Gun launch

September 23rd, 2010, Lexington, Kentucky – TAO Media Group, a cutting-edge advertising agency based in Lexington, Ky, is proud to announce Gun, a new internal gaming division. Gun will take over all video game initiatives from TAO, and will continue to work closely with fortune 500 companies to guide them on how to properly reach the coveted video game demographic. Gun will also provide full service consulting to both video game publishers and developers who are seeking guidance during any aspect of their game's development cycle or launch campaign.   

"In only a small amount of time we've assembled what we think is the brightest and most talented consulting firm in the industry, and we are adding new professionals each day." Said Ronnie Hobbs, Gaming Specialist and co-founder. "Our goal for Gun is to make sure each and every video game campaign is executed with genuine concern for the gamer, but at the same time is able to offer real results for the brands involved. Placing a generic billboard in a racing title or allowing the consumer to download your company logo as their gamerpic isn't very exciting or engaging. Gamers deserve to be treated more intelligently, and so do the brands involved with that campaign."

"We saw a real need that currently wasn't being fulfilled.  There is a serious lack of knowledge about gamers, their culture and how to properly engage them. Agencies have a hard time reaching gamers effectively.  Furthermore they have even more difficulty identifying the opportunities around video games.  If a brand is looking for something custom, their options are limited, until now." -Wes Keltner, Creative Director and co-founder.  

″Dan 'Shoe' Hsu and I are excited to bring our consulting expertise and combined 28 years of industry experience to Gun,″ said Bitmob Media co-founder Demian Linn. ″And this partnership is a natural fit for Bitmob -- not only do we have a staff with deep knowledge of every video game genre, but our growing community at  Bitmob.com is a great potential source for market research and quality beta testers.″

Effective immediately, all Agencies, Publishers and Developers who wish to contact Gun for information on video game campaigns, development, publishing, or consulting opportunities should visit  FEARTHEGUN.com, or send an email to  info@fearthegun.com for more information how how the process works. 

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About Tao Media Group and Gun

About TAO Media Group: TAO Media Group, formally TAO Agency, formed in 2006 after gaining their first client American Apparel.  TAO's work in the interactive space of Second Life gained critical acclaim and helped launch the virtual branding movement into Second Life.  Since 2006 TAO has worked with Samsung, Ford Motor Company, GM, Home Depot and several other blue chip brands.  TAO Media Group focuses on new and exciting media channels as well as traditional avenues.  Social Media, Mobile, Gaming and interactive DOOH are only a few of the forms of media TAO specializes in.  

About Dan Hsu: Shoe was the Editorial Director for the 1UP Network ( 1UP.com, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Games for Windows Magazine,  GameVideos.com, etc.) and has appeared as a games-industry expert on CNN, NPR, BBC, NY Times, USA Today, CNBC, G4, MTV, Fox News, ABC News Radio, and more. He has 13 years experience in gaming editorial and has twice been named to Technology Marketing’s “Top 15 Media Influencers.” Currently, he is the Co-Founder and Editor at the community-oriented gaming site  Bitmob.com. Shoe is one of the gaming experts we keep on staff here at TAO.

About Jason Rohrer: Jason Rohrer is an independent game artist, programmer, and critic. With game designs that explore complex and subtle aspects of the human condition, his work has bolstered the acceptance of games as a serious art form. Rohrer's games have been shown at festivals and art exhibitions in Park City, Toronto, Montreal, and Lleida, Spain. His 2007 release,  Passage, received widespread critical and industry acclaim, with  God of War creator David Jaffe calling  Passage "one of the most emotional video games I've ever played." Parallel with his design efforts, Rohrer's review and interview site  Arthouse Games has served as the lone hub of artgame criticism since 2006. Rohrer lives with his spouse and two children in the rural town of Potsdam, New York, where they pursue a simple, frugal lifestyle.

About Darlan Monterisi: After spending fours years as Public Affairs Officer for the United States Marine Corps, Darlan spent the next five years in public relations at Mullen Agency and Rockstar Games. While at Rockstar she was responsible for leading and managing all U.S. and International PR teams on campaign and product launches for 6 ‘triple A’ titles, including Grand Theft Auto IV, and Midnight Club: Los Angeles. 

About Joe Rybicki: Joe Rybicki is a freelance writer, musician, and geek living near Cleveland, Ohio. He's been writing about videogames professionally since 1996, and spent nearly a decade at The Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine before becoming a rogue agent. He currently runs Plastic Axe ( plasticaxe.com), a blog about music games, and spouts off occasionally about unrelated matters at Joe Rybicki Dot Com ( joerybicki.com).

About Scot Rubin: Scot has been an entrepreneur and executive responsible for the launch of the several interactive entertainment ventures. He is successful at establishing the vision and strategies necessary to reach the interactive audience around the world. Scot has created over 1,000 hours of television, radio, and interactive content about electronic entertainment. As a consultant for Comcast and co-founder and Vice President of G4 Media, Scot helped bring the world of video games to television in 2002.  Before G4, Scot founded All Games Network (AGN) where he developed and produced 15 hours of live interactive programming each week. AGN was sold to Net-TV pioneer Pseudo Programs and Scot served as VP of Games and Sports programming.  At Pseudo, Scot also served as EP of the Quarterback Club Channel, a joint venture with the NFL. Scot has experience developing content, product integration and interactive campaigns with major brands, including: The NFL, XM Radio, EA Sports, Mountain Dew, Creative Labs, Software Etc, XFX, Motorola, C-Net, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Direct TV and MTV. 

About Demian Linn: Demian is the co-founder of  Bitmob.com, a community-driven video game editorial and blogging site. He has performed consulting work for Electronic Arts, was the Executive Producer of  GameVideos.com and “The 1UP Show,” launched/hosted an “iTunes Best of 2007” award-winning podcast covering World of Warcraft, and held several staff positions at EGM. His work has appeared in Official PlayStation Magazine, Xbox Nation, Detroit Free Press, Complex Magazine, Smart Business,  GameSpy.com, and FHM; he has been quoted in the NY Times and interviewed on BBC Radio.

About Ronnie Hobbs: With over 8 years of experience working in the video game industry, Ronnie has served as a producer and writer for multiple websites, magazines and newspapers, including the Official Dreamcast Magazine UK. He is also the co-founder of GameCinemaHD, and helped create and produce the first ever video game themed show made exclusively for Times Square, the mecca of the advertising world. In addition, Ronnie has served as a video game consultant for TAO Agency for the past several years, where he was responsible for supplying ideas and initiatives for Fortune 500 brands.

About Wes Keltner: Wes created TAO Agency in the Spring of 2006. Two days after filing his biz with Uncle Sam, Wes gained his first client, American Apparel. Wes placed American Apparel into the virtual world of Second Life, which became the first “real life” retailer to appear in a virtual world. The TAO Agency received many accolades from the press including making the front pages of The Wall Street Journal and Ad Age. His work also appeared in GQ, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, CNET, MSNBC, Forbes, Business Week, MTV, FOX News and Reuters. 

Contact: Ronnie Hobbs/Wes Keltner           

Tel: 859.381.9976    

Email:  info@fearthegun.com