Indie Game Marketing
Hi Guys,
Was awesome meeting up with the Cape Town community last week. I run a new company called Slingshot Games that wants to market indie games. I saw in the Cape Town community meetup discussion that some of you would like to know more about our company, what we do and what we opportunities we can offer you.
We have a comprehensive global network and are equipped to do a full press release and embargo for your game. We also do full social media marketing, SEO, website design and will fully manage the PR side of the game.
So if anyone is interested in possible marketing opportunities just post on this discussion and we can get in touch :)
Kind Regards,
Pieter
Was awesome meeting up with the Cape Town community last week. I run a new company called Slingshot Games that wants to market indie games. I saw in the Cape Town community meetup discussion that some of you would like to know more about our company, what we do and what we opportunities we can offer you.
We have a comprehensive global network and are equipped to do a full press release and embargo for your game. We also do full social media marketing, SEO, website design and will fully manage the PR side of the game.
So if anyone is interested in possible marketing opportunities just post on this discussion and we can get in touch :)
Kind Regards,
Pieter
Comments
We tend to be a pretty results-oriented bunch (at least, QCF is) so I'd ask what you guys expect from top-notch indie game marketing? Do you have many relationships with international press that could get people featured?
Also, it would be totally amazing if you could help push the games people show here to the big international youtubers - do that for a couple of games here and people will be clamoring to get you to manage their PR :)
There are a couple developers in South Africa that have products with a fair bit of potential (in my opinion), but aren't really reaching out to the press all that much (also in my opinion). I don't know if it is fair to suggest, but Stasis http://www.stasisgame.com/ looks freakin awesome, and I gather he is just a one man team. Perhaps if you contact him you can arrange something mutually beneficial? If you had Stasis as a client I'm sure you can score some easy-wins marketing-wise and forge some rapport with the press etc.
Of course this is making a lot of assumptions. I don't know what assets Slingshot Games has, whether or not "easy-wins" would benefit you, and I don't know if Chris (of Stasis) wants any marketing at this time, or any help from outside (I don't know the guy at all). He has done pretty okay in terms of press already on the strength of his product http://kotaku.com/tag/stasis
I am definitely open to the possibilities of other people stepping in and marketing DD, I just need to know that it's going to be productive and not damage the personality of the "brand". That's why I mentioned youtubers, as that's somewhere that I haven't managed to get a lot of traction (barring those two awesome TotalBiscuit WTFs) plus it's an area of expertise that could be of great benefit to many local games too.
We are going to need a new website at some point though. Or at least, some extensive re-jiggering of our current theme ;)
I'd suggest you guys present a talk at one of the meetups. Will be a good chance for either A) us to evaluate that you can at least talk the talk and walk the walk, or B ) a great chance to evaluate your assumptions and get free advice from people who have a fair amount of experience already by virtue of promoting their own games.
Yes, we're a new development in startup phase, but moving quickly. Indie games are such an awesome sphere- we want to be as deeply involved in as we can, though we'd like to stay relatively small, as size plays against you here. I've answered your questions below:
What happens to the personal communication between devs and press?
The press (and readers thereof) shouldn't even be able to tell that an independent marketer is at work. Ultimately, each game is different and of course each has a different brand. Like you said, the press want to feel like they're communicating with the developers themselves, they want personal and almost intimate communication. This is our highest priority - maintaining a developer-direct approach - all of our efforts are focused on communicating as the game studio itself and not as an independent marketer. Our systems allow the developer to communicate directly with his buyers and the press with minimal effort, as all relationships are effectively initiated and managed by Slingshot Games...
What exactly does "top-notch indie game marketing" entail?
- Partnerships: We're partnered and work directly with the most innovative SA marketing and media companies, Green Beetle Branding and Times Media Group, so all press communication will be in line with the highest marketing standards. The great thing here is that you have some of the biggest names in marketing at your disposal without the drawback of impersonal exposure.
- Direct global exposure: We have a database of 6523 of the biggest tech CEO's, reporters and Editors-In-Chief. The network includes names like GameZombie.TV, TechCrunch, CNN, Wired Magazine, big names in the Chinese and Japanese tech space and game bloggers. We also have personal relationships with some of these guys, and are personally involved with hotshots in Silicon Valley and in Europe.
- Local exposure: Direct access to 272 local publications, including the 12 biggest SA newspapers
- Website: Designers on standby to design/revamp any website
- Social Media Management: Full social media optimization and management throughout any release
- Platform management: Full copy optimization of any Steam page, GamersGate, or any page on an online platform
- Youtube: X-play's channel, IGN Channel, gamesweasel
What other services do we offer?
We also offer funding. We have an extensive network of Venture capitalists and access to the CEO's and Founders of companies like Seed Engine and Ustart, though we prefer to fund internally- Ultimately, if you've got a good idea or a great game, funding is ample when you're involved with us:)
We'll look into presenting a piece at the next meetup, show you guys a bit more of what we can do.
Oh and about Stasis- It's all good and well, but there's no matching our resources, nor our commitment and passion. And from your side, everything we charge is performance-based, so you never fork out unless you've already made your return... Few (in fact none that I know of) can claim that. We're in this for gaming, not to become a Goliath corporate.
Though of course that's me just thumb-sucking figures and making assumptions.
I'm new to this whole promotional/marketing thing, so I'm trying to pick it up as I go along :) As the first sales come in, we'll look into spending some of that on re-arranging peoples eyes to look our way ;)
We only charge for milestones reached, so if we don't reach a set goal of sales, you don't pay us a cent... For e.g.: anything under 100 000 copies sold, we take nothing, and sales above 100 000 we take a small percentage of any subsequent revenues. So you'll always make the money before you ever have to fork out anything.. We're also looking to build some rapport in the industry, so fixing up websites and setting up systems for max exposure on min effort is something we'd do for free- provided there is the possibility of a way forward for us :)