Hello from Paragon Marketing

Well, congrats on a whole lot of suggestions.

Now, I'll wait for some actions to speak louder than your words.

Man, I saw this thread earlier today while I was goofing off at work, and I ended up working late and eating out with Belle, so I'm just now getting around to responding to it. Here is my two cent's worth. I'll highlight the central ideas to avoid tl;dr syndrome and give you as much or as little info as you want to handle.

1. Offer merchandise for sale. Better yet, create a merchandise license program, so that, for example, I could offer officially-sanctioned City of Heroes t-shirts for sale, t-shirts which would, of course, receive NCsoft's/Paragon Studio's approval. By doing this, you have zero risk but can almost immediately have a metric crapton of merchandise on the market. As soon as I can, I'd like to talk to you about this, because I'd like to be officially sanctioned to sell City of Heroes merchandise. (If you want to contact me sooner, drop an e-mail to tonyv@cohtitan.com)

2. Lemur Lad has one of the best suggestions on here: Give us the ability to gift City of Heroes stuff, including subscriptions and game time, to people. I'm not stupid, I know that by doing this, you face the risk of fraud happening. But please, consider this. Subscription time isn't something you guys manufacture and consume raw material to make. Worst-case scenario is that you have to refund time that was charged fraudulently. Write it off and go on with life, because virtual assets such as subscription time are, by definition, not real. However, the money you make from people legitimately gifting subscriptions and time most certainly is real.

3. I'll add my vote to advertising on Hulu. Target shows that likely will result in subscribers. Sci-fi and fantasy shows would be great. (Stargate Universe, Caprica, Legend of the Seeker, FlashForward, Warehouse 13, Sanctuary, Merlin, Eureka...) Want even more bang for your buck? Target shows that are old and canceled. (Forever Knight, The Dresden Files, New Amsterdam, Century City...) The ad rates will probably be dirt cheap, but you will precisely target the audience you're looking for. Say the word and I'll contact Hulu and see if I can get more details and save you some leg work. tonyv@cohtitan.com.

4. Send surrogates to conventions. I'll tell you what. Labor Day weekend, we have a HUMONGOUS convention in Atlanta every year, Dragon*Con. Atlanta is a major national hub, so it draws people from all over the Southeast, some from even further away. I'll contact you once the novelty of your joining us dies down a little bit, and we can talk about getting some people here in the area together to host a booth on behalf of NCsoft/Paragon Studios. I'll personally do the footwork of contacting the people who run the convention, coordinate getting space, help plan activities, gather volunteers to help run the thing. You (Paragon Studios) pay for the floor space, send displays and swag, work with me on what you want to make sure happens (and make sure doesn't happen) in promoting the game, and officially back our promotional efforts to the player community. Together, maybe we can come up with a plan to replicate this effort throughout the country. Again, tonyv@cohtitan.com.

5. Get your employees to have in-game events more often. I understand that Matt Miller can't attend every convention in the country. But you know what he can do? Take at least one night every two to three weeks and appear in the game. It absolutely baffles me that we don't see a much higher in-game presence of the developers and reps at Paragon Studios. Don't they like playing, too? It doesn't even have to be a huge event. Just pop in, hang out for a couple of hours in Pocket D, throw around some gold titles, answer a question or two, and head out. Two or three nights later, have Hero 1 pop in, PvP a few rounds, and head out. Once a week or so, War Witch PuGs with a random team. Once a week or so, Dr. Aeon drops by Architect Entertainment and tells everyone that he wants to get a team to run one of their mission arcs. Yes, this is catering to existing players, but if new players saw this kind of interaction, they'd be a hell of a lot more likely to stay with the game.

I don't want this to become a book, so I'll stop there. But as you can see from this thread, there are a TON of stunningly awesome ideas that we, the players, have for promoting this game. Listen to them. Now that you're here, don't hole back up, never to be heard from again. And don't get complacent, thinking that now that you've posted a few messages, we're all happy and hunky dory. Act on these suggestions. If there's someone that you think is particularly insightful, contact that person and say, "Hey, I like this idea, let's talk about how we can actually make it happen."

Perhaps a big marketing push in Gamestop for GR could be fruitful. One of the things that's kept WoW afloat after all these years is that it's more or less mainstream and every patch/expansion release is heavily promoted. If CoX became more visible by way of GR, it might show the gaming community that this game is still holding its own in an increasingly competitive MMO scene.

I don't know how well last year's Architect Edition sold, but I didn't notice any advertising accompanying its release. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the buyers were already owners of the game who needed an updated disc for reinstalls. Gamestop runs these cool little ads in their stores promoting upcoming games. Some of these ads are TV commercial style but you only see them in the store, other ads are interviews with developers, etc. Considering that the only direct competition for CoX right now is CO(which is apparently nosediving), we can still get plenty of players in here for GR.

Do some interviews on G4. Attack of the Show and X-Play get a lot of viewers and making CoX more visible through interviews and similar promotions certainly can't hurt. Besides, practically everyone watching the channel is a gamer anyway, and it's probably not as expensive as running ads on a more mainstream network.

I'm sure someone's already mentioned this, but maybe distributing more CoX trial discs would be a good idea. I haven't really looked at the store shelves recently, but I really haven't noticed anything CoX-related in stores for a while now.

There are a couple of big superhero films coming out this year, and it's likely that some people will be looking at superhero games to play. So... definitely a good time to actually do something to promote the game. Let's not sit on our hands anymore, okay?

Add me to one of the people who don't understand why we haven't bothered to take the opportunity to advertise in/around the COUNTLESS number of super hero movies being released. There are SO many missed opportunities there. It strikes me as horribly inept. There is NO better market for it. People flood to go and see these movies (Whether they're superhero fans or not). Someone needs to pick up this ball before it rolls out into the street and it's nearly impossible to get back.

