# GW Marketing



## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Hey hey, 

what does anyone think about the news on GW's new marketing policy, posted up on BOLs yesterday?

_Word has been out there for about a month that GW is changing their marketing policy to make it easier for stores to sell current product. Here's what the scuttlbutt is about:

The basic gist is that there will be a pull back from the upcoming product information Games Workshop has been providing over the last few quarters. Pretty much nobody at the retail/customer level will get any word on upcoming releases until 1 week before product hits shelves. This means:

-No more "coming soon" emails to customers.
-Black Boxes are said to still be shipping, but will only be opened the day or, or immediately before the minis are publically available.
-The most advanced lead time or hints as to upcoming products will be the last page teaser in White Dwarf._

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2011/06/gw-marketing-tightening-screws.html

I guess it does make sense, meaning people will focus on what is out there currently and not on what is coming next when it comes to making purchases. But that will mean there is no hype, no advanced orders, nothing to make us get our rocks off prior to the products hitting the shelves...

Every major consumer item in the modern world, from cars to computer games, works on hype, so I can't say this is a great marketing policy...

Rev


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## Squeeking up on people (Jul 24, 2010)

Interesting, I suppose it makes sense. I guess it prevents people from delaying purchases too much. I would think this would work better for Forgeworld, where people buy the stuff because it looks cool.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Personally I think it'll mean most of us will actually spend less overall since we'll be saving more for potential releases since we don't know what's coming. Without the hype we have no timeline and can't otherwise budget our purchases effectively. 

If this truly is GW's plan they'll find out how much it hurts them pretty quickly when either the new releases flop because of the lack of hype or the current products don't move so fast since we'll wait for the new stuff all the time.


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## ownzu (Jul 11, 2010)

well that means il never have money for anything anymore,i always save money up when i see something i want


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## ohiocat110 (Sep 15, 2010)

I would suspect it means they have a glut of inventory they're trying to move before new products come out. Like selling down blisters before new models or Finecast comes out and leaves the old stuff on shelves to rot. Good way to stay friendly with distributors and avoid cannibalizing their own product. I doubt it will be a permanent policy.


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

I agree with you there *ohiocat110*, GW must have a huge amount of old stuff to shift at the moment, and as they never do sales... if they just had one big clearance sale one day it would solve all their problems 

I also agree with you *Zion*, we'll always be thinking 'but if I just wait, there might be something better...'


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## Marneus Calgar (Dec 5, 2007)

I think it'll lead to more rumours in my opinion, more rumours, relating to every army, and people getting let down more and more...


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## Jezlad (Oct 14, 2006)

HAHAHA 

GW are completely fucking backward with their marketing.


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## mcmuffin (Mar 1, 2009)

What a shite marketing policy. anyone with qualifications in marketing knows that the best way to sell a product is to advertise in advance, build hype and allow pre-orders. Look at the video game industry, which is growing exponentially even in this economic climate. I seriously wonder who does their marketing, my money goes on a nutless monkey, but it could be some other form of assclown. Yet another brilliant move by GW, sure to lose them even more support. If they were more open, then they would seriously hype people up about a new release, by releasing concept sketches, silhouettes and teasers several months in advance, like they did with SW (talking about ordering vast stocks of grey paint in WD)


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## Grogbart (Aug 29, 2010)

I can only talk about myself, but had I known two years ago, that my Sisters still didn't get an update by now, I would have started a second or even a third army. But since there was always a rumour around they might be next, here I am, still waiting and having spent my money elsewhere.

The only thing I could see being achieved by shortening hype-time, is reducing the danger of customers coming to their senses and reducing their list of intended buys, before they had the chance to spent their money.


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Starting to think the Crab people have taken over GW's marketing department.


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

I think that this could pick up sales in other places. For example the only way to see new models now is to have a WD subscription. These could increase.

Not to mention that there will always be rumours and such around GW. I mean I pretty much know that they were the ones who posted the "leaked" Grey Knights's codex so they would spend less time explaining what everything was. When the actual models came out most of us already knew the difference between a Paladin and a Purifier as an example.


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## bitsandkits (Mar 18, 2008)

Sounds like nonsense to me, how will the stores order the product if they dont know when its being released?makes no sense and sounds made up by someone whos not really thought it through, certain people need to know in advance, gw need to know in advance so they know how much product to make so the shelves are not empty. Why do you think GW have advanced orders? do you think its so people can get the models early ? no its so GW an guage popularity, if GW sell 10000 venoms last week online and they get another 5000 ordered by indies plus the GW store requirements they know how long the machines need to be working and how many people they need on shifts to make sure they can cover the actual and predicted sales.


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## Cypher871 (Aug 2, 2009)

If this is true, it completely beggars belief. Sounds like the lunatics have taken over the asylum.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

This is just another in a long list of every increasingly stupid mistakes GW have made in the last few years. 

