Advertising: Ideas to help Graal
 

My ideas are getting buried in the Lifetime Classic thread, so I'll start a few new ones.

Advertising
Purpose: to draw new traffic to Graal (which means new people to give money to the Server Upkeep Fund)
Options: Myriad - we can go with Google Ads, old fashioned banner ads on webcomics, I'm sure there are services that offer Popups and Popunders still. Magazine ads aren't cheap, so if Unixmad's gonna buy one it should be well placed. Radio and TV ads are freaking expensive, I don't forsee that Ever happening.
Requires: Money, the ad itself

We've reached the point in Graal's lifecycle where the current playerbase can't keep the servers afloat anymore - we need a transfusion of new blood. This means we're going to need newbies, and newbies that are willing to shell out the money to upgrade.
Where do we find them?
How do we attract them?
I don't know. You guys might. Any thoughts?
Google Ads are the favorite from what I've seen.
I know Dave from Bobandgeorge.com sells ads, and they're fairly reasonably priced.
Regardless of whether or not we should be worrying about this now (please limit such opinions to the poll), anyone got a killer ad campaign idea? Preferably someone of the "And here's the animated gif" variety? Though an awesome script for an ad could still be progress...something besides Fung Si Yan dropping a bomb in front of a baddy...(though I kinda miss that intro)

I've emailed Unixmad countless times about some offers. He makes empty promises to talk to me about it, then never does.

So, **** it. If the owner isn't motivated about helping his game grow, why should we?

Graal: The movie.

He doesn't respond to me either. I entreat you not to punish the game because of the schedule of the owner...it's like giving up on Star Wars because Lucas never wrote back.

Find Myspace accounts that are being used to publisize movies (Things are doing that now-adays for some reason) or some myspace account with a lot of traffic, then just spam it up with GraalOnline links!

Fool proof!

While I see your point, I still laugh in the face of Graal's management.

Product placement. Imagine Brad Pitt and Catherine Zeta-Jones having hot steamy sex, and then after Pitt going to play Graal.

What I would do for him...or her...

Angelina Jolie.

Better yet, have Angelina Jolie play Graal. I'd definitely upgrade. :D

Poor pitt.

There are many websites out there for games that are cheap to advertise on, topwebgames I think was $50 for 3months last time I checked (and that was about 2 months before my globalness ended). They had good traffic too, so it's not too hard to find easy things to advertise on.

Hmm topsites200 was relatively cheap a while back, but the guy has got all fussy over advertising now, so I'm not sure he wants to talk to you unless you're gonna chuck $500 at him.

But ONLINE advertising only. It's an online product. If you use offline advertising you've gotta be really good to get someone to then go look at your product, online advertising all you need is to have 2 frames in a gif with FREE IPOD and you get clicks like crazy! So for the best results stick to online.

And these websites for MMORPGs and games will probably be cheaper than google adwords, as that starts to get very expensive with popular words!

But here are things I'd personally do:
1) Update/make a new website (with a quicksite)
2) Get zone its own website with relevant info on it - get gaming website to review this - as I think it'd go down very well.
3) Make one server free for all (unixmad will never do this - I've probably suggested it 2/3 times - but no luck). But I think it's important, people NEED to experience the full Graal experience. One server could be made specifically for this, which could have so many quests and a few self events (no staff required - spar etC) and very little (but still SOME) updates. It should have a good tutorial, feature the main elements of a server (jobs, quests, events, item shops) and be free for all at any time of the day or night.
4) Release the 1 month trial that can be used on any server
5) Start to do more events such as free access weekends - where everyone can go on any server and save *INCLUDING TRIALS*
6) Update GK/Zone and make another new server
7) Keep lifetime accounts. If you want them to upgrade, give them a reason. New players are more likely to get a lifetime than a monthly.
8) Make forums free for all posting (except trials) in most areas. The forums aren't a valueable feature that most would consider as upgrading for (at least not new players) so it wouldn't devalue gold/vip for new players.

