Marketing suggestions?

[loboLoco]

Now that the excitement has settled down from 2.7's initial release on itch.io and then on Steam, we'd like to actually do some, you know, marketing of the game. The question, of course, is where and how? We'd like to get the word out to players of other animal-centric games. We might try some Facebook ads. Any suggestions where we might find people who'd be interested in WQ?

[D0m]

I think Facebook sounds alright. I don't use Tumblr or Twitter, so I don't know if they'd work, but maybe we could try those? I also know a lot of people use Instagram, so that might work.

I'm no expert when it comes to social media, but those are the things I've heard about.

[Pepper]

Hi Everybody, I am loboLoco's partner and I will be helping market WolfQuest. I am looking forward to hearing how people find games like WolfQuest.

[Kamaal]

First of all, nice to meet you Pepper.
Now I shall answer this question based on what I've seen so far. People usually learn about games through various gaming platforms such as Xbox 360, PS4, etc etc, but I doubt that you'd be able to 'push' some advertisements through. I believe I have nothing new to add, my words are leaning towards Lupa's.

[Koa]

off-white.eu (a wolf comic) I believe offers services for ads that you can pay for. deviantART (an art site with arguably a large wolf fan-base) ads wouldn't be a bad idea, either. furaffinity.net could work as well (which is a site for "furries" although I'd think the audience is older so that comes with its own quirks).

How about teaming up with some zoos again and using them to advertise?

EDIT: Bigger sites: IGN? Kotaku? Polygon? (Gaming sites) Youtube?

[Nor-easter Forecast]

Nice to meet you, Pepper.

Building on what others have said, it seems to me like WolfQuest has two main markets: educational (youth) and art/gaming (teens). These can overlap, of course, but I think these are the game's two primary demographics. Seeing as these two groups expect very different things from the game, it would make sense to create two different ad "schemes" and aim them at the respective groups. For example, we could advertise WQ as being "family friendly" and "educational/realistic" on zoo and conservation sites while having a separate ad message of the game being "action-packed" and "challenging/original" on gamer sites, deviantART and YouTube. Not only would this show off WQ's versatility, but it would be more efficient in terms of attracting a larger audience.

I agree that Facebook and other social media sites are a good place to start. The comic Off-white is also a very good suggestion.

Personally, I found WQ through the International Wolf Center years ago. I would advocate for maintaining a strong advertising presence through zoos, conservation centers and sanctuaries. Not only are these places probably easier to advertise in than big companies like Xbox, they have audiences that are likely more interested in the educational aspect of WQ and less inclined to give the game a bad review because it's graphics/gameplay are not equal to multi-million dollar MORG's.

[SolitaryHowl]

Hello Pepper, welcome. Nice to meet you.

Some ideas...

Facebook + other social media ads: there are lots of pro-wolf groups on facebook, target them towards people who are interested in wolves, dogs, animals, and games. Also I heard younger people like Instagram more, but I don't know anything about that.

Interviews/articles about WolfQuest on gaming websites like IGN, Gamespot, IndieDB (you can also release it on there, its like Steam), and on non-gaming websites.

Zoos: keeping your connections strong with zoos (and the international wolf center) and maybe have their keepers mention the game if zoo visitors ask about wolves (though that might be hard to pull off). Putting links up on their websites for the game.

Setting up WQ stations: when I visited the Haliburton Wolf Center years ago, they had a station set up with WolfQuest on it (this was before Slough Creek was released), so maybe ask other zoos and/or wolf sanctuaries to do something similar?

Youtube: Ask some big-names to play your game (some good channels would be BestInSlot, GamingBeaver, NerdCubed, GameGrumps and maaaybe Pewdiepie, though his fan-base is pretty immature and might cause problems for WQ, many games have seen higher sales due to the 'pewdiepie effect').
In particular, BestInSlot and GamingBeaver often play games with animals and don't mind playing indie games like WQ, so those might be your best bet.

Twitch: Ask to see if any twitch streamers will stream your game, I can't think of any popular ones at the moment, but I know its a platform that is getting pretty popular.

[Kivia]

Pleasure meeting you, Pepper!

Going off of Lobo, I found WQ through the International Wolf Center as well way back when because I was very interested in wolves. I think that perhaps on top of advertising through zoos and conservation entities, perhaps we could take a journalistic/news article approach? I know that I enjoy reading news articles on various news and wildlife-based websites, and there have been several times where I've taken an interest in a project and donated to the cause after reading an article about it. I wouldn't know how to go about doing that, or what sites to hone in on specifically, but I think an article written about WolfQuest would be cool. It may pop up more easily in Google searches as well, being a news article and all.
edit - Solitary mentioned this as well, but like I said, I would like to see an article on more science-based sites as well.

Overall though, I believe we should be making an effort to attract a crowd that is interested in learning about wolves. That's difficult for me to speak on because I don't have the largest interest in wolves anymore, but one of the things that I always admired about the game/forum is the desire to educate. Whether it be with wolves or wildlife in general, I'd like to see some new folks that want to learn. We have quite the fantastic creative and artistic community as well, but I don't want to see this project stray away too much from its intended purpose.

[D0m]

Nice to meet you, Pepper!

