how to sell social networking to your boss and publisher
DESCRIPTION
GDC09 talkTRANSCRIPT
Sell Social Networking to your Boss and your
PublisherAdam Martin
GDC 2009
I’m losing my voice
I speak less
words say more
why am I doing this?
two little stories
“the pitch”
you: developer
convinced by Social Gaming
go to publisher / boss
pitch
great game
social networking
huge success
rejection
:(
“the project”
game
great ideas
doesn’t work
cancelled
:(
...
what went wrong?
how can you fix it?
the pitch ...
...what happened?
expectationsvs.
reality
what the publisher expected
PROFIT
what the publisher heard
COSTS
DISRUPTION
you didn’t notice
what the developer heard
INNOVATION
POPULARITY
FREE MARKETING
what the publisher expected
PROFIT
you already know that one
(we’ll come back to this)
DISRUPTION
(important)
what is disruption?
(curiously apposite)
also
“disruptive innovation”
“disruptive innovation”!=
“revolutionary”
revolution:
guns, explosions, etc
change
stays the same
disruption:
silence
change
wiped out
silence
“social networking”
“so what?”
problem 2:
change
change => loss
"Fear is the path to the dark side.
Fear leads to anger.Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering"
"Fear is the path to the dark side.
Fear leads to anger.Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering"
change => loss;loss =>
anger/fear;anger/fear =>
rejection
your game
(w/social networking)
invalidate
years of experience
change => loss;loss =>
anger/fear;anger/fear =>
rejection
(and the Dark Side)
a.k.a.“Disruptive Change”
</disruption>
<profit />
net result:
pitch
a reasonable theory:
“better games are more likely to be
funded”
reality:
didn’t understand
(OR:)
got scared
one thing they know:
Show me the money.
(how much more will it cost?)
(how much revenue will it
bring?)
You already told them
did you tell them..?
e.g. “Why...
...better graphics?
•Screenshots make press-websites and magazines look better
•“Ooh, shiny!”
•Graphics sell video cards; video cards sell games
...more levels?
•Keep the consumer busy long enough for them to tell their friends “it’s good, buy it”
•“Scatter / shotgun!” - let a thousand flowers bloom
•Levels are cheap, but look expensive
...multiplayer?
•Hides bad game-design
•Hides weak AI
•People who play online, talk online = free marketing
...Social Games?Um, err, well, um...
what went wrong?
how can you fix it?
1: “Don’t say this”
there are twenty times as many people using each
social network as are using each online game
publisher thinks:
(SN users dont spend money)
(too expensive to run the ops for
that many people)
(very low quality, low production value, our
brand is much more high quality than that)
the future of “the internet”
publisher thinks:
(fad)
(landgrab that we won’t win)
viral marketing
(VM doesn’t work)
(you’re just gambling)
2. Do say these:
here’s a prototype
(usually...)
(...never tried)
Guns don’t kill people
•Bad content doesn’t cancel subscriptions
•“No friends” does
Sales Teams
•ZT Online: $200m annual revenue; 3,000 full-time salespeople; coincidence?
•Your Game’s Social Network: 5m part-time salespeople
Virtual Communities, Virtual Goods
•Why are you only selling ONE thing to this captive audience who already likes you?
If you don’t build it...
•...the users will do it anyway.
•Welcome to IM, eBay, Forums, Guild sites, Wikia, GoogleMaps mashups, etc
you lose:
brand-control,
game-control,
cross-sell opportunities,
and transaction commisions
we’ll learn as we go
...and that’s OK
(and cheap)
tell them what they want to hear:
reduce cost:
e.g. “Don’t worry, be crappy”
e.g. free market research
e.g. lowered consumer
expectations
reduced risk:
e.g. “soft launch”
e.g. ops costs only if we succeed
increased revenue
e.g. up-sell and cross-sell
increased customer loyalty
e.g. stick with your friends
Questions?