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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dannyalcatraz" data-source="post: 4307589" data-attributes="member: 19675">Marketing 4Ed, huh?I would have tried to get endorsements or commentary from any celeb or personality who claimed to play the game.  If WoW can get Mr. T, Hasbro could pony up for Vin Diesel, Steven Colbert, Brian Posehn, Patton Oswalt, and Wil Wheaton, among others.Instead of the expensive preview books (which I know for a fact some avoided simply on the basis of cost), I'd have gone with a stripped-down mini-adventure with pregens- possibly even available in pdf format.  Marvel, DC and even certain indie comic labels do free or cheap previews all the time- Hasbro/WotC could have done the same.  (Plus, in conjunction with the demise of the physical formats for Dragon and Dungeon, those booklets seemed to be a bit of a money grab, at least to some- see below.)Use the internet to its fullest potential: Use a little internet technowizardry to host some clips showing some actual gameplay/playtesting highlights.How about a contest?  People love to have bragging rights about something.  Imagine getting an autographed Core 3 for submitting the coolest monster design, included in the MM (...or MM2, perhaps), or a well-thought out village to be used as a setting for an adventure.  Sure, its not Eberron in scale, but still!One thing I learned in the course of earning my MBA is you never, NEVER advertise your negatives, even if they're only perceptual.  Your press releases should be 100% about your strengths.  You let consumers find them out for themselves.  If you're going to slaughter sacred cows, don't tell anyone until the beef is at the butcher shop.Here's how that would have shaped up in this case.---> Altered timetable: Instead of making Dragon and Dungeon go pure digital under WotC's control before the release, either work with Paizo to publish them in dual format (it works for a LOT of periodicals) or delay their "digitization" until AFTER 4Ed is released or in conjunction with it.  This would have given them an established platform to do piecemeal previews and leaks just like they did with 3Ed and its revision.  This also minimizes the backlash against the decision, and gives WotC an additional 6 mos to a year to work out the bugs of their digital revolution.  As things were, because of that move, people were already predisposed to be wary and distrustful of WotC's next product.---> Play your cards close to the vest: don't tell people what you're cutting out- like gnomes and druids- tell them what new shiny things you're including, like the dragonborn or the revised Marshal (now called the Warlord).  Again, this minimizes prerelease backlash.  The idea behind marketing your product is getting people to say "Yes, yes, yes!" not "Oh, great- look what else they're screwing up."  You don't see auto manufacturers telling people the next year's models will be smaller, they say "More fuel efficient!"---> Product Linkage: 4Ed is already closely tied to DDM- previews & scenarios could have been included with DDM's concurrent release, or as a special limited edition release featuring the 4Ed Iconics.</blockquote>

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