Play Meter

[continued from page 8]
thinking about com games when he
gets an announcemen t of your own
publicity campaign attempt. But why
should he send a reporter and/or
came ra crew to your amusement
center instead of some other?
One model for gr abbing the
editor's attention was p rovided by
M alibu Grand Prix , which held a
c i tywid e video tournament in
Houston during most of August. Its
publicity consultant, H elen V ollmer/
Public Relations sent o ut a "feeler" to
area media directors, signed by the
firm's D ebbie L. W ard, and
excerpt ed below.
Decid e wheth e r this would
command your attention if you had
been reading announcements of
similar events all m orning at the city
desk:
" Dear Sir/ M adam:
"Are you one of those folks who
has stolen out of the house at an
ungodly hour and headed for a game
arcade to play Space In uaders? Or
maybe your favorite is A steroids?
At the very least , you p robably
know someone who hoards quarters
just so he or she can play one of the
many video games that have become
popular over the last few years.
" Why a r e so m a n y p eople
o b se ssed with playing those
electron ic games? And is there more
to playing them than ju st pushing
buttons? These questions can be
answered during the upcoming city·
wide video game tournament
sponsored by Malibu Grand Prix
August 8 through August 29.
August 15 , and a Celebrity
Challenge August 20, with proceeds
going to Hermann Hospital's Life
Flight Program.
" As you ca n see, t here are many
visual opportunities her e, and since
interest is so high in electronic
video games now, we feel your
readers would enjoy such a feature.
" Th er e are m any visual oppo r tun ities here (in a
H ouston coin -op tournament}, an d we fee l your
r ead ers w o uld en j oy a n ews featu re." -PR re lease
"Durin ~ this three·week _r,eriod,
H ouston wi ll be unde r ' Armor
Attack ," the elec tronic game to be
played by contestants vying for over
$2,500 in cash and prizes. T he U .S.
Army is even getting in the spirit of
things by supplying a j eep, a
helicopte r and a tank (elem ents in
the game) at Malibu Grand Prix's
W est Loop North on t he day o f the
final round o f the tournament,
August 29.
"In addition to the tournament
itself, there will be seueral actiuities
that might work fo r you as story
ideas. Malibu will hold a Family Day
August 9, a 'Boot Camp' clinic
" W e'll b e b ack with you in a few
days to see if you'r e interested.
Thanks fo r your time."
"Sincerely,
"Deborah L. Ward"
The opera tor, whether or not he
chooses to go to a media consultant
such as the firm which produced the
above, can finds ways to make his
own promotion seem " unique." In
doing so, h e can reach the news
media with a letter and a following
p e r sonal co n tac t and t h ereby
generate publicity that reflects well
on his concern and the image o f the
industry as a whole.
•
ARTIC
International Inc.
P.C. Boards
Game Parts
Speed-up Kits
We can supply your
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ARTIC INTERNATIONAL, INC.
550 ROUTE 22
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. 08807
Phone: 201-231-0800
Telex: 642311 ARTIC NBCH
10
PLAY METER , November 1 , 1981