GS: You mentioned print ads in the enthusiast press, are you going beyond gaming publications? In print, I mean.
HH:
Initially it will just be the endemic media, mainly because those are
the people that we've partnered with over the last few months, and
trying to take out ads in some of the bigger, broader magazines, where
impactful. I think it needs to be a strategic decision.
GS: And where would be impactful?
HH:
It depends. Again, if we're talking about parents that are also casual
gamers, then it's probably one set of outlets. If it's parents that
we're just trying to educate about the issues, it's probably another
whole set of outlets, and we're not going to be able to move as quickly
as this holiday season. Right now, we're really just focused on
building the membership, and getting awareness out, so this is probably
something that will be a long-term process. And in terms of editorial,
I think that's something we can start sooner than later. In terms of
advertising, we probably have to be more particular, we have to be
really careful about how we're spending our members' money.
GS:
I'm assuming that the initial advertising is to gain membership, and
then subsequent advertising would be advocacy and awareness?
HH:
Actually, the initial round of advertising does both. So I'm hoping to
build awareness about the association, but at the same time, build
awareness about the advocacy, and the importance of those issues.
GS: Has the weekly editorial content started yet?
HH: It has not. And hopefully it will be daily!
GS: That's a lot.
HH:
That is a lot. I'm hoping to build it in a way that a lot of content
will come from partner websites, and so we'll just be pushing back out
information that we feel is important for our members to be aware of,
and that will be driving back to our partners.
GS: Well…I haven't gotten a call yet, I…[laughs]
HH: I'll make a note!
GS: I don't know a whole lot about your background, but can you brief me on political interactions you've had?
HH:
Sure! I've been in the industry for about fifteen years. The first half
of that was approximately in the publishing side. I used to run Game
Week magazine, which became IE, and then while I was doing that I
founded the IEMA, the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association,
a retail group that represented all the major retailers in the channel,
and has over the course of the past, oh, seven to nine years. That
spanned a lot of the advocacy we did was in the last three or four
years.
Prior to that, the focus really was on the
ratings system and the publishers, and when the spotlight started
moving towards the retailers is when I personally became more involved
in testifying for state legislatures and the FTC and working with the
senators. I think it was four or five years ago that I was first
beckoned by Senator Lieberman up to Hartford and called in for a
meeting. So that's probably my first one on one with a politician, and
ever since it's been a real education.