The promise sounds almost too good: Pay someone to write glowing articles about your company. Watch the coverage translate directly into sales. Become an industry thought leader overnight.
“Not true,” says Casey Borisoff, Director of Public Relations at JSA+Partners, ticking through the most persistent myths plaguing esports founders. “PR doesn’t control journalists. Reporters don’t send articles for approval—that would be called an ad. And PR results don’t happen instantaneously.”
This reality check kicked off ESTA’s recent “Public Relations 101” training series, where the JSA+Partners team—led by founder Jennifer Acree alongside Borisoff and PR Manager Nick Moran—spent two sessions dismantling misconceptions and teaching practical PR fundamentals to an industry that desperately needs both.
Their client roster speaks for itself: Electronic Arts, SYBO (the team behind Subway Surfers), Red Bull Gaming, and Exploding Kittens. But expertise alone doesn’t bridge the gap between what founders think PR does and what it actually accomplishes. That requires confronting some uncomfortable truths.
The Marathon, Not the Sprint
“PR is really about the long game,” Borisoff emphasizes. “It’s about relationship building and establishing credibility. You can’t just become a thought leader overnight.”
This long-game mindset clashes with startup culture’s obsession with instant metrics. Worse, publications rarely link directly to products—their goal is keeping readers on their own sites, not driving traffic elsewhere.
“PR is first and foremost a brand awareness driver and thought leadership play,” Borisoff clarifies.
The challenge intensifies when you consider what reporters face daily. “We’ve asked reporters that they receive between 150 and 700 email pitches each and every day,” Moran explains. “The number could be as high as 1,000. That’s a baffling amount of emails.”
Standing out requires what Moran calls “killer strong messaging” aligned with overall company goals. It’s not enough to have news—you need narrative, perspective, and authority that journalists actually want to cover.
What PR Really Is
If PR isn’t about controlling coverage or guaranteeing sales, what does it actually do?
“PR provides the bridge between companies and the public,” Acree explains. “Think about it as a two-way mirror. We’re not only looking at how the public perceives the company, but how the company interacts with the public.”
This reputation management extends far beyond media coverage. The JSA team emphasized that their toolkit includes thought leadership development, content strategy for owned channels like LinkedIn and company blogs, conference speaking opportunities, award submissions, and crisis prevention—the unsexy work of ensuring consistency across every public touchpoint.
“It can take one news cycle for things to go downhill,” Acree warns. “You want to make sure that’s not going to happen. Those are the day-to-day strategies and tactics that we employ as communications people.”
Thought leadership, despite becoming buzzword territory, remains central to effective PR. Moran points to Exploding Kittens CEO Elan Lee’s podcast appearances—where he’s not pitching products but sharing innovation strategies and behind-the-scenes insights only he can provide.
“He’s telling the secret sauce behind his strategy,” Moran notes. “Which will hopefully translate into interest in the company, but not inherently.”
Timing and Strategic Alignment
When should esports companies start PR? The answer defies simple formulas.
“It’s nice to have a moment in time that you’re using as a launch pad,” Borisoff suggests—a funding announcement or product launch that justifies introducing the company to journalists. But waiting for perfect timing can backfire.
“PR isn’t really something you can just turn on,” she continues. “I think it’s important to engage an agency a month or two ahead of when you’re trying to announce something. The most important thing is laying a really strong foundation.”
The team stressed that PR strategy must align with business objectives that shift as companies evolve. What works for B2B partnerships differs dramatically from B2C campaigns aimed at general consumers or hardcore gaming enthusiasts.
For esports companies still treating PR as optional or purely transactional, the JSA+Partners training offered a sobering perspective: In an industry where credibility determines survival, reputation management isn’t a luxury—it’s infrastructure. The question isn’t whether you need PR, but whether you understand it well enough to do it right.
