Often, a story or client comes along that requires a unique approach. This doesn’t mean you treat it any differently than others, but the strategy changes when researching and engaging with reporters you haven’t previously worked with. 

E-sports legend Billy Mitchell happens to be one of those clients. Known as the King of Kong, his story has all the makings of a true thriller. Once accused of cheating to acquire the world record score in Donkey Kong and Pac-Man by Twin Galaxies, the official historical database for e-sport games, Mitchell fought in the courts of law and public opinion to get his scores reinstated by both #TheGuinnessBookofWorldRecord and #TwinGalaxies. After years of reputation management and legal battles, he succeeded, and BoardroomPR had the pleasure of managing his crisis communication plan while following his journey and promoting his justice, which was eventually served when both reinstated his scores permanently. 

The keys to maximizing engagement with a story like Billy Mitchell’s include the following: 

• Do the research! If you are unfamiliar with an out-of-the-ordinary topic and are tasked with promoting it, the best thing to do is some digging. Familiarize yourself with the industry so you can genuinely be knowledgeable about the story at hand.
• Get hands-on! When we first started working with Billy Mitchell, we took every opportunity to visit and watch him in his element. In this situation, we studied Billy as he played Donkey Kong and saw the passion and determination in his eyes. 
• Find the right audience! With this story in particular, the right audience was right in front of our eyes. E-sports and gaming have a substantial following, with many publications and reporters covering this type of news.  
• Use social media to your advantage! Using social media allows you to reach a much wider audience quickly. In Billy Mitchell’s case, we published a statement and gave Twin Galaxies a statement to push through their social media channels.

BoardroomPR Account Director Daniel Benjamin, executed all the above keys successfully and got our client’s news in front of the masses. This included full feature stories in TMZ, Barstool Sports, Nintendo, CNET, AP News, Yahoo, The Verge and many more gaming publications. 

We knew that with the right plan, we would be able to promote the news of Billy Mitchell’s reinstatement across all platforms. Major players such as The Guinness Book of World Records, Barstool Sports, PC Gamer, TMZ, and Nintendo shared his social media statement.

Our team was honored to be able to be a part of history and tell the uplifting story of Billy Mitchell rejoining the ranks as one of the greatest video game players of all time.  

Daniel Benjamin

Account Director