The first thing you'll notice at PAX is that there's a LOT going on! From colorful cosplays to internet friends embracing in the flesh, all of the big crowds and loud noises can be overwhelming at first. But once you adjust to your surroundings, it hits you how many gamers and developers are around to make a thrilling weekend unlike any other! And with that, there's a whole lot of marketing going on! Game booths and developers trying to grab your attention, merchandise bringing our nerdy fantasies to life, local businesses and worldwide brands trying to effectively sponsor such well-attended festivities, and so much more!
Here are the five most effective marketing practices I observed from PAX West this past weekend:
5. Building on Nostalgia
Retro games have been in style for a long time, and the major gaming corporations have recently been capitalizing off of HD remakes of everyone's beloved childhood franchises. While it's not surprising, this was definitely prevalent in a lot of new indie games coming out. Many of the games that stuck out to me had very classic pixelated graphics, much like the SNES and old PC programs I grew up with. Some of the most talked about games this year were either new chapters or remastered versions of definitive series like Tekken, Resident Evil, and Final Fantasy.
When selling a new product or service, the common motive is to be original and different. However, having nostalgic elements is an immensely effective way to connect with consumers through sharing the fondest memories. I'm already looking forward to playing games like Cuphead and Thimbleweed Park that bring back an atmosphere from my favorite games growing up! When it comes to entertainment, especially with videogames, reminiscence of the past is a gift that keeps on giving.As a streamer, relying too heavily on retro games can potentially trap you into a niche and limit your growth, but finding ways to incorporate nostalgic components into your content is a great way to make an impression on viewers. Whether it's with sound effects, graphics or temporary events, you can always look to the past to find great ideas that your audience can better connect with.
4. Magnetic Appeal
During my first few PAXes, as a shy naive gamer, the only booths I would go to were the ones that were least crowded. It was a lot easier to sit down and play a game right away with no wait, and you'd get more time to learn from the developers without any distraction.
However, once I took the role as a content creator and kept the overall gaming experience in mind, I've noticed that the empty booths aren't being swarmed for a reason. With so many other options just a few feet away, the booths that are attracting the most consistent crowds are the ones that are making the most of their user experience. They're drawing in greater numbers due to more interesting games, more riveting conversations, and offering value that is well worth waiting for your turn.
Part of this learning curve I observed from past conventions I've attended. There were some games I had a blast playing because I had so much time to take everything in, but once they released, their presence and reception online was either nonexistent or very short lived. They're harder for the public to get into because you need to take a lot of time or make a lot of effort to get the most out of the experience. They could be really fun games but 99 times out of 100, consumers will turn to wherever they see a more valuable experience.
And if a large group of people are waiting to get their hands in on the action, you can instantly see how well that brand is drawing people into their realm.These are the games that are more likely to have a greater following once they release, because their experience is already that engaging.
There's a few different ways to build on this from a casting standpoint. One is looking at the game choice equation: playing games that you already know provide an amazing experience have more potential to make a great show than games that aren't so promising. You won't get much growth out of the games at PAX that drew hardly any interest at all. It's also a great tactic to see what trends on Twitch you can tap into to make your stream a better experience. When you see other casters playing a game or doing something that creates a huge favorable reaction in their chat, use that as inspiration for how you can evolve your channel as well.
3. Strength of Community
I've always been a huge fan of creative partnerships because they open the door to many exciting possibilities in marketing. Not only does it help you appeal to multiple audiences, but it gives you a lot more resources to work with as well. It's like Nutella enhancing snacks in the grocery store and even in restaurant chains, it adds new flavor to the whole experience.
At PAX, where I loved seeing this was at the FanGamer booth. I'm already a huge fan of their nostalgic merchandise, and have made it a regular place to check out every convention I go to. This year, they've brilliantly connected with other notable members of the gaming community to add even more excitement to their shop.
First, there were the Super Soul Bros., an amazing jazz trio who played amazing Nintendo covers endlessly throughout the convention. Everyday that you walked by their booth, I would stop by because I heard Gerudo Valley or Rainbow Road right around the corner. Nowhere else at PAX could you hear this sort of music being played, so it definitely made both of their brands stand out to me.But then on the last day of the convention, they were selling these impressive game guides filled with unique illustrations and charmingly worded info about some of my most beloved franchises like Animal Crossing, Pokemon, and the Legend of Zelda. These were all published by Kari Fry, who also designed many of the shirts the booth was selling that weekend, and she was there that day to sign the book and meet fans. If it weren't for their cooperative partnership, I would've never found out about all her work, and I've been having a lot of fun seein
g new artwork and creative projects on some games that I thought I've already seen it all.
