🎥 How to Build Buzz: Nail Your PR Story & Strategy | Hosted by Meta Horizon Go-to-Market Academy
Meta Horizon Go-to-Market Academy partners with Start to help developers and creators grow their audiences and build long term visibility in the Meta Horizon ecosystem. This session — How to Build Buzz: Nail Your PR Story & Strategy — marks our second collaboration with Just Drive Media, the award-winning communications agency recognized by PR Daily as one of 2024's top firms. Together, we deliver a new session that helps strengthen your launch communications and press outreach. 💡 In this session, you’ll discover how to: Craft clear and compelling messages that set your title apart Build press-ready materials that drive awareness Plan a communications strategy that builds momentum before and after launch Avoid common pitfalls when reaching out to press and content creators 📚 Accompanying Resources Use these templates to apply what you learn directly to your project. Each includes examples, pro tips, and space to make it your own: Press Release Template: Highlight your game’s hook and unique value proposition with press-ready details. Pitch Template: Write personalized outreach emails that capture attention and land coverage. Fact Sheet Template: Summarize your title’s key info, assets, and selling points for quick reference. Messaging Framework: Define your audience, positioning, and differentiators on one page. PR Plan & Timeline: Plan and track every phase of your campaign to stay aligned and on schedule. Review Guide Template: Prepare detailed materials for press and content creators when distributing early access or review builds. 🎯 Quick Start Guide: Start with the Messaging Framework to clarify your story. Use the Press Release and Fact Sheet Templates to build your core materials. Apply the Pitch Template to personalize your outreach. Follow the PR Plan & Timeline and Review Guide to organize your press beats and manage review coverage.
F2P vs. Premium | A Start Developer Panel on VR Monetization
Choosing between Free-to-Play and Premium is one of the biggest decisions a VR developer can make. In this session, we learn the unfiltered monetization strategies from the creators of hit games Moto X, Sail VR, Swordsman, UG, and Clay Hunt VR. Hosted by Scaled Partner Manager Rita Brennan Turkowski, this panel is a masterclass in navigating the path from initial idea to a thriving, monetized app on the Meta Horizon Store. 💡 In this session you’ll learn: When to choose a Free-to-Play (F2P) vs. a Premium pricing model. How to pivot your monetization strategy, even after launch. Proven techniques for building and leveraging a passionate community on Discord and beyond. Expert advice on Early Access, live ops, and creating viral social mechanics. 🎙️ HOST Rita Brennan Turkowski, Scaled Partner Manager 🗣️ PANELISTS Kyle Joyce (Enver Studio) - Moto X, Steal a Monkey Spencer Cook (Continuum) - UG Garett Cook (Red Team Interactive) - Sail VR Almir Brljak (Sinn Studio) - Swordsman, Battlegrounds Aleksi Rantonen (Shotgun Gaming Oy) - Clay Hunt VR ▶️ VIDEO CHAPTERS 👋 Introduction & Panelist Expertise 🕒 00:00 - Welcome & Panel Introduction 🕒 00:27 - Audience Poll: Free-to-Play vs. Premium 🕒 01:03 - Meet the Developers: Panelist Expertise & Games 🤔 Monetization & Concept Validation 🕒 03:37 - Icebreaker: How Game Genre Drives Your Monetization Choice 🕒 05:41 - Concept Evolution: Knowing When to Pivot or Quit 🕒 08:06 - Lessons from Launch: What We Learned from Our First Games 🕒 11:06 - Early Access Strategy: How Early is TOO Early? 📣 Community & Marketing 🕒 15:35 - How to Gather Early Signals from TikTok, Discord & Social Media 🕒 17:19 - Techniques for Building Community & Acting on Feedback 🕒 22:22 - The Power of Social Mechanics & Creating Viral Moments 🕒 25:05 - Creating Your Own Content vs. Working with Influencers ✅ Final Advice 🕒 26:48 - "What I Wish I Knew Then": Key Advice for New Developers 🕒 27:40 - Closing Thoughts: Define Your Audience & Monetization Plan 📚 RESOURCES ➡️ Premium Monetization Models: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/resources/monetization-premium-models/ ➡️ Free-to-Play Monetization Models: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/resources/monetization-free-to-play-models/ ➡️ New Monetization Tools for All Developers: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/monetization-tools-meta-horizon-store-developers-quest/ ➡️ Developers Blog: https://developers.meta.com/resources/blog/ ➡️ Meta Quest Developer Hub: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/unity/ts-mqdh/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH US ➡️ Meta for Developers: https://developers.meta.com/ ➡️ Sign up to get the latest news from Meta Horizon: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/newsletter 💡 LEARN ABOUT THE META HORIZON START PROGRAM The Meta Horizon Start program provides intermediate and advanced developers with the resources, hands-on support, and expert guidance needed to accelerate their app development. Join a thriving community to get the tools and go-to-market guidance you need to successfully deploy and grow your app on Meta Horizon OS. Apply to Start today: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/discover/programs/start6 Best Practices For Launching on the Meta Horizon Store
