Call to Action: Thank the media

[Altoholic Monkey]

Also it might be a good idea to start leveraging YouTube, if people can record themselves speaking on exactly what COH means to them, then focus on the human interest angle as well.

[Soundtrack]

Also it might be a good idea to start leveraging YouTube, if people can record themselves speaking on exactly what COH means to them, then focus on the human interest angle as well.

I mentioned this in another thread with a podcast idea. I'm not great on video editing, but if somebody has expertise... I would bet that those of us with webcams/camcorders/etc. would be able to email a small bit to somebody who could then make a very cool compilation/plea. :)

[Patribot]

I've commented on all 3 the stories to this point and reposted them on Facebook. Not much, I know, but doing what I can.

Really need to level-up so I can have more powers.

[gribb85]

Hey guys,

I'm the author who posted that story on GamerZines.com. I think the best thing you can do is send emails to websites like Eurogamer, VG247, Massively, Gamespot.com, GiantBomb and others letting them know about your cause. A lot of them have links for news tips, so just send them an email talking about group numbers, the petition, what you want to achieve and the sort of options you guys are exploring regarding making your voices known to NCsoft.

As a fan of City of Heroes, it was actually the first MMORPG that properly got its hooks into me, it would be great to see you guys get a response from NCsoft.

Cheers!

[emu265]

Hey guys,

I'm the author who posted that story on GamerZines.com. I think the best thing you can do is send emails to websites like Eurogamer, VG247, Massively, Gamespot.com, GiantBomb and others letting them know about your cause. A lot of them have links for news tips, so just send them an email talking about group numbers, the petition, what you want to achieve and the sort of options you guys are exploring regarding making your voices known to NCsoft.

As a fan of City of Heroes, it was actually the first MMORPG that properly got its hooks into me, it would be great to see you guys get a response from NCsoft.

Cheers!

Thanks for posting the article and thanks for taking the time to come over here and chime in.
You probably know this by now, but it means a lot to all of us.

And, thanks for the tips :)

[downix]

Yes, it's important to have one single hashtag to give it the best chance of trending - and it should be positive, not negative, so no #NCSoftSucks type stuff.

Be simple and direct:
#savecoh

[eabrace]

Yes.  We're trying to forming a consensus today on one hastag.  Let's go with #SaveCOH and get ourselves trending.

[Terlin]

Hello, everyone!

Just wanted to let you know there is new article at http://www.gamenguide.com/articles/3164/20120904/city-heroes-shutting-down-ordinary-gamers-make.htm

They have links to the Facebook pages, and the Petition built into the article. Absolutely first rate.




Stormistress

[Dead Calm]

Hi all, just to repost my message from the official formus...

I was a press officer for a government department here for a while, and though it was a few years back, I'm more than happy to help out. Off the top of my head we should:

• Pull together a mailing list of suitable media contacts (gaming websites and magazines, games correspondents at more general websites/news organisations etc)


• Define exactly what our message is – I'd suggest "Save City of Heroes" as a starting point. All our communications should get that message across, even if they talk about different ways of doing it ("CoH players petition NCSoft to save the game", "CoH players looking for a hero to buy the game", "Can CoH players save the game via Kickstarter?" "Players recreate CoH using the power of puppet theatre" "Thank you, but hopefully not goodbye; CoH players send the developers fancy new hats".


• Prepare proper press releases rather than sending generic 'what is happening' emails. If we supply a release with a decent headline and story (for example "Petition to save City of Heroes gets passes 10,000 signatures"), we are a lot more likely to get coverage than if we just tell them about the situation. We'd also need to host these somewhere.


• Have a few people who are willing to act as points of contact and rent-a-quotes for journalists.


• Create a list of potential future stories so that we can keep our message out there.


• Consider stunts. Stunts get coverage. 50 people dressed as super heroes outside NCSoft's office will get more coverage than 10,000 people sending the CEO a polite email – that's not to say we shouldn't send the emails as well though. Also stunts are fun.


• Pitch larger articles. A mainstream website or paper is unlikely to cover a story about a computer game closing down unless it is a really slow news day, but may consider running a feature called "What happens to an online community when the plug is pulled?"

One thing to remember is that I've only previously worked on UK-based activity, so there may be some stylistic differences from US press releases. And the occasional extra letter u, obviously.

[CursedSorcerer]

Must keep the story's alive go to them and just post agreements with the person above , if you cant think of anything else to write.

Errm. What if the person above were to post something along the lines of "Why are these idiots trying to revive a terrible game that deserves to die?" I should disagree with that. Yeah.

