Hi all, A note from Logic Factory (iOS developer)... Some of you following the Ascendancy thread may have participated in one of our promo code giveaways awhile back, and we will do that again when we have another batch of them. But in the meantime we have been talking over something else to do as a bigger giveaway to help promote our game, and we thought we wouldn't be crossing any lines by posting on the forum to ask for your input. We are torn between the following options: 1. Giving away a new iPod touch each week for three weeks, and then an iPad 2 as a grand prize. -or- 2. A Macbook Air. -or- 3. A high end consumer telescope. -or- 4. Other in roughly the same range? And another question we have been mulling over... several of us have resisted the Facebook scene and we have not put up a company Facebook page. It just has not seemed like the kind of thing our gamers would be into. But several marketers have advised us we'd be crazy not to use Facebook as the platform for this giveaway, getting a ton of people to "like" the page and (not our words) "setting a spark in the 'social network!'" We would love to hear your thoughts and whether you use Facebook yourself. We are working on the next update to the game and have more content to follow after that. We have also been hearing from many fans that they want an Android port and a dedicated user forum on our website. In both cases we are also dubious, but taking the feedback seriously. So, if you feel like it, please tell us what you think, here and/or to our [email protected] email. The more detail the better. If you care to share other info like age and favorite websites that would be a big help. We are definitely going to do this promo giveaway, and we will be advertising it in key places, so the more information we get from core gamers like you the better. We hope this post didn't cross the self-promotional lines of the forum. We think the information you could share would not only be helpful for us, but other developers, and perhaps interesting as a topic of discussion in general. And one last question. You may notice on our website we mention: "Just Play ... no ads, no in-game purchases. You buy it, you own it, it's yours. Just play." We are developing new games, too, and most of us here are strongly inclined to make that above quote a commitment for future products. We have noticed some extremely unhealthy trends in the games industry, including in-game ads, in-game purchases, subscription models that are okay for some games, but shouldn't apply to others, fan review manipulation (stacking the fan reviews by using third party "marketing" agencies that essentially buy an overload of positive reviews), etc. But all of this is our opinion and we can talk to each other here way too much. ;-) What do you think? Thanks very much to any of you who choose to respond. We will read every response here and in email, but think we should do our best to keep our posting at a minimum. We always respond to emails. Best, Logic Factory
I personally don't use Facbook, but I see nothing wrong with having a company page to inform consumers about updates or up-coming games, I do however hate when companies use facebook "like" action to gain extra content or levels/maps in games.
Give away a some on here cuase some of us don't use face book but twitter would work for me. Also the ipod touch and then the ipad 2 idea works for me.
Personally, I think the first 2 prize options are the best. Ipod Touch/Ipad2 and the Mac Book Air. I cant choose between the 2 as they are both sets of fantastic prizes. Facebook seems to work for many companies and I have often seen promo codes given away based on "liking" a company page on facebook. I think you would need to talk on all fronts. i.e. if you communicate on Facebook, you would need to communicate here also. (As not everyone has facebook).
The first prize (iPods and iPad) makes the most sense to me. Given that you're advertising an iOS game it's guaranteed that the people are you are targeting will be interest in the prize, and also with there being 4 prized all up I'm sure it is a bigger incentive for people to participate/enter as they have a greater chance of getting something.
Personally I think that the Ipod/Ipad giveaway is the best idea. After that, I'd say the Macbook, because who wouldn't want a mac or an ipod? Also---concerning facebook---I personally would say it's a good idea to start a company facebook page, especially because you can get more people to follow you then a website (e.g. it just pops up on their facebook wall). That could be a solid marketing tool, though you'd have to give information as well elsewhere....(like in these forums or on a webpage). Anyways, those are just my opinions
Option 1 for a give-away. Facebook? What's Facebook? (I for one never use it) Keep quality products like Ascendancy coming; personally releasing more teaser information on a quality product would do more to promote a game than any iPad give-away ever could. (Seriously, what's upcoming from Logic Factory?) Thanks for taking a stance against in-game purchases.
im not old enuff to use facebook im not sure cuz most of us already own ipads, ipod touch so i say option 2
I think the first 2 prizes are the best. I usually see developers holding contests where you have to Like them on Facebook or Follow them on Twitter, and they seem to work the best. Either one you go with is fine.
I never hear people talking about iOS games on FACEBOOK. they just "like" it then go away so your "marketers" must be CRAZYER than you think.
you just said you don't have a facebook. really? clearly you know nothing about it. Facebook is actually a very useful tool for marketing, escpecially when paired with a contest. contests in which you guys post a short comment and a link to your game and ask people to share it (posting it on their own walls so everyone sees). This way, it'll be #of contestents X tens to a couple hundred people that see your product. and imo, people already have idevices. a laptop is nice. maybe a regular mac or a macbook pro? those are more appealing to me personally.