Dunno, I've lost my line of thought now, and my washing is just done brb

Hte monst important thing is CONSTANT updates no matter how challenging this is. Oh and I have aquestion. I don't think breaks the rules. Its a borderline thing that the nice mods could ignore :winky: If stefan owns graal is that all he does with his time or does he have anoher job? If he has another job but if not could he put more updates and effort into thingsd the players suggest?

It's a valid question: Stefan works full-time for Graal as I understand it, Unixmad works part-time as some sorta high-tech engineer for a major French tech firm last I heard, that's where the investment capital comes from.

Back to the topic: Yeah, if we could get away with an ad where we take a clip where Angelina's on a computer from Mr. and Mrs. Smith, then do a YTMND-believable overlay of a Graal screen, it'd make a good ad - but would it be legal?
(I'm sure it would be if we got a look-alike and used the parody laws...but how expensive would THAT be?)

You've got the right idea, I haven't seen anyone else hit the nail on the head though.

However, advertising is not the only option.

What else did you have in mind?

I'm looking forward to a Googi spinoff soon: How to save Graal!

All of these "How to Save Graal" threads are frustrating me.

Yeah, I am not sure it was necessary :\

It really wasnt - all he really needed was to make a single thread "How to Save Graal" and put the poll in that. Somewhat obnoxious.

I don't believe people are seeing the bigger picture here.

Before Graal hit full P2P, the game had a strong viral marketing rate, which ensured that constant stream of visitors, encouraged repeat visits, and ultimately gained popularity through it. Unfortunately, this is no longer enough. The problem with advertising right now though is that there is none and people don't seem to be happy enough to refer the game to others. Recently I had an outburst in doing some basic PR work, such as distributing screenshots, game info and reviews to websites, and to my surprise, I had to manually submit it to quite a few major gaming sites such as IGN and GameFAQs. This is not helping. A new approach to marketing, in my opinion, is very much needed.

Most, if not all people who have given a constructive view in current threads have claimed that Graal needs advertisements. I personally believe that potential players are more likely to connect with an article from a reporter than an ad, as--lets face it--we understand what an ad is and what it is not. I always enjoy reading player written reviews to games before playing them myself; I like knowing what other people who have played the game thought about it, mainly to see if I would like to play it myself. A game ultimately sells on word of mouth, and obviously without seeing it, gamers are going to look to other means to form opinions. Advertising gives visual information acquisition, however, it lacks depth. I suggest that you incorporate an advertising budget, but not too much, and appropriate far more time to public relations. Advertising is useful, but only when appropriate.

Viral marketing can still be used, although overall game quality needs to be ensured, and adding benefits to promote "passing the word on" could be added. Referral systems are one of the most highly effective, yet inexpensive techniques used to generate a steady flow of customers. The referee, however, needs the proper incentive. What players need is encouragement to pay for Gold, as their money is the greatest factor to them. Helping them save some could be an effective form of incentive, wherein if a player 'recruits' new members to Graal, he/she can be rewarded with say, 3 days on his/her Gold account per Gold signup.

A positive aspect to ad use is that Nintendo has left a niche in the gaming market. Zelda has so far not been designed as an online game, and probably never will be; this gap gives the opportunity to apply Graal to that market, as it was always very much A Link To The Past turned into an online game. I believe that Zelda fans would eat this up, I myself being a fan of the series found this game on the off chance that there would be a "Zelda Online" many years ago. Targeting this audience would be relatively cheap, using fan-site advertising such as http://www.zeldauniverse.net/content/view/165/187/ of the more popular Zelda websites would increase revenue, and in return would not be detrimental to the profit, it would also be more relevant. Although this would be a very good idea, this should not be used as the only advertising campaign.

E-mail marketing is yet again both inexpensive and very effective. If people were automatically signed up for a monthly newsletter, and they left us due to "lack of updates," with progress and updates circulating via the newsletter, chances are they will come back to see it for themselves.