Hype is a wonderful marketing tool. It builds awareness, get's people excited and is just all together useful. 

Their best move would be to let people know some of what's coming months in advance. Have silhouette pictures in WD and online, have videos with sneak peaks added in the background. Do previews and features before release.

The best example I have is for the upcoming MMORPG, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. This game was first announced in October 2008, and there has still been no official release date given. But still, fans are going crazy in the hype, planning their clans, lapping up the weekly content released such as trailers, gameplay videos, timeline videos, artwork and the like. 

If GW were to get their asses into gear, fully utilize the internet using videos and forums, support the community and build on the hype. I'm sure they would be more successful, and loved for it.


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

I don't know why folks are now all of a sudden surprised, GW made this exact announcment during the Embargo-FineCast-Annual Price Rise event.

This news is at least 3 months old, and some are just catching up.

GW Announce in March that as of 1st June that product release announcements would be secretive and will only be released a week prior to release.

GW also stated that this was to kill off the as they saw an unproductive rumours industry by folks that know jack shit but saying stuff as if it were gospel.

As for GW stupidity over this, why then does Apple and Sony and many in the computer/telephony have a policy of absolute secrecy until the very day of new product release. At least with GW you are getting 7 days notice, and GW is not forcing anyone by putting a gun to your head and dictating that you must get out and buy that brand new shiney.

I don't anyone here bitching about that, but i suppose because it is GW some do it out of habit


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## Azkaellon (Jun 23, 2009)

This is why im selling off lots of my Gw stuff There going to wipe them selves out at this rate........Quick folks buy PP stock!


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## Shandathe (May 2, 2010)

Achaylus72 said:


> As for GW stupidity over this, why then does Apple and Sony and many in the computer/telephony have a policy of absolute secrecy until the very day of new product release.


Uhrr... Because they don't? Take Apple. First Steve Jobs announces the new product with his Reality Distortion Field in full effect, and then a while later you see lines build at the Apple stores days in advance of actual product release due to the hype...


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

Shandathe said:


> Uhrr... Because they don't? Take Apple. First Steve Jobs announces the new product with his Reality Distortion Field in full effect, and then a while later you see lines build at the Apple stores days in advance of actual product release due to the hype...


Stand corrected.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Achaylus72 said:


> GW also stated that this was to kill off the as they saw an unproductive rumours industry by folks that know jack shit but saying stuff as if it were gospel.


I see this strengthening the rumor milling since people will want to know more than ever what's coming next.


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## exsulis (Jul 17, 2008)

My old work produced a policy very similar to GW's, and within 3 years the company tanked. It was a complete nightmare for retailers, and staff alike. Stores were very much what the... is going on? And because of the policy no one could talk about new stuff, and they had a huge dip in sales. 

So if GW actually follows through it is just going to hurt them, and those that carry their product. As it stands some indy stores barely get the Product codes before they need to send in their orders just to get the product at launch.


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## Hiroku9 (May 23, 2011)

I've already got a rough draft for the 6th Ed BRB. Its a cover, some pictures of some seemingly new models, then in the rules section is says "See Warmachine"


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

exsulis said:


> My old work produced a policy very similar to GW's, and within 3 years the company tanked. It was a complete nightmare for retailers, and staff alike. Stores were very much what the... is going on? And because of the policy no one could talk about new stuff, and they had a huge dip in sales.
> 
> So if GW actually follows through it is just going to hurt them, and those that carry their product. As it stands some indy stores barely get the Product codes before they need to send in their orders just to get the product at launch.


I expect the same for Games Workshop. Though they might self-correct after they see how badly they do in this next fiscal quarter.


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## Drannith (Sep 18, 2010)

Short term this may be an ok idea, as long as it is short term and not standard company policy. Advertising and creating hype is such a useful tool that companies devot millions to advertising. Hopefully they are doing this for gearing up a much better advertising campagin though it is doubtful. 

If nothing else they really need to keep the stores in the know. Maybe make people sign a non-disclosure statement as part of being able to sell GW products. It might be hard to find out who leaked any info but at least if they do find a person or persons there will be repercussions. Keeping things smooth for vendors is the key to success.


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## ChaosRedCorsairLord (Apr 17, 2009)

Why would they bother? Do sneak peeks and pre-orders hurt their sales or something? Seems like a waste of time and effort.


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## Stephen_Newman (Jul 14, 2009)

I still fail to see why there is all this hysteria. 10 years ago when the Internet was rarely used people were able to find out about GW without any problems. Why is there now such a problem?


