D&D 5E So you're in charge of Wizards marketing department

[Agamon]

Woot? I work at WotC? OMG OMG OMG!!!

First thing first, I'll calm myself down... And than I'll freak out again!

The most important thing that I'll do will be taking a picture of myself riding a Dragon, preferably with me being naked.

Every time an an author will come around I'll poke him and run away giggling like a little girl.

I will search the office for every old D&D book and then I will sell it on eBay to fuel my drinking problem.

Being that I am the head of the department I will use my minions to reenact scenes from my favorite D&D books because it's good to be the boss.

I will also worm on my way into one of MM or RD or CP games in the office because those are probably awesome.

You're supposed to reply with what you'd do, not what they're doing now.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

When the process started, there was a lot of transparency in the process because so much was theoretical. The devs could openly talk about their influences and desires. As time has gone by, and the game gets more concrete, that level of casual transparency has dissipated.

So, now they have to balance the fan expectation of transparency with the need to be able to hype a product. I mean, let's face it, the community is a little worn out by the process, and curiosity about the final products is one of the few things we have left to keep our attention.

If I were marketing, I would spin up something like Dragon's Eye View again and start talking about the process of creating a product. I would also start discussing general product strategies.

And, now that the cat's out of the bag, I would let the team discuss the nature of the two known products and accelerate the full announcement.

 

[Mistwell]

Let's try this again and see if ENWorld lets me add spaces.

Judging from what we've seen from the marketing department, it doesn't have much of a budget for ads.

I disagree. We have no idea what their budget is. Because the first book is 6 months off, and even if you have a massive advertising budget, for this kind of product, the campaign would not have been launched yet beyond creating minor buzz with the core audience through teaser articles. Which is exactly what they've done.

 

[Kyle Ropp]

MAKE
MORE
PODCASTS

honestly I cant believe that the rate of podcasts has completely dropped off the face of the earth in the past 6 months. This is an easy way to build hype and possibly expand on the ideas behind the L&L, WM and other articles that WOTC have been putting out several times a week.

And if at all possible maybe more AI podcasts showing the rules if and when they are completed.

 

[ki11erDM]

the first book is 6 months off

Exactly. Why in the world would they start "hard core" advertising when they have NOTHING to sell, they don't any have the free play test for download now. Would be a horrible idea.

 

[Jester David]

I disagree. We have no idea what their budget is. Because the first book is 6 months off, and even if you have a massive advertising budget, for this kind of product, the campaign would not have been launched yet beyond creating minor buzz with the core audience through teaser articles. Which is exactly what they've done.

Back in the 3e days I regularly saw ads for D&D in comics and magazines. Remember the whole "if you're going to pretend to be an elf, you might as well have some friends over" ad campaign?
The last D&D related as I saw was for the revised miniature game, featuring the evolution of the troll from 1e to the long-nosed ogre of 4e. Nothing for 4e.

Most of the time I see ads for D&D online. Here and over at Penny Arcade and a few other places. Which isn't likely reaching vast numbers of uninitiated, and the ads really focused on the new books and not the game as a whole. Advertising D&D on Penny Arcade seems a little like... umm... Like advertising Fox News at the Republican National Convention.
Bazinga!

Most marketing stunts for D&D of late have been... cheap. A video contest. A character sheet contest. The PA/PvP podcasts. Good bang for the buck yes, but limited appeal.
It seems likely the marketing department is working under a smaller budget. Or is doing double duty with MtG and D&D and is focusing on the former.

 

[Mistwell]

Back in the 3e days I regularly saw ads for D&D in comics and magazines. Remember the whole "if you're going to pretend to be an elf, you might as well have some friends over" ad campaign?
The last D&D related as I saw was for the revised miniature game, featuring the evolution of the troll from 1e to the long-nosed ogre of 4e. Nothing for 4e.

Well, they still had an edition in print at that time.

I did see ads for 4e, but I think that's besides the topic. 4e is no longer in print. There is no product really they would be advertising, aside from a couple adventures. Even if you have a big advertising budget, you wait until your main product is actually for sale, or imminently about to be, before running ads for it.

Most marketing stunts for D&D of late have been... cheap. A video contest. A character sheet contest. The PA/PvP podcasts. Good bang for the buck yes, but limited appeal.
It seems likely the marketing department is working under a smaller budget. Or is doing double duty with MtG and D&D and is focusing on the former.

Right now, I think that is correct. Because the new version of the game isn't out yet, nor is it imminently about to be released.

For the last version of the game, WOTC in general had less influence at Hasbro, and was focused on MtG for sure.

For this version, we have yet to see, but I think there is reason for optimism that they will be given a much larger advertising budget, once the game is released.

 

[Jester David]

Well, they still had an edition in print at that time.

I did see ads for 4e, but I think that's besides the topic. 4e is no longer in print. There is no product really they would be advertising, aside from a couple adventures. Even if you have a big advertising budget, you wait until your main product is actually for sale, or imminently about to be, before running ads for it.

But the point was even when it was in print there were precious few advertisements for 4e, and most were limited to banner ads on RPG sites.

 

[Jester David]

MAKE
MORE
PODCASTS

honestly I cant believe that the rate of podcasts has completely dropped off the face of the earth in the past 6 months. This is an easy way to build hype and possibly expand on the ideas behind the L&L, WM and other articles that WOTC have been putting out several times a week.

And if at all possible maybe more AI podcasts showing the rules if and when they are completed.

Agreed. I had forgotten about that but, yeah, they have all but stopped making podcasts. And they haven't appeared on any other podcasts either. They should be out selling the game and doing interviews.

 

[Mistwell]

But the point was even when it was in print there were precious few advertisements for 4e, and most were limited to banner ads on RPG sites.

Yes JC, I am saying their advertising budget has gone up significantly. The 4e advertising budget never really got off the ground, as so much was sunk into the failed initial digital initiative that they had to scrap the original marketing approach they had planned. WOTC had less influence in Hasbro at the time as well, and D&D was still on it's own budget rather than WOTCs.