Just some constructive feedback on Zen's PR

I recently started taking a class on public relations and felt that Zen would be an interesting company to analyze. The past year or so has been very interesting for Zen, for better or worse, and I wanted to put my thoughts out there on how Zen's social media and YouTube videos work, and how I would improve them. Please note that I'm in no position to provide criticism, I'm just discussing what I'd try to do.

- It’s great that Zen has a monthly pipeline of content, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think that the videos would benefit from a bimonthly release rather than a monthly schedule. You could also include information about their RPG products as well to encourage audiences who enjoyed their RPG stuff to play their pinball tables and vice versa. Two very different audiences for sure, but things could work out.
- "The Pinball Show" title isn’t an accurate indicator of what these monthly videos entail. Sure, Akos sometimes talks about real life tables, and we have gotten stuff like the Halloween interview with Spooky Pinball, but the videos are largely focused on Zen products. “Zen Studios Showcase” would be a better name for these videos - reduce the filler stuff, focus on both sides of the company, and use a Nintendo Direct style format where you’re able to announce one thing after another. Then, in the coming weeks, upload behind the scenes stuff for the announced content before they release. This would encourage more hype for content instead of announcing a new table the day of release, which Zen has been doing quite a bit of as of late.
- Encourage easier communication between the different divisions of Zen. I've recently been watching Linne's streams on Tuesdays, and I get the impression that production on Pinball FX is split into divisions that rarely seem to talk with each other; Linne also serves as their social media manager and I could imagine it's a pain for him, with the recent ticket outrage and lack of any proper information to give. Quicker, more efficient communication would also make it easier for bug fixes to be patched into the game.
- Tell the customers more about what encourages your decisions! Tickets being associated with cross-buy, and preventing unwanted ticket balances, would have been a godsend back when these were announced but the way they were delivered seems like damage control rather than an intended feature. I'm sure Mel didn't want it to come across that way, either, but a lot of people were already turned off from the new game because of the current balance issues.
- I'm grateful that Mel has at least begun to acknowledge delays with certain features not making it into the April update, and that's something else I feel is necessary. Creating a "roadmap" of Pinball FX announcements leading up to the August release (maybe?) is also a good idea, but one I sincerely wish was implemented sooner than it was; particularly considering the year-long hiatus between Pinball FX's announcement and its early access release.

Basically, I want Zen to put in the effort into communications that they do into their new tables. Sell us on purchasing tables we already bought, even if they aren’t new. Take community feedback, both positive and constructive, and use it to make the best product possible. Pinball FX has the potential to be the best game in the series, but without a proper PR department, the game might not receive the attention it rightfully deserves.

Yeah !

Encore une fois, tu mets le point sur quelque chose qui m'a perturbé.

Fin d'année 2019 (juste avec le covid), et après une année très avare en sortie (Funhouse / Space Station / Dude), akos m'avait dit que 2021 serait surement meilleure, avec plein de sorties de prévu. Puis il y a eu le covid, et tous les plans ont été chamboulés.

Mais moi à cette époque, comme beaucoup d'autres, j'en attendais beaucoup de Zen pour m'évader un peu. C'est un petit studio, toute l'équipe était en télétravail. Sur les réseaux, j'ai été dur par moment, pour les booster un peu, mais avec le recul, je trouve qu'ils ont quand même bien assuré.

Même si clairement, le Pinball Show était plus une frustration qu'autre chose. Au départ, je pensais que ce format de communication allait envoyer du lourd, j'en attendais quelque chose de sympa. En commencant par le nouveau PFX, qui avait été annoncé en janvier 2021, puis reporté... grosse déception, au final tous ces épisodes mensuels n'ont servi qu'à une chose : nous faire patienter plus d'un an, parce qu'ils n'étaient prêts, parce que le covid avait tout retardé. Donc oui, ils auraient effectivement dû passer à un bimensuel, pour si peu d'informations à divulguer. Ou des informations parfois mal choisies, comme la primeur des nouvelles sur Apple Arcade, que je trouve encore être une grosse erreur.

Mais bon ! A en croire le planning annoncé, tout devrait s'accélérer maintenant ! Jusqu'à avant les vacances, un épisode = une nouvelle table... ensuite, vacances... puis sans doute, continuité des tables Marvel sur PFX, et de nouvelles tables à la rentrée.

Le covid est derrière, j'espère. Et ils vont assurer leur com !

Addendum - Zen recently started doing a series of teasers towards their next table (I think it's Congo) on Facebook, supposedly as a way to bring the community together, which I can respect. Thing is, it certainly doesn't help that the comments are accusing them of appealing to a younger audience than the "40+ year olds" they should apparently be appealing to, and I don't get it? Don't you want the pinball hobby to evolve and expand its appeal to younger audiences? I get that you might not like this kind of stuff but there are plenty of people who aren't 40+ year olds willing to get into the hobby, myself included, so it comes off as gatekeeping what the company can or cannot do to me.

Of course, maybe I'm completely wrong - I barely ever use Facebook as is outside of pinball league stuff, so there's that - but you'd think getting a larger audience into the hobby would be perceived as a good thing.

Je pense que dans la communauté, dans le public de Zen, il y a énormément de "haters". Les gens aiment bien gueuler pour un rien sur les réseaux, c'est un défouloir.

Excellent si c'est bien Congo la prochaine table !