Most of all game sales happen in the fourth quarter of the year, Christmas being the season of both giving and spending ridiculous amounts of money; taking advantage of that is on the agenda of any marketing plan. With a surge in potential players writing out their Christmas lists, planning what great gifts they would like this year for their parents/grandparents to buy, a good start would be to implant the idea of a Graal subscription making a wonderful gift. Friends and relatives giving gifts are more interested in being able to physically give that gift and then see the reactions, you can't really have that satisfaction if there is no physical aspect to it as it is not at all fulfilling. Psychologically speaking, it is more satisfying for both parties to see the tangible gift. This "physical gift" psychology could be easily achieved simply by introducing subscription gift certificates. The idea is pretty simple and could be useful for more than just for Christmas, as I personally have wanted to pay for an account for someone who could not afford it, but have not been able to do it legally.

From an ethnic marketing viewpoint, conversion to multi-lingual versions is harmless and could make the game more internationally known. A good game is a good game, irrespective of race or culture. The website already has a multi-lingual feature, but there are other things that could be done. Atlantis has the appearance of a good server (although I can't play it due to the language barrier) but is failing due to a decline in German players, this could be easily solved if ethnic marketing was pursued, and it wouldn't be as lacking in player interest as it is now.

Of course, there's always those little things that need dealing with, such as making sure Graal is ranked at the top in major search engines, and has good search engine optimization. Everything counts.

In order to right the current situation, every aspect of advertising must be meticulously considered. On the other hand, doing just this can prove to be quite the downfall, as it often causes people to be blind to the bigger picture, and it seems to me like you are not thinking outside of the box.

Generally - yeah, I'm terribly sorry I made a single thread for all of 9 ideas I wanted to talk about at once, but they're 9 ideas. Not all the same ideas. If it was Tyhm's Simple 9-Point Plan, I'd have made Tyhm's Simple 9-Point Plan: How To Save Graal, but it isn't, so I didn't. I'm allowed to have and discuss more than one idea at a time, and you're allowed to live with it. (The multiple polls was kind of dumb, but I couldn't decide which one I wanted to put it in, and I couldn't very well put it in Unixmad's post).

Rufus, you've got some good ideas. Viral marketing as advertisement is an entirely valid suggestion, and I believe Unixmad does have the mailing list he used for Fairyland lying around somewhere - we just need something to shout about if we decide to shout. Timing is of course critical - how soon before XMas ought we launch an ad campaign for it to hit critical mass just as Mommy and Daddy are buying gifts for Little Timmy? Do we try again to get CDs of Graal on the shelves?

Multilingual gameplay is a good idea - deserving of its own How To Save Graal, not that I'm the gatekeeper of new threads (just get ready for people to yell at you for starting a new thread for a new idea). I seem to recall there being something like #T(stringgoeshere), which created a Translation File for the server, a text file which you could hand to a bilingual staffer (say, I can write middling French and decent English, so I could translate a French server into English for you if you passed me the TranslationsFrench file). It might have died out due to the strain of keeping up with a constantly evolving server using a single text file...and I think you had to re-translate the whole thing every time a new line was added, something like that.

You're quite right that I'm not looking at Advertisement as a whole, nor am I cohesively defining the concept in the span of a single post - rather, I'm asking the world to help me crystalize the concept into a single soundbyte that we can then hand to Unixmad to answer his question.
Unixmad: "Should we advertise?"
Us: "Right after we update the website. In fact, here's a disk with all the files to dissemenate across the internet, along with notes on how best to..."-you see, I still don't really know how we'd virally advertise Graal, people either like the game enough to tell a friend or they don't. It's not an active verb, you can't Viral something, it's an adjective, it is or it isn't. How do we Make Graal Viral again? That's a good question. Community? Local server/Game Pride?

Pretty much as Rufus said, a back to basics way of advertising. Use the fact that it is very similar to Zelda, but online. People will flock to it if you advertise on fansites and popular forums about zelda games.

Okay-should any hypothetical future banner ads feature in-game graphics (big dramatic bank heist, a swarm of players bum rushing a Master Sword, etc) or should it be idealized (fanart or sommat)?

Well, for one you would want a study on the demographics of the target consumer for ad placement. The advertisement itself should draw attention. Common techniques I use in drawing attention to advertisements are contrast (catches the eye) and peculiarity (makes you wonder). It should also represent a true image of the game... wow, my roommate is wasted...... how the hell is he even walking?