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## Death Shroud (Mar 1, 2008)

The problem is that GW don't let their stockists know what is going on in advance of their general press releases. The amount of times I've gone into my local hobby store and have been the one to tell them that a new book or models have been announced is ridiculous. This make the local games store look bad when in fact the only way they could have known is to trawl the forums every morning before work to get their info.

GW should be sending out the info at least a day in advance to all their stockists.


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## Death Shroud (Mar 1, 2008)

Hiroku9 said:


> I've already got a rough draft for the 6th Ed BRB. Its a cover, some pictures of some seemingly new models, then in the rules section is says "See Warmachine"


:biggrin: Get the 4th edition book, fix the typos, change the art, put a new cover on it and I'll be a happy man.:so_happy:


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

Zion said:


> I see this strengthening the rumor milling since people will want to know more than ever what's coming next.


Well that's the way GW works.

Staff finding out news on the products they sell from Joe PUblic is not so strange.

I heard that Guitar Hero had been scrapped, so i went into my local EB Games and asked then what was their opinion of the scrapping of Guitar Hero, they had not heard or read any official release and they isisted that i heard incorrectly, it was not until two days later they got the official internet release of the news of scrapping Guitar Hero, the manager came out and congratulated me on my information.

The same shop a couple of days ago the same thing with X-Box and the latest hacking scandal, they did not hear or read anything until i told them.


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## LordOfAbsolution (Jul 22, 2009)

All the things that have been happening with GW the past few years make me crinch... 

it reminds me of the joke about Bush in the elementary school, where he's meant to be holding the book upside down.

Someone must of given GW 'the big book on how to succeed in a business' when they first started but they opened it up back to front and upside down, and never realised. so everything awesome they could of done they did at the beginning and slowly going backwards like a retarded lemming...


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Achaylus72 said:


> Well that's the way GW works.
> 
> Staff finding out news on the products they sell from Joe PUblic is not so strange.
> 
> ...


I'm beginning to thing the problem isn't really GW or it's marketing per-say but the mentality that is perpetuated by a lot of the older generations who can't see how ingrained into the society the internet is. The businesses that are really succeeding right now are the ones who have overcome this hurdle and opened up to their customers both in terms of planned decisions, new product lines and issues with current product lines.

Eventually GW is going to need to open it's doors more or suffer for it.



Stephen_Newman said:


> I still fail to see why there is all this hysteria. 10 years ago when the Internet was rarely used people were able to find out about GW without any problems. Why is there now such a problem?


The problem is that ten years ago it was still common practice to not tell your customers anything, the big way to get the news was still your local paper or preffered news channel and no one was making Facebook pages for their pets.

With the rise of both social networking sites, companies adopting more transparent business models and the move away from advertising in traditional media (namely print) for most corporations and GW not doing television commercials (not that I could come up with a way to write one that would promote the product effectively in a minute or less) there is a greater reliance for there to be more information shared online, something that GW isn't doing.

And since White Dwarf has gone from being a hobby focused magazine with a side of "Look! New Stuff!" to a magazine almost completely centered around "Look! New Stuff!" it isn't a reliable way to inform your customer base anymore. Furthermore this clampdown seems to be stricter than the older policies that GW used to use in regards to sharing information about new products since they've become more paranoid about the internet instead of accepting of it.

Does that help clear things up?


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

Zion said:


> I'm beginning to thing the problem isn't really GW or it's marketing per-say but the mentality that is perpetuated by a lot of the older generations who can't see how ingrained into the society the internet is. The businesses that are really succeeding right now are the ones who have overcome this hurdle and opened up to their customers both in terms of planned decisions, new product lines and issues with current product lines.
> 
> Eventually GW is going to need to open it's doors more or suffer for it.
> 
> Does that help clear things up?


I find this remark rather insulting, listen, the world does not revolve around Gen Y and Gen Z, I know folks that are in their 70's, 80's and 90's that know more about the internet that you would, and what they don't know it ain't worth knowing.

I personally know folks who worked with Computers for the last 60 years, and using the precursor to the internet 10 years before Bill Gates arrived on the scene. 

And as a 45 year old, i may not know much but i can hold my own on the internet. Are you suggesting it is washed up old bastard like me that is the main problem. Get Real.


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## imm0rtal reaper (Jul 15, 2008)

Achaylus72 said:


> I find this remark rather insulting, listen, the world does not revolve around Gen Y and Gen Z, I know folks that are in their 70's, 80's and 90's that know more about the internet that you would, and what they don't know it ain't worth knowing.
> 
> I personally know folks who worked with Computers for the last 60 years, and using the precursor to the internet 10 years before Bill Gates arrived on the scene.
> 
> And as a 45 year old, i may not know much but i can hold my own on the internet. Are you suggesting it is washed up old bastard like me that is the main problem. Get Real.


