Rising Star – Georgia Dawson, account manager at Indigo Pearl

Georgia Dawson, account manager at Indigo Pearl, explains how being confident, creative, and unique helped her to get a job in a field she loves.

How did you break into games PR?

Right after graduating from University – bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and with a generic English Literature degree – I didn’t know what I wanted to do. The idea that I could get a job in a field I truly loved, like writing or video games or anime, seemed impossible. I instead settled into doing SEO at a small start–up.

Thanks to a very supportive grandfather (in loving memory), I was soon able to return to University and complete a Masters degree in journalism, alongside internships at magazines like Good Housekeeping and Heat. I learnt that I truly love researching, writing and the general media landscape. I also learnt that PR was pretty darn fabulous too.

That’s when I realised: If doing one thing I love is so fulfilling, then doing TWO things I love must be even better. Let’s combine PR and gaming. I got my first big break at an agency called Grammatik working with mocap specialists, creative production studios and software developers. Eventually, I saw a job ad for Indigo Pearl. Their motto ‘work hard, be nice’ immediately resonated with me. I met with the founder, Caroline, for a coffee and interview. We chatted about brand management and social media trends. She then invited me to swing by EGX to meet the team, who were all absolutely lovely. The rest, as they say, is history.

What has been your proudest achievement so far?

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has been one of my favourite projects to date, and helping with PR for the game at launch is my proudest achievement in the games industry. First, I want to give a huge shout out to Haley Uyrus and the whole Mediatonic (and now Epic Games) team for bringing Indigo Pearl into something so special. When Fall Guys launched in August 2020, it brought friends together and provided a dash of wholesome humour when the world needed it most. The amount of beautiful, heartfelt messages from the community was truly inspiring.

It was also a chance to get creative – from organising Fall Guys’ entry into the Guinness Book of World Records, to shooting an episode of Blue Peter around the game (I still have my badge!). All in all, Fall Guys has been by far one of the most fulfilling projects of my career.

What has been your biggest challenge to date?

Honestly? Those awful moments where technology decides “Ha, not today!”, and everyone gets kicked out of a Zoom call, or Discord session, or god forbid game capture fails at a crucial moment. It’s times like this when I see my life flash before my eyes …

What do you enjoy most about your job?

That’s easy – the people are what I enjoy most about my job. It almost goes without saying, but the games industry is one of the most friendly, passionate sectors out there. Everyone unites under their shared love of gaming to deliver some truly standout work that has real world impact, and can potentially improve lives for the better.

It’s one of the great things about being part of Keywords Studios – the international services provider to the video games industry – you get to meet games professionals involved with localisation, QA, development, art and much more. There’s a lot of different talents and perspectives to learn about.

The games industry is also making strides towards more inclusivity for women, LGBTQIA+ communities and ethnic minority groups. Games are likewise becoming more and more accessible to people with disabilities. I really hope to see inclusivity continue to improve over the next few years – to make working in the games industry even more enjoyable for everyone.

What’s your biggest ambition in games PR?

My biggest ambition is to PR a game that introduces a trailblazing female lead – someone mentioned in the same breath as Lara Croft from Tomb Raider, Ellie from The Last of Us or Aloy from Horizon.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to work in PR?

PR is all about talking to people, making connections, finding inspiration and thinking  outside the box to deliver standout campaigns that make your audience go ‘WOW’. You also need to understand the latest trends and sensitivities in whichever industry you’re looking to enter. Make sure you have a firm knowledge base and the resources ready to respond fast, but with empathy, in any situation. Honestly, there’s a big melting pot of different factors that go into good PR and a lot of it comes down to practice. If I had to distil this into a single piece of advice – be confident, be creative and be unique.