As some other people have been saying, it might be a good idea to go to zoos, conservation centres, etc. Personally, I found out about WQ on the UKWCT website, which advertises WQ in its section with the games. It seems to be aimed at a younger audience there and I happened to stumble upon the ad on the front page when I was looking for something, so many if you went to advertise on other similar pages it would, hopefully, bring attention to the game, too. I think using things like this would be good, especially since both WQ and zoos/centres/etc. aim to educate people.

[valkea]

• - Definitely make an effort to market the game towards people looking to learn about wolves, imo. An article about WQ, as previously suggested, sounds like a great idea.
  - Advertising on other sites directed towards gamers, wolf/animal lovers, artists, and people looking for something educational (as mentioned above). Artists may seem like an odd demographic to put in there, however animal-based art is hugely popular and I'm sure a lot of artists would be very interested in a wolf game even if they may not necessarily frequent sites with other focuses.
  - For a more specific suggestion, what about advertising on animal sim sites/petsites? Like Flight Rising (though I very rarely see a non-webcomic ad there), Lioden, Wajas, any of the wolf-based ones still going around (Wolfplay?). These are sites that already have a large animal-loving population, and considering the amount of threads I've seen on WQ on these sites (particularly Lioden, for some reason), getting word out that there's a new version would also reach a lot of people who played 2.5 in the past.
  - Seconding the suggestion to see if any popular youtube channels would like to make a video on the game. I don't know much about current "popular" channels, but what about approaching channels that previously covered the game? I know NerdCubed (who seemed to really enjoy just Amethyst Mountain) and the main Yogscast channel have both covered 2.5.
  - Also, Twitch streamers. I also can't think of any popular streamers since I don't use Twitch often, but I know people here have noticed that people watching Twitch streams on WQ have been interested in buying the game for themselves.
  - Has a Steam sale been considered? It doesn't have to be that much cheaper than the usual price, just having a game for sale on Steam can bring a lot of attention to it. The summer sales are coming up soon, aren't they? Could use that to kind of take advantage of people's already weak impulse control.

[Pepper]

Wow! Thanks for the warm welcome and great ideas! Keep them coming! I am looking forward to digging in.

For those of you on Facebook, encourage folks to "like" the Eduweb Facebook page at http://bit.ly/1rMyXdl We have designed lots of other educational and fun games (many free) in partnership with all sorts of amazing museums and organizations.

[SolitaryHowl]

• - Definitely make an effort to market the game towards people looking to learn about wolves, imo. An article about WQ, as previously suggested, sounds like a great idea.
  - Advertising on other sites directed towards gamers, wolf/animal lovers, artists, and people looking for something educational (as mentioned above). Artists may seem like an odd demographic to put in there, however animal-based art is hugely popular and I'm sure a lot of artists would be very interested in a wolf game even if they may not necessarily frequent sites with other focuses.
  - For a more specific suggestion, what about advertising on animal sim sites/petsites? Like Flight Rising (though I very rarely see a non-webcomic ad there), Lioden, Wajas, any of the wolf-based ones still going around (Wolfplay?). These are sites that already have a large animal-loving population, and considering the amount of threads I've seen on WQ on these sites (particularly Lioden, for some reason), getting word out that there's a new version would also reach a lot of people who played 2.5 in the past.
  - Seconding the suggestion to see if any popular youtube channels would like to make a video on the game. I don't know much about current "popular" channels, but what about approaching channels that previously covered the game? I know NerdCubed (who seemed to really enjoy just Amethyst Mountain) and the main Yogscast channel have both covered 2.5.
  - Also, Twitch streamers. I also can't think of any popular streamers since I don't use Twitch often, but I know people here have noticed that people watching Twitch streams on WQ have been interested in buying the game for themselves.
  - Has a Steam sale been considered? It doesn't have to be that much cheaper than the usual price, just having a game for sale on Steam can bring a lot of attention to it. The summer sales are coming up soon, aren't they? Could use that to kind of take advantage of people's already weak impulse control.

Wait a minute, NerdCubed covered WolfQuest? When? I've been following him for years.

[valkea]

Wait a minute, NerdCubed covered WolfQuest? When? I've been following him for years.

He didn't give it its own dedicated video, but he did play it for most of the video it was in. In... 2012 apparently. Does not feel like it's been that long but okay ;; My feelings of being old aside, it's here.
(warning for swearing I guess for anyone else who may end up watching it)

[duskypack]

First off, a very warm welcome to the forums, Pepper!

Here are the ways I, personally, find games I like:


I discovered Wolfquest for myself all those years ago on Yellowstone's website. I was a wee lass who knew nothing about wolves, loved animals and was going to go to Yellowstone in a few months. Wolfquest caught my eye immediately and it was love at first sight.

As for Youtubers, I know IHasCupquake played it but didn't finish the series, the Yogscast played it (hilarious play through but high in profanity!) and a youtuber known as Seri! Pixel Biologist has an ongoing Wolfquest series that got a lot of popularity at one point. I recommend approaching Stacyplays, a popular youtuber (over a million subscribers) with a family-friendly channel that particularly loves dogs.

There's a pop-up for games on sale on Steam that I enjoy browsing through, that'd be some good coverage as well.

[alexterri2]

I think Facebook would be a pretty good place to start.

You could also try other wolf-related sites