Navigating comms and PR | Lulu Cheng Meservey (Substack, Activision Blizzard)

Lulu Cheng Meservey, Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Chief Communications Officer at Activision Blizzard, shares strategies for effective communication and idea propagation. A key concept is identifying and appealing to an audience's "cultural erogenous zones"—understanding their passions and tailoring messages accordingly, as exemplified by Kamala Harris linking K-12 education to national security. Meservey advocates for startups to embrace risk, favoring mistakes of commission over omission, and to focus on building direct relationships with a small group of "diehards" before attempting broader outreach. She introduces frameworks like the "pressure equals force divided by area" model, emphasizing targeted messaging for maximum impact, and highlights the importance of founders communicating authentically and directly, drawing inspiration from figures like Ryan Peterson and the marketing strategies of makeup companies such as NYX.