stupid q, but..

[lt.harper]

Is mongoose going to start advertizing there games?

 

[Galatea]

rofl

I hope so.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

Harsh Thread Dude, funny though LMAO!

 

[lt.harper]

Well the reason for this thread was becouse i ask some gamers over at a local wargames tornement and ask if any one has tryed sst, they just looked at me and said never heard of it.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

Well the reason for this thread was becouse i ask some gamers over at a local wargames tornement and ask if any one has tryed sst, they just looked at me and said never heard of it.

No Way!

It sometimes amazes me how a lot of Gamers (especially younger/newer gamers) have no idea of anything beyond 40k or WFB.

I caused a stir down my club playing 2nd Edition 40k!

 

[lt.harper]

I KNOW!

Besides it was mostly warmachine/hordes/GW torny. Go figur.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

I KNOW!

Besides it was mostly warmachine/hordes/GW torny. Go figur.

Warmachine/Hordes are worse than 40k has ever been, they really are about power play and 'who has the newest hardest models'.

 

[lt.harper]

I do have to admit to that, but still i like the back story to it, pluse the jacks were the first reason that i got into it.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

I do have to admit to that, but still i like the back story to it, pluse the jacks were the first reason that i got into it.

The Backgrounds nice, the models are sweet.

But with each new release the game becomes more and more unbalanced.

I wonder how long they can go on before the system becomes broken.

 

[lt.harper]

Wate for legends then see what happens, eh?

Pluss i forgot to menchen all those spesial rules for each and every model/unit. Oi my head hearts just thinking about it.

 

[Greg Smith]

Where do you advertise? There are precious few gaming magazines these days. Inquest Gamer has gone, Dragon has gone, Harbinger is still around as a pdf though. Others are dedicated to one game (No Quarter, Cry Havoc).

There are already demo teams in place.

There was a flyer for the B5 RPG in one of the B5 DVD boxed sets, but that is a rare opportunity.

 

[Paladin]

Matt admits to that himself:

For example, aside from Signs & Portents and some tortured writings on the Internet (like, well, this one), Mongoose has never done any marketing. Ever. We have always, in effect, let our books sell themselves...

Where do you advertise? There are precious few gaming magazines these days. Inquest Gamer has gone, Dragon has gone, Harbinger is still around as a pdf though. Others are dedicated to one game (No Quarter, Cry Havoc).

There are already demo teams in place.

Ultimately, there are two primary pushes I'd suggest, grass roots MI development and then a huge push, not to customers but toward retailers. If you can't get the product in front of a customer to see and try it, it won't sell. If they don't see the potential for other players playing the game locally, the odds of a sale are much lower. IF you reach a retailer you reach multiple customers. One "sale" to a retailer leads to multiple customer sales.


-online forums beyond your own as a manufacturer. I'd recommend a number of mobile infantry type liaisons that are tasked with posting in various locals for different updates.
-newsletters to your customers, retailers and distributors
-blogs
-fansites
-create a solid retailer/player locator that works by city, region/postal code/map
-create an online schedule for mobile infantry to post their planned events
-allow MI info to be posted online in an open format if they agree for players/retailers to track them down and or subscribe to their event list.
-Send posters to retailers.
-Send printed flyers to retailers of coming products and existing hot sellers
-Create package deals for new retailers to know what to buy to add the game to their product mix. Stocking every item isn't always the best option. Slow moving product = unhappy retailers. Let them start smaller with good solid product and get their feet wet.
-Offer promot display racks to retailers to highlight the game rather than simple boxes of product to stack on shelves.
-Offer the ability to buy retailers preassembled/prepainted minis, even if they don't come that way at a small markup for costs.
-Create small 3'x3' demo tables to use for stores and offer them at near cost or as a loss leader to promote sales.
-Increase the number of MI to promote the game. Word of mouth is THE best advertising. Recruit MI and reenergize the hard core fanbase. Train MI to spot other potential MI and offer a bonus to recruit additional demo team members. Especially at major conventions. Most players that come are already in the hardcore group.
-Offer an online and printed catalog demoing your product
-Up convention presence. Offer more games than tournaments. Run demo games in the game halls, not just the vendor halls.
-Create a loyalty program to increase repeat sales or redemption of UPCs for special edition minis.
-Seek retailer input. They are the frontlines of sales. Ask them what is selling and why think it sells well. Does it need something else in packaging? promo material? Learn from it and repeat.
-Contact distributors and ask them who is buying. Reward your distributors/retailers with free product/accolades to keep them loyal
-Reward not just MI but retailers for hosting games. Not necessarily 1 game = 1 reward, earn them over time. Make it a competition. The retailer offering at least X demos in a time period is entered to win $$$ in free product.
-create specific events for ALL MI to run and promote across the continents. Compile those results online and make people feel like they are a part of the larger community.

