Press Kitchen Los Angeles

ABOUT

In January 2018, full-service creative studio and Press Kitchen retainer client SunnyBoy Entertainment (The Greatest Showman VR, Annabelle: Creation, IT: FLOAT VR) approached us with a hilarious, satirical game called “Humble Pie.” “Humble Pie” is a multi-round VR game that transports players into the White House Oval Office for a pie standoff with the current U.S. President.

In the game, players chuck humble (cherry) pies at the President as he approaches, prompting users to think quickly and maneuver around the office to successfully land three pies and move on to the next level. "Humble Pie" is meant to both entertain and be a form of comedic “VR Therapy.”

First, we carefully crafted an outreach strategy. We encouraged the client to create hi-res stills and posters for the game, which resembled classic retro arcade-game posters and console logos. We also suggested assembling free play codes for journalists, a game trailer to summarize the entire experience, and extra VR headsets for contacts without one.

After assembling a PR plan, we knew the creation could generate buzz at a consumer-facing event in addition to press--including an upcoming event as storied as SXSW. Upon learning about Mashable’s annual SXSW “MashHouse” 2018--where the most entertaining VR games and experiences would be on display--we reached out to a primary contact and pitched “Humble Pie.” Despite the rapid timeline between January and the event, held in early March, we knew “Humble Pie” could deliver something special.

Mashable enthusiastically accepted the experiential demo for #MashHouse 2018 @ SXSW. In addition, Mashable asked if we knew of other companies with excellent VR experiences, as they were eyeing setting up a 'VR Bar' at the event. Press Kitchen successfully curated the VR bar, placing 3 more VR client projects at the venue in addition to “Humble Pie”, and generating valuable earned SXSW traction among key media and industry attendees.

In front of Mashable’s 13 million readers, SunnyBoy was included in 3 Mashable web articles detailing the event, with 93.4K estimated coverage views and 583 social media shares across Facebook and Twitter. Their signage was prominently featured at the event, open to 75,098 SXSW festival attendees.

MADEIT CREDITS

  • SunnyBoy EntertainmentClient

Who pooled - PR Strategy for SunnyBoy Entertainment's "Humble Pie" at MashableHouse, SXSW 2018