The Two Page Spreads are coming..

New ads

from GalCiv2 Forums

Stardock is expanding its advertising in game magazines and elsewhere.  We have at Gamespot, Penny-Arcade and many other websites.  We've also been taking out full page ads in many game magazines as well.  Now we're expending into two-page spreads.

I don't know about you guys, but when I read magazines, I almost never notice 2 page ads. My eyes are trained to skip past "non editorial".  So when we decided to make a 2 page spread, we wanted to make something that was like the game play examples. To let people see what they could expect in the game. That meant using in-game graphics, describing what was happening.  So the result is an ad that is somewhat unlike anything we've seen before.  We're not marketing geniuses here so maybe there's a good reason why game publishers don't tend to make full page spreads like what you see below.  But we like it and wanted to share it with you.  These ads will start showing up in Computer Gaming World, Computer Games Magazine, and PC Gamer.

The 2-page spread:

Below is the full page ad that should start showing up in the new issues of the various game magazines:

Feel free to let us know what you think.

30,024 views 35 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I thinks the 2-page is fine, tho a bit text heavy. Maybe it will seem less so in a mag. Formatting it like the game's UI is clever.

I, for one, do not skip past 2-page ads in gaming mags if the genre is one that interests me.

Its ironic, though, that you've written in the past about how GalCiv should not be compared to MoO series, yet one quote you've chosen for the ad does exactly that.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Excellent idea, you should mention that it is an actual in-game screenshot, instead of the renders that most commonly go for advertising nowadays

On a side note, the 'T' in 'T.A.S. Virginia' is not slanted (in italics). Might want to correct that if it's not too late
Siege of Centauri
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Even though the 2-page ad looks very similar to the game, it looks like it is drawn, and has no actual "game" pictures. I know that I would always blow off any game ad that had no "in-game" pictures, because you didn't really know what the game looked like, and maybe they were trying to hide an ugly interface or something... Anyway, I do like the ad, but I would add obvious "in-game" pictures to future ads. (They don't have to be the focal point, but they should be there so the reader can see what the game actually looks like.)

Just my worthless oppinion. Keep up the good work!
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I think it looks good, though I'm a bit biased since I've already seen the game and know it's more than great.
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
hehehee

I like it a lot
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Excellent ad, you beat me to point out the T not in italics
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I like it as well, but I'm not really sure how much you guys need to spend on advertising in magazines. I suppose it could open you up to more customers, but I think these days many, many people get their gaming info from websites like Gamespot.com. I think it might definitely be in your interest to try and get some interviews/coverage on those sites, particularly because of the results of your own poll. Getting into the top 10 most viewed PC games on Gamespot for example would be a huge victory for your exposure.
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Very nice indeed. I'd read it if I found it in a magazine. This ad is exactly the kind that draws my attention.
Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It does not look much like an ad but more like a usual part of the magazine that is there for people to read, but much better. It looks like the most interesting part of the reading so I think that more people would read then if it was just a usual ad. But I also think that it is more important for you to get more coverage on gaming websites then magazines. But I guess that there is also a lot of people that don't go on the internet much makes it important for you to advertise in magazines as well.
Reply #11 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Greetings,

One quote from my Marketing teacher during my MBA: "Marketing is putting the idea you want in the mind of your futur consumer. And your consumer has the attention spawn of a monkey."

Keeping that in mind:
- Too much text (Rememer the basic of slides in presentations: 6 lines, 6 words, 1 main idea per slide)
- If I would not have played the game, I would not know those are REAL graphics I see in the game - Screenshots are always nice. By removing text, you can put 2-3 of those on the side. (The graphics are one of your product strength, make that sure your futur customers see it really without any doubt)
- It would be a good idea to mention the internet community around the game. It is one of your best asset to have www.galciv2.com with many players always ready to answer players questions. I would no longer buy a game with no forum support
- The PC, rating, etc on the left side, can be put "outside of the REAL screen and replaced with the read screen stuff. You can put it just over and it will do the informational job.
- Don't be shy, show up your scores from reviews.

And again, remember people have a very short attention spawn and too much text won't do it. Make a small test: Take a few of your employees, put a magazine on the table (Popular science is a perfect one for techies like us) and ask them to go through and take all their time and counts how many seconds they spend on a page on average. You'll be surprised.

Thank you
Reply #12 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My 2cp:

"On route" should be "en route". Sorry, stickler for grammar!

