In 2024, the B2B marketing and PR agency PRace quietly entered the gaming market. Co-founders Nick Brown and Aiste Garneviciene opted for a stealth approach, surprising some given their aim to attract attention in the industry.
During its first year, the team made a conscious decision to refrain from marketing themselves and declined invitations to industry events. "We knew we were sitting on valuable IP that no one had brought to the industry before," Brown stated, emphasizing their commitment to a cultural principle rooted in Lithuania: "Build first, succeed, and shout about it after. In those first 12 months — zero marketing, zero announcements, zero mentions."
PRace launched with a focus on providing precise ROI on client expenditures, a strategy that has resonated well with a growing array of European and global gaming suppliers. The agency emphasized tangible pipeline growth over speculative marketing campaigns, distancing itself from traditional agency retainers that often prioritize media exposure over measurable success.
With Brown as CEO alongside Garneviciene, PRace aims to bridge the chasm between media coverage and concrete commercial results, addressing a challenge persistent in an industry often too comfortable with traditional PR methods. The agency's initial target audience included not just marketing departments, but also chief marketing officers (CMOs) and chief commercial officers (CCOs) to ensure alignment of marketing efforts with sales goals.
PRace's evolution has been meticulously planned and self-financed. Since its inception, the focus has been on sustainable growth without external funding, leading to a team of nearly 20 staff catering to 18 client accounts, including notable names like EveryMatrix, Amelco, Spotlight Sports Group, Imagine Live, and Relax Gaming.
Addressing the friction common between sales and marketing, Garneviciene noted, "It’s like a constant war between sales and marketing across the industry. Sales blames marketing for not creating enough leads, and marketing blames sales for dropping the ball on follow-up. We believed it was us who could change that, and that’s how PRace was born."
Brown brings valuable experience in technology marketing from his time at Metia, working with major clients like BMW and Intel. He advocates for a similar comprehensive marketing approach within the gaming sector, particularly as compliance costs rise and profit margins tighten.
He explained, "I came from the world of enterprise tech and fintech, which was an easy crossover for me. I think gaming now demands that level of marketing. Back in the day, it was just about making noise and spending endless budgets. Today, escalating compliance and regulatory overheads, as well as tighter operator margins means every line item is scrutinized."
Garneviciene, prior to her role at PRace, had a decade-long tenure at BetGames as a founding member and COO, where she witnessed the need for improved visibility metrics when engaging agencies. She recounted, "When we were scaling BetGames, our commercial team suggested bringing on a traditional PR agency on a monthly retainer to increase visibility, but I needed to see how that spend was translating into sales pipeline, booked meetings, and commercial deals."
PRace's solutions are built around a unique three-stage commercial model titled Establish, Engage, Convert, aimed at guiding operator prospects from initial awareness to focused retargeting before handing off leads to sales teams for closure.
The agency operates from dual hubs in London and Vilnius, utilizing talent from both regions. Garneviciene pointed out, "Vilnius sits comfortably among the top European tech hubs, producing exceptional tech talent." Brown's residence in Vilnius from 2005 to 2011 fostered a shared cultural understanding essential to their partnership. Brown commented, "That shared Lithuanian bond gave us an element of trust between each other from day one."
Integrated digital marketing campaigns form the backbone of PRace's strategy, focusing on B2B acquisitions rather than using LinkedIn as just a digital billboard. Garneviciene remarked on the challenges many B2B brands face, saying, "We often hear B2B brands say, ‘We tried LinkedIn, but it cost a fortune.' Yes, it does if you don’t know how to run it."
Both founders criticized the way traditional marketing budgets are allocated, particularly regarding event strategies. Garneviciene observed, "Brands spend enormous budgets building beautiful stands for a three-day show, expecting footfall to convert into revenue automatically."
While automation trends proliferate across the industry, PRace adopts a prudent approach. Though they utilize automation for data management, Garneviciene noted an over-reliance on AI-generated content that often lacks distinguishability. She believes that the key differentiator in B2B marketing remains authentic human-led strategies.
After a year of operating quietly, PRace publicly launched at the NEXT.io conference in Valletta in May 2025 with 11 active accounts and a team of 13 spread across Spain, the Baltics, and the UK. Their multi-market presence continues to shape their operational strategy, leveraging remote work to access specialized talent across Europe without the burden of costly central London overheads.
With tightening regulations and increasing compliance costs squeezing supplier margins, Brown asserted the demand for measurable marketing will increase, particularly as brands eye capital-intensive expansions into Latin America and North America. While LinkedIn serves as their primary outreach vehicle today, Brown affirmed that the agency’s success will not rely solely on one platform.
"LinkedIn is our primary vehicle today because that is where our sector conducts its business, but the platform itself is secondary,” he stated. “Marketing channels evolve, but our core thesis never changes. We integrate directly into a client’s commercial engine, we generate qualified pipeline and we deliver measurable ROI on money spent.