Make sure you check out her site at http://karifry.com/! While you're at it, take a look at http://www.supersoulbros.com/ for some amazing tunes as well! And of course, here's the link to https://www.fangamer.com/ for all your nostalgic shopping needs!
Seeing how incorporating different parts of the community can a far more inclusive experience made me think more of how that can be done more on Twitch. I've always loved seeing teams and a variety of casters take part in collective events, putting on unforgettable shows for everyone. But even beyond that, with our own viewer communities, can you imagine what we could create if we put all of our talents together? Beautiful artwork, imaginative ideas, and crazy experiences could come way more frequently when more people are involved.
2. Bringing Dreams to Reality
Since we spend so much time on the computer in our daily lives, we're used to seeing lots of excitement take place behind the screen. While it's easy to get drawn into games and casts with how accessible technology has made it, everything is still limited to those dimensions.What impressed me the most this PAX was seeing how different companies, from smaller indie devs to huge corporations, are experimenting with new ways to bring their content even more into life.
This is most obvious with Virtual Reality, which a few years ago seemed like a gimmick to me. However, this year I got really excited hearing about the new Rick and Morty VR experience! I never got a chance to play it, as the line was always capped and had a wait of over two hours, but I'm thrilled just imagining the new possibilities that can emerge now that some big names are really taking advantage of the platform. I remember the days of the N64 and PS1 when games based on TV Shows were horribly made and pretty disappointing. But now that we have the technology to actually put ourselves right there in the TV Show, it adds a whole new element of excitement as it touches upon everybody's childhood fantasies.
But one of my most memorable moments from the whole convention was seeing the merchandise sold from various indie developers, who's games have already been released earlier this year. Specifically, Firewatch, a beautiful game that really draws you into the scenery of a wild forest filled with mystery. In that game, there are some collectible books that aren't necessary to complete the playthrough, but have enough character themselves to stand out from the main storyline. When I saw these little books being sold at Campo Santo's booth, it really took me by surprise! They weren't the full stories, just little notebooks to write in, but seeing these small distinct collectibles from the game being brought to life felt a lot more meaningful than the traditional plush dolls and keychains most vendors sell.
1. Maximizing Memorability
From all of the cool new marketing insights I saw at PAX West, the most important thing I took from came more from what felt absent this weekend. As more conventions go by and the gaming community grows, PAX has become a place where the quality of every individual experience is cut short because so much is happening at once.
Especially as a caster, seeing the Twitch community being focused on such a busy schedule now makes things very different. It's impossible now to spend quality time and make significant memories with fellow streamers because they're being pulled away to network with hundreds of developers and content creators. And while networking can be a great foot in the door, is it that effective when thousands of other casters are busy doing the exact same thing?
These are the growing pains of the gaming industry, and while the abundance of opportunities more than makes up for it, it's still a dilemma well worth thinking about. How are you going to stand out to fellow casters when later that night, hundreds of others will hand them business cards and share their opinion on Fallout 4 just like you did? It's very similar to Twitch, how will you make your cast stand out when thousands of others are live at the same time?
The best solution I found is doing something extra memorable. I had the same sort of feelings last PAX Prime of just fading in with the numbers, so when I went to TwitchCon last year, I went all out! I made it a surprise appearance, not letting anyone I was going until I finally showed up on the first day. I gave out custom made "Twitchland's Sexiest" medals to everyone I met, something many of them still hang proudly by their computer.
And then I had an even crazier idea. I saw a store down the street selling pumpkins for $5. so I bought one, brought a sharpie and walked around asking everyone to sign my pumpkin. It was a pain to carry around, but people thought it was hilarious, and I topped it all off by taking it down by the Golden Gate Bridge, taking a scenic photo of it, and tagging everyone who signed it. To this day, people still talk about my pumpkin shenanigans at TwitchCon, and it's something they all vividly remember despite everything else they came across that weekend.This PAX, the only handouts I brought were some personalized stickers. While I thought they'd be better than business cards because you can stick them to laptops and other places, they weren't nearly enough to register anything significant in the busy minds of everybody at PAX.
When so many other amazing things are going on, you need to stand out beyond what's around you to make any sort of impact. Taking that extra step to be unique and memorable is by far the best marketing tactic to wield during times with so much activity and liveliness. And as Twitch continues to grow, it's even more important to make your cast stand out. It never hurts to learn from the best, but doing the same things that thousands of other streamers are doing won't be nearly as effective as building an irresistible brand experience of your own.
As TwitchCon comes up, be observant of your surroundings and take note of which moments and experiences stand out the most. Two and a half days will fly by in an instant, so figuring out which components of the convention made a significant impact on you can shed light on some brilliant methods to improve your brand on the ever-growing realm of Twitch.
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