about you?
“…a born leader who has great instincts and a proven track record. There are few as connected, intelligent and easy to work with.” -Nate Hunt, Vice President, Wikia
“Helped us get a foothold with our new competitive gaming technology in North America, thanks to his excellent network and exemplary PR work.”-Arne Peters, Vice President, ESL Technology, formerly COO, CDV Software Entertainment
“In the twenty years I have been in advertising, I have rarely come across anyone better at marketing. I highly recommend his ability, creativity and energy.” -Cara Scharf, President, Fearless Media
“With a broad background in marketing, social media, public relations, gaming, publishing and all-around business acumen, I found him an invaluable partner.”-Jason Santa Maria, CCO, IN8 Games
“Mario is a value add across the board. His PR experience and contacts allow him to open doors and get things done at a pace that matches any startup. Mario was able to get an amazing amount of coverage in gaming, eSports, mainstream, consumer and tech outlets, along with handling interviews, speaking engagement requests and industry event participation. He continuously goes above and beyond what is expected and educates everyone around him with a humble exuberance.” -Matt Reilly, Co-Founder, AlphaDraft
“Vital to our mission... adds a level of ‘spit and polish’ otherwise lacking within our military-focused gaming charity.”-Stephen Machuga, Founder, Operation Supply Drop “Mario has been one of the most reliable and
trustworthy persons I worked with, and I gladly recommend his talents to anyone requiring deep gaming industry knowledge.”-Nick Porsche, Founder, Dorado Games
“Mario's vast and varied experience in all things gaming, from both the client and vendor side, across multiple marketing disciplines, gives him a unique perspective, and amazing network with which to help gaming companies grow their business. He truly is a "do-it-all" kind of guy, and he gets immensely passionate about his projects. On top of that, he is a complete pleasure to work with - great team player, always accessible - that you forget he is not a full-time member of your in-house team.”-Kim Salzer, Startup Advisor and Former Activision Executive
“A self-motivated marketing and PR machine, his professionalism and creativity is only outmatched by his energetic and charismatic personality.” -Jayson Dubin, President & CEO, Playwire Media
“Mario has a deep understanding of clients’ needs, and does a fabulous job at matching partners together for projects that maximize resources and visibility for everyone involved. “- Amber Dalton, Director of Event Sponsorships, Twitch
“Mario and his team have been invaluable in increasing our visibility in the highly competitive PC gaming industry through high-impact PR coverage, opening partnership doors, significantly bolstering our social media presence, and all around being a trusted and well-connected partner that fully integrates with our marketing team. We typically forget he’s a consultant.” - Joshua Triplett, COO, XOTIC PC
Select References
Todd PetersonCEO & Co-Founder
(858) 245-7463
Cara ScharfPresident
Fearless [email protected]
(646) 392-6090
Arne PetersVP, Strategic Relations
om+49 174 3075027
Additional references and a full list of my experience are at http://www.linkedin.com/in/mariokroll
Mario R. Kroll, MBAÜberStrategist
Principal & Founder+1.646.844.8388
[email protected]: SpinDrMario
