Central Supply Catalogue cover

[kafka]

Mongoose folks...is it too late to commission an alternative cover for the Central Supply Catalogue? I ask because many local gaming stores tend to cover RPGs in plastic wrap. Now, working on the assumption that Equipment books are akin to: "printing money" then why not print a really attractive cover that matches what we have seen thus far in the previews?

I like the black cover for the Core rulebook but I am equally fond of Spinward Marches and Tripwire (is simply amazing)...Aslan...I will have to wait to see but it looks good, as it keeps the same motif as the Marches book...and with art it is important to have a consistant look...where GDW erred and other companies succeeded.

 

[alex_greene]

I think Mongoose are going for the BBB motif for all their generic, not-specifically-OTU settings, because this seems to be a motif that sells really well. It has that undeniable 1970s CT feel to it that, I gues,s plays off the nostalgia of us old buzzards.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Yea Mongoose's setting books (3i, babylon 5, etc) have a picture on the cover. Generic, able to be used with any setting are black covers.

 

[kafka]

I grant you the "feel good" factor for us old soldiers (although, I only joined the War after publication of the The Traveller Book and MegaTraveller soon followed thereafter). But, I merely asking for some thought from the cheeses who run the show.

But, even in the days of Classic Traveller...there were sourcebooks and lots of colour covers. So one should maybe adopt the nominclature but be flexible in its application. T4 had a wicked cover for their Central Supply Catalogue.

 

[EDG]

That's the thing, the black covers weren't really Traveller. There were plenty of (generally really nicely drawn) covers for things like Invasion Earth, Atlas of the Imperium, Spinward Marches Campaign and The Traveller Adventure.

So I don't really know why Mongoose is still sticking to the LBB-style covers. Sure, it gives it product identity, but cover design has actually moved on a bit in the intervening 30+ years...

 

[dmccoy1693]

Sure, it gives it product identity

Bingo. That's why there doing it that way. Branding. When you look at a WotC 3E D&D book, you can tell whether its a generic D&D book, Forgotten Realms book or an Eberron book simply by the basic cover design. Generic D&D is brown with a picture in a rectangle, Forgotten Realms is White like old paper with a picture, and Eberron has that grey design with a circular picture.

Its not about winning contests for the best cover or appealing to CT customers (well partially that, but not as much as branding); its about selling to those that don't follow along very closely and buy what they see in the game store, about being easily recognizable.

 

[EDG]

Yeah, but it gives product identity to anyone who knew Classic Traveller. To everyone else, it means very little except "huh, why does this book have such a boring cover". I just see them as missed opportunities to show off what is in the book, I couldn't really care less that it's a homage to CT.

 

[atpollard]

30 years ago, the all black cover stood out as being easily recognizable and different from everyone else.

Today, the all black cover stands out as being easily recognizable and different from everyone else.

It has (IMHO) less to do with "honoring Classic Traveller" than simply recognizing something that still works (performs it's intended function).

 

[B_Steele]

The good thing is that the covers have obviously not hurt the sales of the books at all, as all of our core Traveller books are doing great in the sales department.

Although I too was not keen on the idea of not having neat pictures for the core Traveller stuff...I have been proven wrong and have told Matthew as much.

Now, when I talk about Trav in the stores and conventions, all I hear about is how much the black covers stand out on the shelves and touch on the "classic" feel.

-Bry

 

[rust]

In my view the all black covers are one of the best marketing decisions
I have seen in a very long time. They go against the mainstream trend
and make Traveller something special and almost unique - and making
a product special and easily recognizable is the true art of this part of
marketing.

 

[CaptnBrazil]

In my view the all black covers are one of the best marketing decisions
I have seen in a very long time. They go against the mainstream trend
and make Traveller something special and almost unique - and making
a product special and easily recognizable is the true art of this part of
marketing.

I agree. And also, a lot of art gets dated and looks really bad (even cheesy) a few years later.