Okay, for instance, I made a poster for the last CSSA movie night at UVM which was preceded by a lecture on the history of hacker subculture and phreaking. The poster was very colorful (used red + black as the major contrast). Every other poster was dull with gray/black. The information on the poster was translated to hex and the title was written in leet speak. We placed posters in all of the buildings for the college of engineering and mathematics. Unfortunately the extremely high turnout drained half of our funds allocated to movie nights (free pizza gone awry), and they're supposed to last us the rest of the year. However, the goal in advertising wasn't to make money as you can tell; it was to build a community by hosting events of interest. You could probably say that Graal could generate money by building a community in the same fashion.

We need to fake some funny videos and put them on YOUTUBE with a little advert in the middle/end :D

But then again you have videos like this Video
That will just eat graal away.But then again with this NEW Flying Technology, graal might take whole new step into the future.
(I can't wait)

(WOW that Planetside ad was boring...)

Hmm...so we could get a team together to make a movie on Graal, and spread that around for the Viral Video effort...
But then, referring to another idea I think Googi posted here in Future Improvements, if the Graal Client could be easily configured by Stefan to record movie files, we could encourage the world to make as many Graal Movies as there are of Warcraft peoples dancing to various musics...wind up with the "Beating Super Mario Brothers in 10 minutes" videos that the Japanese are so big on.

In other alternative mediae, I had a thought about a YTMND, but it's gone now...

Umm, banners, banners...see, if we enter the Banners market we'll be up against Adventure Quest and the like...
Something anime styled, using in-game graphics...well, for perverse websites we could have a Hump The World campaign, that'd be funny...
See, the roadblock I keep coming up against is I don't know where Unixmad wants to go with this: Is Graal a game engine? Then we advertise each world individually (or skin 'em, give 'em a % and a website, and let them advertise themselves). Is Graal a server? Then we advertise all the worlds at once - worlds which have gone out of their way to be independant - or we advertise only the worlds Stefan's made with his own two hands. Making a Kingdoms ad is significantly different than making a Graal ad....

Yeah, I switched off half way through. It wasn't at all cool as the fanboys in comments below were hyping up.

subliminal advertising ftw

...and once we've got a way of making movies with the Graal client, the admins could put a contest on the website granting a year of Gold to whoever makes the most popular Graal Movie...two birds with one stone, that.

Who can sit here and say they know how to market and advertise Graal for other countries?

Well, I can speak for America, and I imagine you can speak for Australia, so I think we have our answer.

Hrmmm, I'll re-boost that thread by Googi if I find it.

Oh, and irule13 suggested posting Graal on XFire. XFire is, if I've got this right, an IM program/multi-game remote, so you can party up with your friends no matter what game they're playing at the moment (with the usual restriction you have to have that game too) - you can be playing WoW, get bored and find someone you know on FFXI, hop on there for a while, etcetera...I see no negatives to such an alliance, except for the temporary drain on our admins as they established the partnership.

And another recap-No matter what direction Graal's drifting in, Movie in Client via Alt-5 (or whatever) would make it easy for players to advertise the various servers, and that's a good thing. :-)

XFire is an easier way to connect with friends to a specific client. Not much use for it on Graal since they've introduced that "Buddies on other servers" feature :(

Best we have a chat and come up with a few solid plans then.

I can, it's pretty simple.

's why we've got this thread. But the trouble I keep running into is that I'm lazy and don't want to fully develop plans to market Graal both as a Host Service Slash Engine and as a Series of Unique PWs. The best I can reckon is Unixmad wants adverts for Play the Official Worlds, then the private worlds can take care of themselves...

Link to the Make A Movie Feature discussion

Ok, here is my advertising.
Cost? Approx. $2.00
Time it took to make? About 5 minutes.

Simple. Easy. Effective? I don't know, but it can't hurt. :)
I have been known to write down web addresses I have seen advertised on vehicles before, so why not?

<Edit> I want a bumpersticker :(

That is your car? :O

Yes.