Stutoman
Prowler
- Joined
- Dec 28, 2007
- Posts
- 1,099
- Location
- London, UK
- Society
- Freelancer
- Avatar Name
- Dan Richard Baker
(Please read the entire post before making assumptions about what I'm trying to say)
Okay, so more than half a year ago 60,000 CLDs were sold in order to raise $6million USD in which to use on a marketing campaign. What has become of it?
This measly banner ad has become of it:
Now I'm sure some people are excited to see this thing around but let's be clear. If you don't already play Entropia or search for very similar games you WILL NOT SEE THIS AD. Whoever at head office is in charge of the google adwords account seems to have just used meta tags that directly relate to Entropia.
I stopped playing in May 2011 and recently returned, I have read on here these ads have been active since March or earlier, but I hadn't seen a single one before having returned to the Entropia Universe website.
So that's my first point: Ads yes, but they've not been optimised one bit.
Now onto my second point. Banner ads? Really? Since when do the large majority of people take to any game after seeing a banner ad for it? Rarely. That banner ad shows nothing of what Entropia has to offer, a picture of an avatar, a model, and a corny strapline. It looks like an advert you'd expect from an online casino, and although many ingame activities are indeed the equivalent of gambling, that really isn't the way to get more players. When you click this advert all it does is take you to the news page (Press releases, that sort of stuff) of the Entropia website; so for the few who actually bother to click an ad that tells them nothing, they're taken to a webpage that also doesn't tell them what Entropia Universe is. Infact the only thing that even hints at it being a game is the word 'Player' and the avatar. Nobody is going to download 10GB+ of content without knowing what they're downloading, and by now I'd estimate that 80% or more of the people who even click the advert don't bother looking further.
Why are people not taken to a specially made welcome page? Whoever was in charge of the production of this advert did a very poor job of it.
It's a complete waste of money, and I would like to highlight it before all the money that was raised has disappeared.
Games do not primarily get players via internet banners, those work better for online retail as they show what it is and what you pay to get it, a game is much more than that and therefore needs deeper explanation as to what it is.
Project Entropia started out really well in my opinion, the trailer that got me playing was this one:
Although it was fairly far fetched and unexciting, it explained in much more detail what the game was and showed off what the game looked like. That trailer makes me want to play the game in the state it was then, and despite the comparatively crap graphics, they still look great in the trailer. The trailer didn't focus on a storyline much, but it still had one; what do we have now in terms of a storyline other than little bits and pieces made up to explain the changes MA make to the game?
The game doesn't even have a trailer at the moment, other than a user-made teaser trailer created over 2 years ago.
My recommendation is that MA takes a big step back and approaches the marketing of Planet Calypso from an entirely different direction. If you have a $6 million USD marketing budget you don't simply create a banner in 10 minutes and top-up google adwords with $6million of credit, it's insane.
1) Make a trailer, a 2 minute cinematic trailer that focuses on storyline rather than being able to "utilise the latest technologies of community interaction" (that is quoted from the page the current ad directs you to), isn't shot 100% from the players perspective and must be produced spotlessly, no accidental item names being highlighted for example.
Don't go cheap on it by using the calypso music or titles giving information, go grand with lots of bass and heavy sound effects, pay for a deep voiceover. Maybe even take a page from Blizzard's book, celebrity endorsement worked wonders for World of Warcraft.
2) Get that trailer seen by all the right people. Video games are often advertised during cinema pre-rolls. In the UK alone an advertising campaign for a trailer specifically before the Dark Knight Rises movie (which has been the most successful in UK box office history to date) would have cost approximately £600,000 (estimated quote from a digital marketing agency) and been seen by more than 4 million people. The UK having one of the largest GPC's (gamers per capita) in the world means that it would have been brilliant value for money. In the USA it would have had an even bigger audience impact.
3) Prepare for an influx of new players. It doesn't matter if they're not the "type" of player that MA want (Gamblers judging by the current banner), more players will always generate more money.
Something I'd also like to question is why the entire Entropia Universe platform is being advertised instead of just Planet Calypso. The money raised was from Calypso Land Deeds so only new players who choose Calypso will be generating any additional return on investment. This is a cause for concern as our money is also marketing other planets for free, making the same amount of money for MA but reducing the investor's ROI. Seems a bit unfair don't you think? I realise that in the FAQ it states Entropia Universe marketing campaign, but I thought it had been made clear that each planet partner was responsible for their own marketing.
It's bugged me for ages that this game only ever seems to have small time marketing, internet ads and that's it. Face it MindArk, if you don't even try then this game won't rise an inch, and everybody wants to see it become a popular mainstream MMO.
I know it sounds like I'm having a go, and you'd be right for thinking that. But I'm not having a go to put anybody down, I'm having a go because I care for the future of this game, and this marketing campaign is pathetic to say the least.
