Comments on: Word of Mouth Marketing: Don’t Piss People Off

By: Jared O'Toole

Jared O'Toole — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:31:56 +0000

It’s all about the product. You can;t cater to everyone so focusing on your target is the best bet. You have to narrow it down and at least at first try and forget about the other people who may not like your stuff %100.

Secure your tribe then branch out and leverage that tribe to do it.

By: Chalcara

Chalcara — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:41:49 +0000

Shooters and puzzles where you just can’t save everywhere tend to be more challenging, more immersive and more satisfying, since it dampens the “save and reload, reload, reload until you get what you want” effect. One tends to do it, even if one doesn’t do – Elderscrolls IV Oblivion for example: Oh, you got caught stealing? Ooops? Just reload! (On the other hand, Oblivion gives many opptertunities for sudden death, so saving where you want is good.)

It’s a design decision that, if used well, makes alot of sense and enhances the experience.

Of course you’ve gotta be clever at placing the save points. One and a half hour seems to be rather long.

By: Monday Reading Roundup Take #10

Monday Reading Roundup Take #10 — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:16:10 +0000

[...] Dunford of IttyBiz has just revealed a golden rule of word of mouth marketing: not pissing people off and remembering there’s more than your primary [...]

By: Best Business Articles From Around The Web | Bootstrapping Guerrilla Marketing Blog

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 05:47:04 +0000

[...] Word of mouth marketing: Don’t piss people off – Well, the title speaks for itself, and Naomi does an awesome job of getting the point across. She’s a writer who I could read all day. Yes, she swears a LOT, but the message is still the same, so why should it even matter? Kudo’s to Naomi as well for all of her success and recent e-book success. [...]

By: Ribeezie

Ribeezie — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:25:30 +0000

Hmmm… He could play the game for 20-30 minutes, pause it & turn off the t.v. and come back to it in the morning to finish the 2nd half of the mission and save it then!? [Probably not a good idea though to over-heat the counsel by keeping it on all day & night though I know people who've done that]

By: Productivity in Context » Blog Archive » Productivity Lessons from Marketing People

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:25:42 +0000

[...] contact me via e-mail: stephen @ hdbizblog dot com Thanks for visiting!Naomi has a new post at IttyBiz , where she is making a point about target demographics and marketing. I see it as a good lesson in [...]

By: Picard102

Picard102 — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:45:13 +0000

Actually, if the game is M-17 then their target audience is more likely 15-25. That bracket has plenty of time to spend on games, and they probably can find the pause button if they need to do something else in the middle of the level.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 23:56:59 +0000

It’s my understanding that the target demographic for M-17 video games are male, age 35. (35 year olds typically have more $$$ than 20 year olds…. and are more likely to be able to afford the cost of the console new.) I would venture to guess that puts your hubby squarely in the cross hairs of their target audience.

So his “displeasure” with the game should be of PARAMOUNT concern to the nice folks who want to feed, clothe and shelter their children based on sales of the game.

The fact that you’re complaining on such a popular blog which also reaches their target audience should also be of concern.

However, I haven’t seen them here to defend their work which means they don’t have a Google Alert set to let them know when people are talking about them… which means they really don’t give a sh*t what people are saying about their product.

It’s one thing when a tanning salon doesn’t know enough about Web 2.0 to stay informed… its quite another when a video game company isn’t doing anything to manage its reputation online!

By: George Fragos

George Fragos — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:12:22 +0000

Common sense is great isn’t it — why do many ignore it. The situation you describe sounds like the classic mistake of inexperienced developers. They design for themselves which guarantees that most users needs aren’t met.

By: Jason K.

Jason K. — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:42:57 +0000

Disclaimer: I don’t know anything about the game or the people who make them other than what I’ve read in this blog post.

Being able to save mid-level makes the game a lot easier, and I have to think that was intentional. If you can save at any time, you can “rest” and recollect yourself without the pressure of playing and thinking in real-time. Plus, there’s a lot more tension knowing that a mistake will really cost you (your time, when you start the level over).

Is it possible that the company that made Black *was* marketing to their audience; the audience that wanted a challenging game that was worth bragging about the more missions you completed?

Bottom line: I agree with your point that marketing to your audience is critical, just wondering if your husband is truly in their target demographic.