Interesting People #9: Lukasz Kukawski on working Public Relations in the games industry

Following on from yesterday’s interview on the history of GOG.com, Senior PR Manager Lukasz Kukawski discusses what his job entails, how he ended up in the role he has today, and what it takes to get your foot in the door for a PR job in the games industry.

So to begin with, can you tell us what your educational background is and how that played a role in getting you started?
Lukasz: Sure. I finished journalism at the University of Warsaw, but with PR specialization, and I had in mind that I would end up as a PR person – but that wasn’t the case in the very beginning. During my studies I started working as a journalist in various weird and not-so-weird places. I worked in TV on a news programme, I worked on some magazines for housewives, and I finished up working on the Polish edition of Newsweek for a year or so.

One my colleagues from Newsweek had a friend who owned a PR agency and she offered to get in touch with her friend and link us up and talk, with the possibility that I could go work there. I started working as an intern at the agency, but had nothing to do with gaming up at that point.

With the source code seemingly lost forever and an Enhanced Edition thus impossible, GOG may be the only way to enjoy Black Isle’s Icewind Dale 2.

But you were playing games, though, right?
Lukasz:  Oh yes, I was a gamer and I still am a gamer. Gaming was a huge part of my life then, and was something I loved and one of the things I did most in my free time. So, after some time working in that first PR agency I then moved to another PR agency that was more involved in sports – a sports marketing agency where I was a PR person for the clients.

It was at that time that I saw a job offering posted on the CD Projekt website for a PR role.  That was a really vague job post because the GOG project was still a big secret… they were like, “we are looking for a new PR person for a new project we are working on”. So, I submitted my CV there and got invited to a series of interviews. The first was with the HR department, and then with some marketing folk, and at then at the end I had an interview with Marcin Niewiński and Adam Oldakowski, who was the first person working at GOG.com. It was only at that final meeting that they told me what it the project was all about.

Classic Sierra adventure games such as King’s Quest (shown here) are now preserved in the GOG catalogue. 

So they kept it secret for a while?
Lukasz: Yes, it was all secret for most of the process, and only on the last meeting I got some more bits about the project – still not everything. Then when they hired me back in early 2008 they showed me the website itself. The website had been worked on I think for a year before we launched.

So, we announced Good Old Games in June and had a closed beta with journalists for two months. Then in September 2008 we opened the gates for everyone. I’d joined in April 2008 to prepare the announcement, the PR strategy etc, and I was actually the only person who was taking care of marketing and PR back then. So yeah, that’s how it all began for me in PR in the gaming industry. It was basically a job offer, I submitted my CV, and I got hired! (laughs)

GOG has shifted towards also carrying new releases such as Telltale’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

So what does your job entail? What does it mean to be PR Manager for GOG.com?
Lukasz: Well, it’s different things I guess. First of all it’s keeping in touch with journalists all over the world, so that’s the main focus I have: to be a spokesperson for the company, making sure that journalists are kept up to date with everything that’s happening, maybe giving them ideas for the stories they can run. Also, it’s all about branding right now as well – how GOG is perceived by communities, journalists and gamers overall. So ensuring that all of the things about the philosophy behind the project, the brand and the company. Then, I’m also taking care of staying in touch with the GOG community, our wider community on social media, and also communities outside of GOG.

On top of that, there’s PR ideas for everything we do for the day to day running of the business. This includes releases, special actions, special sales – everything that is on the website daily. It might be the whole concept of an event, or writing copy to distribute. Plus right now, it’s also managing my team. Like I said, back in 2008 I was the only person running PR and marketing, while right now we have both a PR team and a marketing team. They’re now divided, and I manage the PR team that includes copywriting, social media, communities, and direct PR. That’s what I do, and you’ll find that’s what PR people in the gaming industry usually do.

And of course, which CD Projekt-related feature is complete without a nod to their excellent The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt? 

Right, so let’s say someone reading this is thinking to themselves, “OK, so I’m not a programmer, I’m not an artist and I don’t just want to do QA – I want to get a job in the marketing or PR side” – what else can someone do to get your kind of job?
Lukasz: Well, I guess you have to be persistent in the first place! (laughs) Like my story, starting with journalism before going to PR agencies… but every single time I thought about what I wanted to do, it was always connected with the gaming industry. That’s why I actively looked for the opportunities to get on board with the gaming companies.

The very first thing you need to do is keep your dreams up and try to get something out of it – really seek out your chances. I started as an intern and earned my experience that way. With that, I could show the relevant PR experience to the CD Projekt  and prove to them that even though I don’t have many gaming contacts right now, I could easily earn them. I could show them that “hey, if you’re looking for someone who is hard working and loves games, and wants to do cool stuff around that, I’m that person”.

Having some experience, even if not directly in gaming, helps a lot. If you don’t have the opportunity to begin with PR or marketing in the gaming industry right away, try to find ways to gain experience anyway. Then, start looking for the opportunities that arise. Looking at how the games industry is developing and looking at how many smaller studios are coming up, there are plenty of opportunities to gain some experience. Be persistent, and look for something that will fit your needs.

Of course, there’s plenty of luck involved too, such as I experienced with getting on board with GOG: the timing was right and I had the experience they were looking for, and so it worked for me.

Awesome, that’s a great rundown, and I’m sure aspiring PR and marketing gamers will take a lot from what you’ve shared. Thank you very much for your time, Lukasz!
Lukasz: No problem, you’re welcome!

A huge thanks to Lukasz for the interview - you can follow him on Twitter here. At the time of writing, GOG’s weekly sale included the recently released Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition. Check out my interview with Planescape’s lead artist, Tim Donley.

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Interesting People #8: Lukasz Kukawski on the history of GOG.com