By: Rob Fleischer
It’s hard to believe that this month marks 20 years since the official start of Sandbox. It went by in the blink of an eye.
I wanted to reflect a little bit on how we got here. Back in early 2005, Corey, Bill and I were planning our exit from Rockstar with a simple mission: start our own PR and marketing agency so we could work on the games we loved, with people we liked, on a schedule that wouldn’t make our wives angry 🙂 We had a lot of friends in the industry who were developing games and willing to give us a shot (thank you!). Still, it was stressful as I had just gotten married, and we were all starting families. So before we jumped in, I took a 3-week cross-country road trip with my wife to reset. It was a great way to disconnect for a bit before embarking on our new undertaking.
We spent way too many hours trying to come up with our name, and our list was expansive, but getting something meaningful and a URL that wasn’t already taken sparked a lot of debate. Ultimately, Sandbox won out because it harkened back to our time working on GTA and its open-world gameplay, and also the idea that we could build something fun (believe me, I tried so hard to work in a pickle-related name). It was our core belief that there was a need for an agency that really understood both PR and sales. With our collective expertise and experience, we were set up to be able to provide a unique offering in the world of video games.
Times were definitely different back in 2005. Our first order of business was to get an office because being able to ship boxed product was a necessity. We needed physical space. We settled into a space in Manhattan on Madison and 34th, and traded an air conditioner for our first logo (I still love that one).
A lot has changed in 20 years. We eventually tightened up the logo, then made it more game-oriented (thanks Val!), and think it is really cool to see how that evolved.
As for the office space, we landed in 5 different spots during the ensuing 20 years. Some big, some small. In the early days of Sandbox, the intersection of retail and PR was at the forefront. Sales were dependent on magazine and website press stories to drive buy-in. Then there was a shift to community with Facebook and other social media being an important part of the marketing mix in the late 2000s through early 2010s.
In the early years we did some really amazing marketing initiatives, including several cross-country promo tours with customized trailers and visiting press and retailers along the way.
What’s changed the most, you might ask? The press landscape. When we started, press tours were the norm. SF, LA, Minneapolis, Chicago, NY were all part of the circuit. Flash forward 20 years, and we’re lucky to see anyone in an office. No more doing large physical mailers to hundreds of media; now, with the press of a button, we distribute thousands of codes. Timing, deadlines, communication platforms – it’s all changed. But one thing has stayed the same: relationships matter. Tech and tools are helpful, but it’s people – your team, your clients, and the folks you interact with on a daily basis – that make the difference. Surrounding yourself with the best people is the key to success. It’s really all we have.
Sandbox has had its fair number of employees over the years, and all of them have been amazing. The last decade has been the most remarkable with the bulk of the current team all having been together for the better part of that time. Work-life balance is so important, and that’s one of the things we’ve prioritized over the last few years. I am so proud that Sandbox has won ‘Best Place to Work‘ twice in the past few years. That’s a testament to everyone here.
The other thing that happened to Sandbox that I never imagined was the fact that we would be acquired. We didn’t build a PR agency to sell it, we built it to work with people we respect on things we care about. But after years of working alongside Saber Interactive, the timing aligned during some acquisitions where it made sense for us to be brought into the fold there. I’ll always be grateful to the team at Saber for believing in us. Having that kind of support behind you is something you don’t appreciate until you have it, and I have nothing but admiration for all the independent shops out there.
For more on Sandbox, visit our homepage.