Don't take it too personally. Notice he said a *lot of the older generation* which would be a true statement. A large proportion of the over 35 gamer in my local GW would have no idea how forums work, or in some cases what they are. The same applies to the wider internet, yes there are some people of age that know what they are oding on the web, but there are probably more who don't. So don't take the comment to heart :grin:

I do hope one day in the future, perhaps once the current CEO is gone, that GW do accept the internet for the useful tool it is.


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## Zion (May 31, 2011)

Achaylus72 said:


> I find this remark rather insulting, listen, the world does not revolve around Gen Y and Gen Z, I know folks that are in their 70's, 80's and 90's that know more about the internet that you would, and what they don't know it ain't worth knowing.
> 
> I personally know folks who worked with Computers for the last 60 years, and using the precursor to the internet 10 years before Bill Gates arrived on the scene.
> 
> And as a 45 year old, i may not know much but i can hold my own on the internet. Are you suggesting it is washed up old bastard like me that is the main problem. Get Real.


 
I'm not suggesting it's any one generation but rather heldover thinking from a time when the internet either didn't exist or was still new. I'm not attacking anyone based on their age. My family has a friend who runs his own personal computer repair buisness and he's in his late 60's so I know that age doesn't factor into the ability to use these machines. I was targetting the generational thinking more on the buisness world's slower movement and tendency to lag behind a generation in their marketing strategies.

To put it simply there are a lot of companies who still can't/don't use the internet because it's still "too new" and "too unreliable" and "too risky" especially after the early 2000's dot com crash. And while I can see the logic there, I find it faulty.

The internet has since rebounded and many large corporations (such as Apple) now use the internet and viral marketing to push their products sooner, get the hype going bigger and generate more sales than ever. To dismiss the internet as a powerful marketting tool in the modern age regardless of what your age is, well to be honest is one of the worst mistakes you can make these days.

I do apologize for any misunderstanding my post made and hope that helped clarify what I was intending to say.


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## LordWaffles (Jan 15, 2008)

ohiocat110 said:


> before new products come out.


Wait, GW makes new products? I wouldn't know as ninety percent of what I hear is how they're only capable of generating fucking pants-on-head retarded decisions. Who knows what the actual business model is anymore.


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## Shandathe (May 2, 2010)

Using the admittedly limited data left as GW clamps down on communication, the business model appears to be something like this:

1. Generate fucking pants-on-head retarded decisions.
2. ???
3. Profit!!!


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

Zion said:


> I'm not suggesting it's any one generation but rather heldover thinking from a time when the internet either didn't exist or was still new. I'm not attacking anyone based on their age. My family has a friend who runs his own personal computer repair buisness and he's in his late 60's so I know that age doesn't factor into the ability to use these machines. I was targetting the generational thinking more on the buisness world's slower movement and tendency to lag behind a generation in their marketing strategies.
> 
> To put it simply there are a lot of companies who still can't/don't use the internet because it's still "too new" and "too unreliable" and "too risky" especially after the early 2000's dot com crash. And while I can see the logic there, I find it faulty.
> 
> ...



Ok fair call, thanks


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## Achaylus72 (Apr 30, 2011)

imm0rtal reaper said:


> Don't take it too personally. Notice he said a *lot of the older generation* which would be a true statement. A large proportion of the over 35 gamer in my local GW would have no idea how forums work, or in some cases what they are. The same applies to the wider internet, yes there are some people of age that know what they are oding on the web, but there are probably more who don't. So don't take the comment to heart :grin:
> 
> I do hope one day in the future, perhaps once the current CEO is gone, that GW do accept the internet for the useful tool it is.


The funny thing is that an international study by electronic games manufacturers found that the average age of their consumers were 37 year olds, also the largest take up rate of electronic games are the over 45 year olds, these two groups are out stripping the under 25's, but the older generations are becoming more tech savvy, i am surprised of the rise of the older generations that visit the local libraries and internet cafe's.

The current GW CEO is a fool, the world is GW's oyster and he treats the world as a collective idiot. But then you have to convince the shareholders to get rid of him.


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## Warlock in Training (Jun 10, 2008)

LordOfAbsolution said:


> All the things that have been happening with GW the past few years make me crinch...
> 
> it reminds me of the joke about Bush in the elementary school, where he's meant to be holding the book upside down.
> 
> Someone must of given GW 'the big book on how to succeed in a business' when they first started but they opened it up back to front and upside down, and never realised. so everything awesome they could of done they did at the beginning and slowly going backwards like a retarded lemming...


:goodpost:

I swear in the past few months I have gone from "Hopefully GW gets their Act together" to "I Hope it goes under and someone else buys them out and runs GW with Sanity!" 

The truth is they're fuking stupid and dont deserve to live anymore as a company. First time they were becoming backrupt... ok... now that there running assbackwards... whats there excuse?


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