Please leave your opinions, constructive criticism etc. I would also be interested if someone from MA were to see this, whether or not they could confirm or deny that this is indeed the marketing campaign detailed in the Calypso Land Deed FAQ.
Okay, so more than half a year ago 60,000 CLDs were sold in order to raise $6million USD in which to use on a marketing campaign. What has become of it?
This measly banner ad has become of it:
Now I'm sure some people are excited to see this thing around but let's be clear. If you don't already play Entropia or search for very similar games you WILL NOT SEE THIS AD. Whoever at head office is in charge of the google adwords account seems to have just used meta tags that directly relate to Entropia.
I stopped playing in May 2011 and recently returned, I have read on here these ads have been active since March or earlier, but I hadn't seen a single one before having returned to the Entropia Universe website.
So that's my first point: Ads yes, but they've not been optimised one bit.
Now onto my second point. Banner ads? Really? Since when do the large majority of people take to any game after seeing a banner ad for it? Rarely. That banner ad shows nothing of what Entropia has to offer, a picture of an avatar, a model, and a corny strapline. It looks like an advert you'd expect from an online casino, and although many ingame activities are indeed the equivalent of gambling, that really isn't the way to get more players. When you click this advert all it does is take you to the news page (Press releases, that sort of stuff) of the Entropia website; so for the few who actually bother to click an ad that tells them nothing, they're taken to a webpage that also doesn't tell them what Entropia Universe is. Infact the only thing that even hints at it being a game is the word 'Player' and the avatar. Nobody is going to download 10GB+ of content without knowing what they're downloading, and by now I'd estimate that 80% or more of the people who even click the advert don't bother looking further.
Why are people not taken to a specially made welcome page? Whoever was in charge of the production of this advert did a very poor job of it.
It's a complete waste of money, and I would like to highlight it before all the money that was raised has disappeared.
Games do not primarily get players via internet banners, those work better for online retail as they show what it is and what you pay to get it, a game is much more than that and therefore needs deeper explanation as to what it is.
Project Entropia started out really well in my opinion, the trailer that got me playing was this one:
Although it was fairly far fetched and unexciting, it explained in much more detail what the game was and showed off what the game looked like. That trailer makes me want to play the game in the state it was then, and despite the comparatively crap graphics, they still look great in the trailer. The trailer didn't focus on a storyline much, but it still had one; what do we have now in terms of a storyline other than little bits and pieces made up to explain the changes MA make to the game?
The game doesn't even have a trailer at the moment, other than a user-made teaser trailer created over 2 years ago.
My recommendation is that MA takes a big step back and approaches the marketing of Planet Calypso from an entirely different direction. If you have a $6 million USD marketing budget you don't simply create a banner in 10 minutes and top-up google adwords with $6million of credit, it's insane.
1) Make a trailer, a 2 minute cinematic trailer that focuses on storyline rather than being able to "utilise the latest technologies of community interaction" (that is quoted from the page the current ad directs you to), isn't shot 100% from the players perspective and must be produced spotlessly, no accidental item names being highlighted for example.
Don't go cheap on it by using the calypso music or titles giving information, go grand with lots of bass and heavy sound effects, pay for a deep voiceover. Maybe even take a page from Blizzard's book, celebrity endorsement worked wonders for World of Warcraft.
2) Get that trailer seen by all the right people. Video games are often advertised during cinema pre-rolls. In the UK alone an advertising campaign for a trailer specifically before the Dark Knight Rises movie (which has been the most successful in UK box office history to date) would have cost approximately £600,000 (estimated quote from a digital marketing agency) and been seen by more than 4 million people. The UK having one of the largest GPC's (gamers per capita) in the world means that it would have been brilliant value for money. In the USA it would have had an even bigger audience impact.
3) Prepare for an influx of new players. It doesn't matter if they're not the "type" of player that MA want (Gamblers judging by the current banner), more players will always generate more money.
Something I'd also like to question is why the entire Entropia Universe platform is being advertised instead of just Planet Calypso. The money raised was from Calypso Land Deeds so only new players who choose Calypso will be generating any additional return on investment. This is a cause for concern as our money is also marketing other planets for free, making the same amount of money for MA but reducing the investor's ROI. Seems a bit unfair don't you think? I realise that in the FAQ it states Entropia Universe marketing campaign, but I thought it had been made clear that each planet partner was responsible for their own marketing.
It's bugged me for ages that this game only ever seems to have small time marketing, internet ads and that's it. Face it MindArk, if you don't even try then this game won't rise an inch, and everybody wants to see it become a popular mainstream MMO.
I know it sounds like I'm having a go, and you'd be right for thinking that. But I'm not having a go to put anybody down, I'm having a go because I care for the future of this game, and this marketing campaign is pathetic to say the least.
Please leave your opinions, constructive criticism etc. I would also be interested if someone from MA were to see this, whether or not they could confirm or deny that this is indeed the marketing campaign detailed in the Calypso Land Deed FAQ.
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