I could probably offer a few more ideas but I'm not getting paid as a consultant. :lol:

 

[Galatea]

I can only speak for me and the MI in my country, but...

-online forums beyond your own as a manufacturer. I'd recommend a number of mobile infantry type liaisons that are tasked with posting in various locals for different updates.

Exactly what we are doing.

-fansites

We're on it. Probably it airs in Summer 08 and will be part of an already existent big wargaming site.

-create a solid retailer/player locator that works by city, region/postal code/map

We have done that for our MI Troopers (though we still need a good map, the current one isn't that nice).

-create an online schedule for mobile infantry to post their planned events

Basically we post that on our forums if we're in for a big Con.

-Send posters to retailers.

Even sending one the MI Troops would help.
I've done one on my own (the Open day Klendathu Pic in DIN A1 - did me cost 50€ including the frame). Currently it's wall decoration in my room (usually it's taken to Conventions so people recognize our demo table).

-Offer promote display racks to retailers to highlight the game rather than simple boxes of product to stack on shelves.

This would be nice, I had to give some of my Bugs and MI to my local wargaming club/shop. I'm still waiting for that basic box ordered by another MI.

-Increase the number of MI to promote the game. Word of mouth is THE best advertising. Recruit MI and reenergize the hard core fanbase. Train MI to spot other potential MI and offer a bonus to recruit additional demo team members. Especially at major conventions. Most players that come are already in the hardcore group.

We're on that. Just recruited two guys for Kiel and are now about to spread eastwards. We also have another interested guy here in the South (big fan of the novel, gaming mate and willing to support me down here).

-Up convention presence. Offer more games than tournaments. Run demo games in the game halls, not just the vendor halls.

We're on as many Convention as we are capable of. Most of us are experienced Con-Veterans that have fun meeting new people and getting them into the games we like.
Unfortunately we're very few and that's one of the reasons why we're on to expand (still assuring quality of the new supporters).

-Reward not just MI but retailers for hosting games. Not necessarily 1 game = 1 reward, earn them over time. Make it a competition. The retailer offering at least X demos in a time period is entered to win $$$ in free product.

That might be a good idea though it should primarily be the task of the MI to give those demo games.

-create specific events for ALL MI to run and promote across the continents. Compile those results online and make people feel like they are a part of the larger community.

That would be a nice idea as long as they don't follow the pattern GW events do...

 

[Paladin]

-create an online schedule for mobile infantry to post their planned events

Basically we post that on our forums if we're in for a big Con.

That assumes players keep up with the forums regularly. Which they don't. A one time signup and auto-email updates work much better.

-Send posters to retailers.

Even sending one the MI Troops would help.

Sending them to MI would be a good idea too. But not all stores have MI.

-Reward not just MI but retailers for hosting games. Not necessarily 1 game = 1 reward, earn them over time. Make it a competition. The retailer offering at least X demos in a time period is entered to win $$$ in free product.

That might be a good idea though it should primarily be the task of the MI to give those demo games.

Agreed, but it motivates the retailor to recruit players as MI. encourages them to get MI involved and encourages the MI to get on their retailors good side and make a name for the store.

-create specific events for ALL MI to run and promote across the continents. Compile those results online and make people feel like they are a part of the larger community.

That would be a nice idea as long as they don't follow the pattern GW events do...

It's worked for BattleTech. They've started doing 1-2 national events per year. All commandos run roughly the same scenarios at stores nationwide and send in their results and the results are compiled and actually incorporated into the canon storyline as another cool factor option. Players have some influence over the winning faction.

 

[Mage]

The best advertisement is for a company to get a retailer to stock a game in their shop, and put it in the front window. Plain and simple.

 

[Iain McGhee]

I've seen Mongoose adverts for Battlefield:EVO and SST in wargames magazines over here ("Miniature Wargames" and, erm, other one). I've not had much luck trying to get relatively local (West coast) clubs interested in SST and ACTA. Generally folk have never heard of them or they aren't interested in SF stuff outside of GW. Those that do don't seem to be actively playing these days, possibly because none of the LGS appear to stock Mongoose miniatures (although they are happy to order them for you).

 

[Mage]

Step 1: Paint your minis
Step 2: Do some demo games at lgs owner permission
Step 3: Do some more demos
Step 4: Do an order for yourself, a small one, and see if someone else wants stuff
Step 5: Run a mega battle
Step 6: Repeat 1-5 until lgs owner stocks game and it takes off.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

TBH your best line of attack is any local gaming clubs you might have where you live, as they will have facilities like gaming tables and scenery to hand.