I have a few things to say. First off, the hardware giveaway - I would be extremely careful about this. I blew $500 on an iPad as a prize in a competition last year, I had what I expected was an amazing contest and I worked very hard to publicize it. I got a lot of eyeballs on my contest, but very few actual participants and almost zero extra downloads for my effort. On top of that, the kid who won the prize found an exploit in my game and essentially cheated to win, which really rubbed my face in the fact that this was a terrible idea (I did give him the prize, because ultimately it was my own oversight that allowed the exploit to remain in the app). Anyway, you might want to stick with promocode giveaways or something, they are much much more affordable ad ultimately will get you much more bang for your buck. Facebook - if you are not "a Facebook guy" already, then you should get on that train. If you really aren't, I would say don't bother making a page as it will be a waste of time without some kind of steady support. A FB page with 300 fans is worthless in this day and age, but your marketing buddies are correct: used properly, things like FB and twitter can be indispensable/cost-effective techniques to raise awareness for your app. It will take a lot of time and energy to figure it out, however. Lastly, your criticism of free-to-play, In-App Purchase, and the like. There was a time when I, too, was dramatically opposed to such things Sadly I realized that when you are the little guy/newcomer on this scene, you absolutely have to ply by the rules and follow the trends set by the big guys, or else you get left in the dust. Games with some serious leverage (extremely heavy duty tech/aesthetic appeal, notable branding, some other kind of hookups) can get away with doing things their own way, but by and large for most of us we will get burned when we try to stick to the old model of doing things (charging what "we think" apps are worth). This new digital download revolution, combined with such an oversaturation of product on the market, had really turned things on their ear. What can work, however, is unusual experimentation with different methods of monetization, and this is where some major creativity needs to come into place. Good luck!
As a consumer I don't see how hardware give-away would equal more downloads. If anything expensive give-aways seem to cheapen perspective of the core product. Smaller prizes tend to create reciprocity (consumer appreciation) more than larger ones... cognitive dissonance. For example, 180 by Headcase Games is an excellent puzzler but short of free downloads during the extended promo period I'm not sure it got the fanfare it deserves. Spending the money on tweaks or new content would probably bring more downloads. Across the board Logic Factory is a responsive developers and I think that goes further than anything else. It's important people feel the product is supported by developers who are present and willing to implement new features (i.e. Foursaken Media's spin on Bug Heroes).
I would avoid large singular giveaways. If you do have money budgeted for contests, I would gear it towards multiple smaller prizes. The main thing you're after, is customers to buy your games. What stronger influence on a purchase than a word-of-mouth recommendation? Think about how many times has a buddy seen a good movie, heard a cool song, or played an interesting game, and that lead to you pursuing the lead and coming to a purchase point. In a day and age where we're bombarded with advertisements, we've been trained to ignore them. Even the famous Facebook "Like" button has become synonymous with an apathetic affiliation. I think big companies are almost expected to hold big giveaways, but a smaller studio can potentially create a more meaningful push with something interesting and unique. Of course, promo giveaways are great for seeding review sites or prolific gamers, but what about something like a T-shirt, signed poster, or mug? Then you've put a memorable prize into many hands. Anyways, just a suggestion. Giveaways and contests are important, but very hard to judge results.
while the 3 ipods and ipad giveaway would be nice (for the winners) i think you'd get more bang for the buck by holding game code/itunes cards promos/contests instead. i'm surprised i haven't heard of your game before, since its actually a genre i enjoy XXX (Master of Orion). as a developer though, i would think you'd want to keep a facebook/twitter page just to develop/keep a following of fans and to notify them of things, as well as of new games. a lot of people use facebook for socializing with friends/family/etc, and a lot also use it exclusively to keep abreast of developments with companies that they're interested in. i don't have a single RL friend/relative on either my facebook or twitter account. so honestly, if facebook/twitter weren't around, i wouldn't give a rat's hiny either, i prefer email the most anyway. so maybe offer a newsletter to subscribe to as well. granted, this all could take time to maintain, time that could probably be spent on coding. but then again, you don't need to be wasting your time with hourly/daily updates either. sometimes facebook/twitter announcements from some companies are just annoying because they come in so often. i'd say once a week or so is sufficient to keep your fanbase aware of whatever you want them to be aware of. otherwise you risk people just tuning you out. so anyway, i'd say more smaller contests/promos would be better long term. .... just had a chance to read up more on your game, looks nice, hopefully there's a meaty gameplay trailer on your site so i can see it in action...
either way you decide to hold it, I've no objection but you have to make sure no exploits available for the players to take unfair advantages on others eg. Facebook "like" contest - people may create fake acc and gain massive likes High Score - high score (GC) can be hacked Screenshot - screenshot can be photoshopped Recording of the gameplay - unrealistic(not all people have camera) - only jailbroken iPhone can record the gameplay itself - takes alot of time (especially asking others to help record) and as for Facebook/Twitter/Other Social Networking Site I'd recommend promotion/marketing through Facebook. First of all, it's popular (maybe more than Twitter?). Apart from that, the news feed from Facebook usually more user friendly compared to Twitter. Besides this, you may also just use forum ( Touch Arcade ) to stay in touch with the customers and potential customers. The disadvantages are you might need extra staff or time to look at the inquiry and comment by the customers and some people may feel offended if they are not being taken care of nicely. I guess you should only do things within your own capacity and capability. Lastly,I want to remind you that LARGE GIVEAWAY will always ATTRACT some hackers/ cheaters. Do your best in organising the coming giveaway. A single wrong move will affect the goodwill of the company. I've witnessed too many failed large giveaway (even by reputable iOS developers) along with other forumers here.
Facebook is a great resources. It allows for marketing, allows for community development, allows for after sales follow up and a very easy line of mass communication between you and your clients. Imagine, 1 person buys your game and likes it, he presses thumbs up and two hundred of his friends get a notice. of themn, 5 %, or 10 people buy your app and give it a thumbs up and 4000 people get a notice. Facebook can be absolutly viral its also dirt cheap and has a client base of 500 million. presently it is the best option for follow up and building client loyalty, however , if your product is sub par, (not saying it is), or if you fail to get attention, the facebook page could be a monument to failure. Facebook, however, should also not be seen as the be all end all of your marketing. It's just a layer that will help build a loyal client-fan base.