Also, I'd throw a trade screen up there if you have the space. /vote Yor!

Other than that, looks fantastic. Good luck with drumming up more sales!

Tux
Reply #13 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
There's four things I know about marketing:

1) Your marketing department is like the gas pedal on the Winnebego that Elwood Blues sabotages: to make anything happen, you have to press on the gas, and then glue the pedal to the floor. In other words, there are no half-measures.

2) You need to advertise during the evening news.

3) You need to advertise during Jerry Springer.

4) A hot babe in a string bikini can sell anything to anyone.

As far as your print ad goes, it's nice enough, although I don't read game mags anymore. Were I to make an ad, I would just put on the game logo, the relevant contact information, and a blurb for every GCII game review that was 95% or better. Then again, that would make a six-page ad, wouldn't it?
Reply #14 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The reviews were a huge part of my decision to buy (and comparisions to MOO). The numeric ratings and scores given by reputable reviewers is very important--that's what got my instant sale. With all the garbage out there these days, gamers like myself have to rely on such scores. Anybody can have a great idea like the one shown on the spread but have horrible execution and gameplay.
Reply #15 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I dont buy or read computer magazines, I get info online, and would rather see an ad online for a game that is patched or news and updates regarding the patch
Reply #16 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
i like that ad. if i still read print mags, i'd probably stop to read it. i don't usually stop for full page ads, but when something looks like a schematic or map, my eyes are drawn to it.

i think a lot of the game's strengths are lost, though. for example, i barely noticed the "ship designer: YOU" thing at the bottom. I agree with Jestak's point that i'd have no way of knowing those are in-game graphics. maybe it's just about scaling.

better yet, these days a lot of ads that do manage to grab my attention are multi-part or clifhanger ads. something strange happens, and it isn't explained until the second ad in the series. maybe not the best for you, but i think if i saw this ad somewhere, then another ad that blatantly spells out the game's best points (customizability, great AI, great internet community). i know you've got other ads out even if i can't remember them, but that's cuz i'm not reading mags. and that's cuz i'm playing gal civ. or at least, i should be.

i dunno, i like it. the only thing i might change is to try and make all the narrative blubs dominate a little less. more negative space will better draw the eye to the positive.
Reply #17 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Personally I like them. When I'm flipping through a mag and see something intereasting, usually a gameplay example i'll stop and read it. I especially like ads that do that because (so sue me) they'e usually more graphically appealing/intereasting. My only advice is allow them to pull it out and use it as a poster.
Reply #18 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Eh, I'd gloss over this one as well (though I don't buy game magazines because they read as adverts as a whole). It's kind of nice, though.
Reply #19 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Jestak - We know all these roles, we are trying to do something differant, to see if it catches some eyes. We shall see.
Reply #20 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
One quote from my Marketing teacher during my MBA:


Here's something else someone else said: Those who can't do, teach.

Anything in a field like marketing is completely subjective, and subject to trends and styles. However, the ad doesn't break the "short attention span" rule-of-thumb anyway, because each block of text is small and the attention can jump from one to another quickly.

The things I would take exception to in the ad are those that serve no purpose. The ad is very crowded and contains misinformation, such as "Galactic Resource Zeta". Where in GC2 is there a "Galectic Resource Zeta"? Remember, the average bottom-line gamer hasn't finished high school yet (after all, these ads are targeted to people who haven't bought the game yet; most of us older gamers have known about GC2 for a long time now and probably already have it), and except for the "geeks" and "nerds" , will have no clue what "Zeta" might indicate. I was really scratching my head over the reasoning behind that part of the ad, among others.
Reply #21 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I see that the T.A.S. Harbinger got a refit somewhere between the one-page ad and the two-pager.
Reply #22 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The ad should mention how Gal Civ 2 has no sneaky DRM like Starforce. This alone will win many people over.
Reply #23 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Those are excellent ads! Put it this way, if I never knew anything about the game and seen all of that in a magazine, it would make me buy it.
Reply #25 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I like both the ad's being a strategy fan they would get my attention if i did not already own GC2.

I know a lot of people have brought it up that the ad might be a bit complicated (short attention span) but its an advertisment for a turn based space based strategy game.

The s.a.s rule can only really apply to an impulse buy item and i have never met anyone who impulse buys games, thats not to say some very rich people might do but normally this is not the case.