[Jonfan]

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this one, but Massively has got a big discussion going on CoH. I added my 2 cents and I encourage every here to do the same. Be pro-active.


http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/08/31/paragon-studios-closing-city-of-heroes-to-sunset-before-the-end/

[NecrotechMaster]

few more articles which might be of interest to look at:

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/04/we-want-your-most-creative-city-of-heroes-character/
http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/09/04/the-soapbox-social-gaming-wont-destroy-mmos/

found these while perusing everywhere i can for potential media spotlights

[NecrotechMaster]

heres another article

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/09/04/fans-fight-save-city-heroes

[MissKyo]

And another one:

http://www.gamenguide.com/articles/3164/20120904/city-heroes-shutting-down-ordinary-gamers-make.htm

I'm so glad to see the news picking up the fight. The word needs to spread to anyone who has ever been a hero!

[Zombie Hustler]

• Consider stunts. Stunts get coverage. 50 people dressed as super heroes outside NCSoft's office will get more coverage than 10,000 people sending the CEO a polite email – that's not to say we shouldn't send the emails as well though. Also stunts are fun.

I was thinking about this one earlier myself; I'm here in So Cal, and was thinking maybe of trying to (or trying to work with others to) get together some kind of costume rally or something, perhaps. With the way media coverage is here in LA, we might be able to get some kind of spot, even if just for a couple of minutes.

I've also contacted a friend at Newsarama, and he may be able to get us some kind of coverage on that site.

[Cannonfodder]

• Pull together a mailing list of suitable media contacts (gaming websites and magazines, games correspondents at more general websites/news organisations etc)


• Define exactly what our message is – I'd suggest "Save City of Heroes" as a starting point. All our communications should get that message across, even if they talk about different ways of doing it ("CoH players petition NCSoft to save the game", "CoH players looking for a hero to buy the game", "Can CoH players save the game via Kickstarter?" "Players recreate CoH using the power of puppet theatre" "Thank you, but hopefully not goodbye; CoH players send the developers fancy new hats".


• Prepare proper press releases rather than sending generic 'what is happening' emails. If we supply a release with a decent headline and story (for example "Petition to save City of Heroes gets passes 10,000 signatures"), we are a lot more likely to get coverage than if we just tell them about the situation. We'd also need to host these somewhere.


• Have a few people who are willing to act as points of contact and rent-a-quotes for journalists.


• Create a list of potential future stories so that we can keep our message out there.


• Consider stunts. Stunts get coverage. 50 people dressed as super heroes outside NCSoft's office will get more coverage than 10,000 people sending the CEO a polite email – that's not to say we shouldn't send the emails as well though. Also stunts are fun.


• Pitch larger articles. A mainstream website or paper is unlikely to cover a story about a computer game closing down unless it is a really slow news day, but may consider running a feature called "What happens to an online community when the plug is pulled?"

I love you.  I'm an organization nut.  I love to see solid plans of execution.  Bear more of my children.  ;)

[Lock-On]

Two more articles that I've noticed over the weekend not in the list yet.  Here are links.

The escapist magazine had a post on it:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/119398-NCsoft-Shuts-Down-City-of-Heroes

And also Comics Alliance as well:

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/09/04/city-of-heroes-shutting-down/

Comment threads on both articles are very sympathetic.  It would be nice if we could tap into that somehow.

[AlaikaBalta]

• Consider stunts. Stunts get coverage. 50 people dressed as super heroes outside NCSoft's office will get more coverage than 10,000 people sending the CEO a polite email – that's not to say we shouldn't send the emails as well though. Also stunts are fun.

If anybody's going with this route, always remember to stay organized, polite and not-disruptive. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm an Indonesian (Who says nobody in Southeast Asia plays CoH?), but stunts could run afoul with law unless you have all the permits. Execute this properly and good publicity is sure to follow.

[TonyV]

Hey all, added several more articles in the OP that have been pointed out to me.  Great job, and keep an eye out.  We've had our coordinators scanning all of these forums and the Internet at large to collect media organizations, and tomorrow we plan on firing off our first official press release.  I've made contact with several good media folks, and we're hoping that within a few days, this will be plastered over most gaming, comic, and tech news sites, and after that, possibly even hitting some mainstream news outlets, too.

[NecrotechMaster]

gonna link this thread from the official forums here

http://boards.cityofheroes.com/showthread.php?t=296759

it looks like most of the paragon management are potentially looking to see if ncsoft will release the IP, with our media crusade its very possible that they will be able to use it in their arguments