Meet the PR: Gregory Hutto of Reverb Communications
Since starting Saving Content, I have made several relationships with Public Relations to promote their games as well as write Previews and Reviews of the games. I’d like to highlight them as they do outstanding work but many people really don’t know who they are, until now.
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This is clearly not Gregory, but his twitter pic – click to reveal the real Gregory.
What is your title at Reverb? And when did you start?
My title is Public Relations Manager with Reverb Communications and Reverb Publishing, and I started September of last year.
What was your first job?
My first job worth noting was freelance writing with a publication called Vagary.TV. At that time, I was also working for Minnesota Public Radio, coordinating fundraising efforts and designing rhetoric for campaigns.
What should people know what PR does, that may not be common knowledge?
Ultimately, my job is to make people aware of some great games. The more people know my games exist, the more I know I’ve done a good job for the game.
What influenced how you would speak in your emails? Meaning, being personal, funny, and relatable in delivering news to my email?
Personally, I take a more casual approach. We’re all just people who love video games, so I’m all for cutting the nonsense and saying what I really mean.
What are some annoyances regarding interactions or perceptions of PR?
The biggest misperception is that PR is empirically manipulative. I’m not here to squelch conversation, buy reviews or whatever other paranoid bit is out there; I just give a mainline to the information people are seeking.
How often do you travel for your job?
I’ve been to PAX East and E3 with Reverb, and I’ve also traveled for in-office visits to San Francisco and Los Angeles to give journalists a sneak peak at what it is I’m working on. There’s sort of a rotation at Reverb, but I would say I’m going somewhere about once or twice a quarter.
So, is it true that PR are people with feelings?
Haha. Certainly! Like I said, we’re all just gamers, and we’re all just trying to do our jobs. At the end of the day, I can grab a drink with my friends from the other side of the fence, and in that sense, I know we’re all on the same page.
To people reading that are interested in a career in video game or other PR, what advice do you have for them?
The biggest skill is communication. Every gamer knows they love games, but if they can communicate the value of something, then they’re better off. Really, the same skills that make a great journalist make a great PR person – especially considering how often the two work in tandem.
How often do you play the titles you represent?
The deeper the game, the more I play it. Some games are just fun games to pick up and put down, and others need to be experienced in a deep way. I play our games as often as I have time to.
If you or Reverb had the opportunity to do work with any game, what would your choice be and why?
I’d be absolutely thrilled to work with some Japanese titles. Something compelling and akin to Final Fantasy or even Metal Gear Solid would be a true pleasure. Yet, I’d want it to be something entirely new to me so I could experience it for the first time and share with people.
Thanks so much for doing this, Gregory.
Thank you! It was a pleasure.