Ready to maximize your VR game's launch success? Learn directly from Benjamin Miller, Head of Store Operations, as he reveals 6 essential go-to-market (GTM) best practices for deploying your title on the Meta Horizon Store - actionable strategies to improve discoverability, increase conversions, and build a thriving community around your product. 💡 In this video, you’ll learn how to: Develop a holistic GTM strategy from pre-launch to post-launch. Leverage pre-launch offers like Coming Soon and Pre-orders to build momentum. Optimize your Product Detail Page (PDP) and A/B test assets for maximum impact. Engage your community using Developer Profiles and other on-platform tools. 🎙️ SPEAKER Benjamin Miller, Head of Store Operations at Meta ▶️ VIDEO CHAPTERS 📈 The VR Market Landscape 🕒 00:00: Welcome & Session Goals 🕒 02:42: VR Market Growth & Developer Opportunity 🕒 05:13: Understanding Modern Launch Challenges 🗺️ Your Go-To-Market Blueprint 🕒 09:43: Framework for Maximizing Launch Success 🕒 12:46: Defining a Holistic GTM Strategy 🕒 18:04: How to Set Goals Using Comparable Titles 🚀 Pre-Launch & Discovery Engine 🕒 21:22: Pre-Launch Offers: Coming Soon vs. Pre-Order vs. Early Access 🕒 25:42: How the Meta Horizon Store Ranking Algorithm Works 🕒 29:01: Advanced Pre-Launch Monetization Tactics 🎨 Asset Optimization & Testing 🕒 30:42: Building a High-Converting Product Detail Page (PDP) 🕒 32:18: A/B Testing Your Assets for Maximum Impact 🕒 33:52: Engaging Your Community with Developer Profiles & Posts ✅ Final Takeaways 🕒 35:40: Key Takeaways for Your Launch 🕒 36:31: Final Recommendations & How to Get Support 📚 RESOURCES ➡️ Check out the first article in our Growth Insights Series: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/tips-monetizing-in-app-purchases-free-to-play-strategies ➡️The Goldilocks Zone Pricing Article: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/optimize-user-time-goldilocks-session-length-meta-quest ➡️ Developers Blog: https://developers.meta.com/resources/blog/ ➡️ Meta Quest Developer Hub: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/unity/ts-mqdh/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH US ➡️ Meta for Developers: https://developers.meta.com/ ➡️ Sign up to get the latest news from Meta Horizon: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/newsletter 💡 LEARN ABOUT THE META HORIZON START PROGRAM The Meta Horizon Start program provides intermediate and advanced developers with the resources, hands-on support, and expert guidance needed to accelerate their app development. Join a thriving community to get the tools and go-to-market guidance you need to successfully deploy and grow your app on Meta Horizon OS. Apply to Start today: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/discover/programs/startApp Discovery - Start Town Hall Q3
Want to learn more about App Discovery on the Meta Horizon Store? The Start community voted to learn more about “App Discovery” during the Start Town Hall (Q3 2025), so we invited Thomas Gratz to share more about how you can optimize your app's distribution on the Store. In addition to this video, we recommend checking out this blog post on Unpacking Discovery.VR 103: Preparing Your App for the Meta Horizon Store
Join our team of experts in this Meta Connect 2025 series as they guide you through the fundamentals of VR development. You’ll learn how to start your project in Unity using Meta’s SDKs, explore essential building blocks for creating immersive experiences, and follow step-by-step instructions to deploy your first VR app. Whether you’re new to VR or looking to expand your skills, this series offers practical insights and hands-on demonstrations to help you succeed in building for Meta’s VR platforms. In the final session of this series, Jake Steinerman guides you through all of the steps to getting your app ready to publish on the Meta Horizon Store, and shares tips on finding and building your community. Join him in walking your app through the steps of passing VRCs, beta testing, building out a Product Detail Page, and finally, publishing your app. Your VR app is built—now let’s get it ready for the Meta Horizon Store. This launch session will guide you through everything from passing Virtual Reality Checks (VRCs) and effective beta testing to building a strong community and optimizing your product detail page. Learn proven strategies for a smooth submission, launch, and post-launch, featuring real-world examples and actionable tips to help your app thrive from day one.
Understanding App Requirements & Distribution on the Meta Horizon Store
We’re here to support you every step of the way as you build on our platform. It’s important to us that you have access to the best resources and guides to navigate our platform requirements so your apps can reach distribution and monetization even faster. With the Trusted Developer Essentials Program (TDE), we offer a free collection of resources led by Meta experts and hosted on the Data Protocol Platform. TDE covers topics like the developer journey, the app submission process, VRCs (all of our technical requirements to get your app published on the Horizon Store), privacy policy, Age Group Self-Certification, content guidelines, how to navigate Data Handling, how to submit your Data Use Checkup, and more. We’re always expanding TDE to include more helpful topics to make app publishing as easy as possible. Look out for new resources throughout the year, and please let us know if there are any materials or topics you’d like to see explained by filling out the Data Protocol survey or replying in this post—we’re always looking for more ways to help! An App's Journey Through Meta's Requirements Use this interactive flow-chart to understand the key milestones and requirements your app will encounter on its journey, from development to submission. Understanding Meta's Content Guidelines Understand the principles that determine what content is allowed and what content is prohibited under Meta’s Content Guidelines with this video. How to Pass the Most Commonly Failed VRCs Avoid common pitfalls by reviewing the most frequent VRC failures and how to address them effectively in our How to Pass the Most Commonly Failed VRCs resource guide. Boosting Conversion on the Meta Horizon Store Learn tips for crafting strong descriptions, screenshots, and trailers that help your app stand out and convert users in our course on Boosting Conversion on the Meta Horizon Store and read our guide on Crafting a Product Details Page (PDP) that converts. Driving Discoverability with Metadata Learn how to use metadata to increase your app’s visibility and reach the right audience in this video resource. Meta Horizon TDE Channel For additional educational resources on the Data Protocol platform, please visit our Meta Horizon TDE Channel.
