US gaming giant Activision is keeping incumbent PMK*BNC as its consumer PR agency in North America following a review earlier this year.

PMK*BNC has been Activision's consumer PR agency for the last three years — working on a number of its high-profile games, including Call of Duty and Skylanders.

“They have also helped to shape how we are introducing Destiny to the world, which we anticipate to be another billion dollar gaming franchise,” says Monte Lutz, Activision’s global head of PR.

Lutz joined Activision from Edelman last fall to “innovate how we tell our story to media and influencers, as well as directly to our fans. In order to to do so, I set out to make sure we had the right people, processes, partners and engagement principles in place.”

In addition to conducting a PR review, Lutz conducted a wider assessment of the company’s storytelling resources. This involved hiring digital and editorial specialists, introducing new ways to tell its story, partnering more closely with the expert marketing, digital, media and CRM teams internally, and reviewing its agency and analytics partners. Edelman continues to work on its social media business and the company works with several agencies on the corporate side.

“All of these actions are aimed at ensuring we are building interest in, excitement about and engagement with the games we are launching this fall,” Lutz says. The company is gearing up to launch three blockbuster releases in 60 days: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Skylanders Trap Team and Destiny.

“There was a lot of interest in the [PR] business. In fact, a number of agencies approached us before we formally announced the RFP, because they had heard that we were putting the account up for review,” Lutz says. Ultimately, four agencies were shortlisted amongst the 11 that competed for the business.

“We made the decision to continue with PMK*BNC based on their proven performance on past game launches, expertise in entertainment PR, ability to field dedicated, experienced teams for our brands, and shared commitment to invest in innovative ways to engage and excite media, influencers and fans with our games,” he adds.

Activision’s review committee included leaders from its PR, marketing and digital teams, to reflect its integrated approach to marketing.