Hello from Paragon Marketing

What might draw more people in would be a standalone hero designer. A free program that could be downloaded and run independently from the net. Give people a chance to get interested in one of the under advertised aspects of the game. Our extensive costume options. Those that use the system would further advertise the game by showing of there heroes. Though it would need to include a way to take a screen shot of there heroes.

Bahaha, I love it Techbot. Pretty much how I feel.

Hi, I’m back.

I actually managed to read through this entire thread. Then you guys just kept asking more questions..... So I'll answer as many questions as I can in approximate order, but it will take me a while to get to some of them.

Before I start answering some of the 8,225 questions, I would like to set your expectations. I will answer as many new questions as possible. Not answering you doesn't mean you're being ignored, it means that either I just don’t have any information for you about it right now or this is not the right time to share any news I might have. Or, more likely, I’m swamped. I do read the forums a lot, but I’m unable to duplicate my onslaught of responses from last month. If you do have something that you believe is important enough to require my personal attention, please PM TheOcho, and he’ll pass it along to me.

I am also still new to Paragon. So if you really want to, you can ask me about PvP, or tell me why you did not like Issue 11 or why your game crashes all the time.....but I am not the best person to answer those questions. Just as I'm not the person you would ask to do your taxes, rebuild your engine, or design a house for you.

I understand that you may have 10 questions you want addressed, and it may be frustrating if I can only answer 4 of them. However, if my options are to either answer 4 of your questions versus none, I would much rather give you at least some answers. As a customer, I know I prefer to hear any news versus no news, but I definitely want to hear specifics vs. vague statements. So I will do my best to be specific in my responses, but there will be answers that I must be ambiguous on, because they’re part of programs that are in active development.


In-Game Advertising
As the thread shows, players are still divided on in-game advertising. The last time they were implemented, the overwhelming response was no ads, regardless of content or distribution. If they were to be re-introduced, there would need to be a way to deliver valuable, interesting ads only to those players who wish to see them. These ads cannot break immersion, or gameplay. At the same time, advertisers would need reassurance that they would reach the right customers.

I won’t say it will or will not happen, but it’s something that requires careful planning and execution.


Licensing + New Items For Sale
Licensed products are great for existing players, but they’re part of a different marketing campaign. Some folks love merchandise, others can do without it. And it can be a hefty investment with potentially high risk. However, all is not lost. We are working on programs that should allow you greater access to some items you’ve been asking for.


More Ads on TV/Comics/Movies/Websites
You will see more CoH as we get closer to the release date for Going Rogue. Product Placement is cool, but it’s also a dice roll. For those of you who suggested specific movie, media placements, I would also like to add that there are not insignificant logistical challenges in getting your direct competitors to promote your game over theirs.


Guest Author Program
We will continue to get diverse, interesting writers. Some of whom you have already suggested. Keep on tossing names, and if you happen to personally know anyone of interest, please let me know.


Future Questions For Me
Clear, concise bullet points work best!


About Me
I can make balloon animals. I still play COH. My Super Group is pretty cool, but I keep a low profile. I miss my 12 fire imps. And yes, I do find it not at all ironic that the initials BP are in the media a lot.


Conventions
We’ll officially be at Comic-Con San Diego and PAX West this year. But perhaps an even better question is: Where we will be throwing Meet and Greets? There will be 4 opportunities across the country where you can come to meet us in person, and one of them is still being decided on.

We do listen to your feedback on where you’d like us to be. As I mentioned earlier, this is our first year we visited the east coast, and that’s directly a result from your efforts. Even if we cannot be at your local convention, we would still like to help if possible.



Facebook/Twitter/Forums/Etc.
At the end of the day, we want to reach as many existing, former and new customers as possible. This means spreading the message everywhere it can be heard. You guys want more ads in public places? This is step 1. Not everyone reads the forums. Not everyone likes Facebook. Some folks don’t know what Twitter is. If we want to reach inactive or new customers, where do you think they’ll go to first? But if we want to work with the existing, loyal customers, where should we go first?

So let’s make sure everyone hears about CoH, no matter what they like to use.

There will never be any big game related announcements where we’ll force you to rely on only one source to get your information. There may be some content that some channel gets first dibs on, but very quickly, every piece of information, video, etc. will find its way everywhere you see City of Heroes/Villains. If we have a contest on the forums, I think it’s only fair we also have a contest on Facebook or Twitter, and vice versa. I want everyone to know about COH. I don’t’ want people to feel like they have only one way to get goodies.

If we make announcement on Twitter first, you will see it on the website, the forums, and on Facebook soon after. If there is a video that is only available on the GR site, it will also be announced via the forums, Facebook, etc. It’s a 10-way street.



The European Community
I have extensively read the pressing issues from our European customers – it was in one of those threads that someone referred to CoH Marketing (and not in the most positive way) as a “Black Pebble” so that’s where I got my board handle from. Although my role focuses on North America, it does not mean Europe is off my radar.


Please know that we are very aware of your concerns, and we are not ignoring them. We are working to increase the visibility of CoH in Europe, but also the attention our European customers get. There are multiple initiatives in place, and once they’re close to fruition, I would love to share the details with all of you. Until then, I can reassure you that our European customers are very important to us, and we want to make certain that the things we do for you provide significant value.

And now for some unrelated random trivia. I interned at the European Parliament library way back when and built their first catalogue database.


Next time
I’ll talk more about conventions, possibly talk about the non-existant Super Booster Pack VII: **B** **C***S, and how I could use some help with my secret origin.

*snags the first post after a red name*

The Non Existant Booster?

Oooooh... I want a Non-Existent Cape!

...And seriously. BP. Stone Tanker/Brute. Perfect for an ingame avatar.

And now that this post has been snagged: Content.

I know that there are numerous logistical issues involved with this, but you know Free Comic Day? It's self explanatory, really. All the major comic publishers (and some of the less major) give out a free issue to get people interested in their comic books.

I think a similar strategy would work well with CoH. Perhaps a Reprint of one of the classic CoH comics. Or even a brand new one, if you'd like. Comic Book Fans are part of our target audience, after all. Plus, it would be a great way to get people interested in the CoH World.

So marketing this game still isn't a priority? Roger. I don't suppose existing player retention is a priority then, either, is it?

Robot Carcass?

Black Pebble,

Thanks for returning to the forum. I think many of us thought we might have scared you away for good. I'm sure you're going to get inundated again but for now, I'll just say thank you very much for addressing the concerns of the EU community. Although it's frustrating not knowing what the future holds for us, I am very grateful to know that there is something going on behind the scenes.