We'll see....

Two questions, Pebbles.

One, are booster packs a significant blip on the income and upkeep you guys in the office receive? And two, if it is, would you consider devoting a special team to cranking out booster packs more frequently? There are people like me who really love boosters, and I know plenty of people who are happy to buy them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRAF68_EU Dispari has more than enough credability, and certainly doesn't need to borrow any from you.

Welcome Black Pebble!

It's great to see a marketing representative for the game getting a presence on the forums. A direct line of communication between the players and those responsible for letting the world know about the game we love has been opened. Let the citizens rejoice!

As far as marketing for the game goes my views on how to get the word out there better have been pretty much covered by earlier posters. My predominant hot-button issues, old and new, that relate to your role would be in-game advertising and lack of Going Rogue boxed sets on shop shelves outside the US. I dislike both, strongly. I do however love seeing CoH/CoV stuff on Big Bang Theory, so I'd give whole-hearted backing to more of this sort of thing. Increased product placement and advertising aimed at the general populace to attract new subscribers.

You've taken a bold step by taking a more public role here on the forums, but it's a move that will only improve the quality of feedback you're able to gather and so improve the game itself. That's got to be a good thing.

Wow. Page 15. Hey Castle, when was the last time you had a 15 page thread? That's right, run, you monster....

As fun as this is for me, I'm going to have to take a break from the forums for a bit. For starters, I need to catch up on 15 pages worth of questions/ideas/comments, because I really will read everything everyone wrote. Secondly, the next couple weeks are crunch time because of **** ****** ** *****. So give me some time.

I'll look into some of these ideas, and if I'm able to provide you any substantial news, I'll follow up on these forums. Some, I think we can work on soon. Others are going to need a lot more time. Either way, I'll answer everything that I can and answer nothing I can't. As long as we're all willing to work together, I don't see why we can't keep having good discussions.

You won't be left alone. Our Community Team's got some pretty intense things planned for you guys already. You saw one of them already, the Dev Q&A next week. If you think that's neat, it only gets better, and that's just next week. I've seen the schedule they've got planned, and it's safe to say more than a few of you will get what you've asked for very very soon.

In the meanwhile, if it's urgent, feel free to PM me. I can't promise you immediate responses, but I will help if I can. In return for your patience, I may tell you why Castle is evil, and give you an opportunity to humiliate me at your leisure.


Oh and as for getting Herocon goodies outside of Herocon, particularly if you're in the midwest. That I can't fix right away. But if you guys do go to some of these non-Paragon attended events, and are willing to organize a small CoX get-together, I think I can help out. I want the players to enjoy these treats. I don't want them to go to Joe Boe Stranger who'll just plop them on eBay or toss them in the trash. But I'm going to want some juicy stories in exchange.

I'd shell out good money for a CoH toyline.

I mean eating money here. Some standard G.I. Joeish scale characters of big name ones (Statesman, Recluse?)

Given it'd probably only end up with me buying up an army of Nemesis troopers or something and the customizable nature of player character's costumes are... Nul (Online offer? Made to order character?)

Meh, something to think of. I'd also buy badges of, gasp, the badges in game as well as T-shirts and stuff.

No. Really. *Waves money about* takeeeeee eeeeeeet.

ok first that kind of creepy because awhile back i made a post about maybe getting a redname marketing person and here he is like i said creepy.


welcome black pebble

As people have said mass loads...i'll just /e walllearn and watch this thread and see what happens with EU marketing.

Figure 3d prints would be nice.

And a card game.

And moar T-shirts thats not just a logo or something.

First, thanks for coming to the forums to talk to us.

Second, I think it might be a good idea if people tell you how they heard about the game and what made them buy it. If it worked for us, then chances are it will work for others like us.

I learned about the game about six years ago from an aggressive comic book ad campaign. It didn't last very long, but the ad was placed in a lot of titles that I bought. I have been a comic book geek since before I could read (I am now 46) and still buy a dozen or so comics every month -- mostly Marvel stuff. I bought the game because I saw it on the shelf at Wall-Mart while I was there shopping for something else and picked it up on a whim. I had no idea it was an MMO or that it had a monthly fee associated with it. I NEVER intended to play beyond the free month. And yet, here I am six years later.

Third, let me add my name to the chorus calling for Paragon Studios to have more of a presence at Comic and Gaming conventions. You don't have to have one person attend them all, or send a huge contingent to each and every one. But if you were able to send someone, anyone, YOU maybe, to most of the bigger ones and gave Con attendees a free month of the game, then I think you will hook a lot of them. While it's not cheap, I really can't see a more cost effective way of getting the product into the hands of your target audience.

Finally, along the same lines and as someone else mentioned above, get involved with free comic book day and give away a David Nakayama one-shot story with an ad for the game and a code for a free month of play.

Again, thanks for sharing with us. I have been a fan for many years and am looking forward to many more years of new and exciting City of Heroes content.

Out of interest, are there any plans for some sort of marketing presence that is not US and not EU? I know EU players are probably more deserving of marketing attention, but since I live in The Rest Of The World I have to ask.

I'll let the Australian and New Zealand players speak for themselves. I'd just like to know whether, in Paragon Marketing's eyes, the playerbase in Asia even exists.

I would not be surprised or angry if we don't; we're used to it. I just want to know if there will be any sort of outreach to us here, or if we are, as usual, on our own.

Update your photo. (Annotated.)

Commercial or Ads... Adam West and Stan Lee. 'nuff said

Who knows Anthrax may do a song for you, I am the Law was based off the Judge Dredd Comic.

I already know a good song to promote Villains But you need to get permission and all that legal stuff.

CoH and CoV Cereal