 

[hdrider67]

The good thing is that the covers have obviously not hurt the sales of the books at all, as all of our core Traveller books are doing great in the sales department.

Although I too was not keen on the idea of not having neat pictures for the core Traveller stuff...I have been proven wrong and have told Matthew as much.

Now, when I talk about Trav in the stores and conventions, all I hear about is how much the black covers stand out on the shelves and touch on the "classic" feel.

-Bry

As much as I liked T20, ANYTHING (including a black cover) is an improvement on Randy Quaid with a blaster.

 

[EDG]

The good thing is that the covers have obviously not hurt the sales of the books at all

Thing is, you don't really have much evidence to show that is really true. Yes, they're doing well with the black covers, but how do you know they wouldn't have done better with picture covers?

 

[The Chef]

personally the red on black covers hooked me from the moment i saw them, then i noticed it was called traveller, and that inspired me more.

as a marketting tool i think its a great one its clean, crisp, and just makes you want to grab it.

chef

 

[pasuuli]

The good thing is that the covers have obviously not hurt the sales of the books at all, as all of our core Traveller books are doing great in the sales department.

And it won't hurt the sale of CSC, either.

 

[kristof65]

The good thing is that the covers have obviously not hurt the sales of the books at all

Thing is, you don't really have much evidence to show that is really true. Yes, they're doing well with the black covers, but how do you know they wouldn't have done better with picture covers?

Maybe no direct evidence. But my dad, who spent 40+ years in marketing and advertising as a graphic artist tells me that a strong brand & product identity leads to stronger sales overall than pretty pictures. My own classes in college back him up. Later on, I'll go looking to see what I can find on prouct identity in the advertising and marketing sites I know about - and I'm sure they'll back him up, too.

Think about the really big corporations and their logos & product packaging. While the big companies like Coke and Pepsi do change that stuff up from time to time, there is no mistaking the logos from each of the past few decades are from the same companies.

The time to make the choice to go with a different look would have been when Mongoose released the main Traveller book. They chose to use the advantage of associating with the prior product identity of CT. Changing it too much now wouldn't help things, and might actually hurt.

And in this day and age of full color covers and pretty pictures, the simplicity of the Traveller product identity speaks volumes.

 

[EDG]

Thing is, you don't really have much evidence to show that is really true. Yes, they're doing well with the black covers, but how do you know they wouldn't have done better with picture covers?

Maybe no direct evidence. But my dad, who spent 40+ years in marketing and advertising as a graphic artist tells me that a strong brand & product identity leads to stronger sales overall than pretty pictures. My own classes in college back him up. Later on, I'll go looking to see what I can find on prouct identity in the advertising and marketing sites I know about - and I'm sure they'll back him up, too. [/quote]

Coke and Pepsi don't sell books .

And anyway, who's to say that you can't get a strong brand and product identity with "pretty pictures" as much as you can get it with minimalist black covers?

 

[rust]

And anyway, who's to say that you can't get a strong brand and product identity with "pretty pictures" as much as you can get it with minimalist black covers?

Because dozens of roleplaying game companies publish hundreds of RPGs
with "pretty pictures" on the covers, but only Mongoose produces a cer-
tain line with an all black cover ?

 

[kristof65]

Coke and Pepsi don't sell books .

Product identity is product identity. The same basic concepts apply whether you're selling soda, candy, cereal, cars, banking services or even books.

And anyway, who's to say that you can't get a strong brand and product identity with "pretty pictures" as much as you can get it with minimalist black covers?

You can - after all, D&D and many other games are doing quite well using pretty pictures as part of their identities. But like I said, the time to make that decision was before the first Mongoose Traveller book was released. And at the time, they chose to piggy back on the existing product identity that CT already had established. IMO, it was a smart decision - it not only screamed to Traveller grognards that it was "Traveller!", but the simplicity stands out on the store shelf amid all the other books with their pretty pictures.