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Utilizing in-game posters and billboards
kendallbolitho
Posts: 13 Arc User
To increase the income of Cryptic/PWE, sell off some of the available billboard space and posters within the game.
Keep the advertisements themed to where they wouldn't seem out of place, examples could include:
? An image of a car model made by clients, speeding away from a scene of destruction. Splash text reads: When you have to get away, do it in style! >model name< >brand name<
? Alter/introduce vehicles driving the streets of MC based on the newest model of the client. Many cars today have a neo-deco design so odds are it wouldn't interrupt the theme of MC.
? Replace poster of In-game insurance company to a client's insurance company, also stating that they handle super hero & super villain damage claims. For extra laughs, fine print states this coverage is available only in select locations of Michigan, Florida, etc. coverage does not include extra-dimensional incidents or apocalyptic level disasters.
? Image of Grond holding a green energy drink/soda. (disclaimer reads: Some image alteration may have been used)
? Ironclad and a deodorant brand: "Strong enough for a Champion, made for a citizen"
? Sapphire advertising CO OST (including her 2nd anniversary song) available for purchase on iTunes.
? Witchcraft and SPCA: "Perform an act of magic of you own.", "Be a Champion to those in need."
The examples could go on, but I hope I've given a good idea of how in-game advertising could be implemented without disrupting the flow of the game.
To those who would state that this is a bad idea, I would like to direct your attention to some previous examples of sponsors being featured in a fantasy world:
? Sci-Fi's (SyFy) Eureka had an entire season sponsored by Degree deodorant. Without which, the show wouldn't have gotten the chance to air the additional seasons.
? NBC's Heroes was sponsored by Nissan for almost the entirety of its time on air. In addition, Nissan contributed to the creation of the additional errata for the series including but not restricted to the comic series "9th wonders".
I'm sure the list is far longer, but these two are at the forefront of my mind at the moment.
In addition, to those who frequently request new and/or free content, it would also be in your best interests to support such an idea, as with the additional income, Cryptic/PWE would be able to increase funding toward design and implementation of these new features and reduce the time needed to make them available for you.
Also, with the source of income no longer being solely on the players' head, it would loosen the constraints of Cryptic/PWE to be able to make additional content free for it's silver members.
Going further into theorizing how the additional income to Cryptic/PWE could support the player base, I read many, MANY posts regarding region bans. Admittedly, I have no clue as to the reasons behind it, but at first glance I would assume its because of the fact that CO's server couldn't handle the entire planet's worth of players being on at any given time. (error #37 ring a bell?)
If this proves to be successful, the additional funding provided from taking on advertising clients could be enough to purchase and operate the additional equipment needed to make the game available globally. With advertising being a source of income for Cryptic/PWE, it would further the need to make the game available to as many communities as possible, since the rental value of each advert space would increase based on the number of people who would view it. Meaning that even the players who never purchase anything would still be contributing in a passive manner to the success of the game as a whole.
Thoughts?
Keep the advertisements themed to where they wouldn't seem out of place, examples could include:
? An image of a car model made by clients, speeding away from a scene of destruction. Splash text reads: When you have to get away, do it in style! >model name< >brand name<
? Alter/introduce vehicles driving the streets of MC based on the newest model of the client. Many cars today have a neo-deco design so odds are it wouldn't interrupt the theme of MC.
? Replace poster of In-game insurance company to a client's insurance company, also stating that they handle super hero & super villain damage claims. For extra laughs, fine print states this coverage is available only in select locations of Michigan, Florida, etc. coverage does not include extra-dimensional incidents or apocalyptic level disasters.
? Image of Grond holding a green energy drink/soda. (disclaimer reads: Some image alteration may have been used)
? Ironclad and a deodorant brand: "Strong enough for a Champion, made for a citizen"
? Sapphire advertising CO OST (including her 2nd anniversary song) available for purchase on iTunes.
? Witchcraft and SPCA: "Perform an act of magic of you own.", "Be a Champion to those in need."
The examples could go on, but I hope I've given a good idea of how in-game advertising could be implemented without disrupting the flow of the game.
To those who would state that this is a bad idea, I would like to direct your attention to some previous examples of sponsors being featured in a fantasy world:
? Sci-Fi's (SyFy) Eureka had an entire season sponsored by Degree deodorant. Without which, the show wouldn't have gotten the chance to air the additional seasons.
? NBC's Heroes was sponsored by Nissan for almost the entirety of its time on air. In addition, Nissan contributed to the creation of the additional errata for the series including but not restricted to the comic series "9th wonders".
I'm sure the list is far longer, but these two are at the forefront of my mind at the moment.
In addition, to those who frequently request new and/or free content, it would also be in your best interests to support such an idea, as with the additional income, Cryptic/PWE would be able to increase funding toward design and implementation of these new features and reduce the time needed to make them available for you.
Also, with the source of income no longer being solely on the players' head, it would loosen the constraints of Cryptic/PWE to be able to make additional content free for it's silver members.
Going further into theorizing how the additional income to Cryptic/PWE could support the player base, I read many, MANY posts regarding region bans. Admittedly, I have no clue as to the reasons behind it, but at first glance I would assume its because of the fact that CO's server couldn't handle the entire planet's worth of players being on at any given time. (error #37 ring a bell?)
If this proves to be successful, the additional funding provided from taking on advertising clients could be enough to purchase and operate the additional equipment needed to make the game available globally. With advertising being a source of income for Cryptic/PWE, it would further the need to make the game available to as many communities as possible, since the rental value of each advert space would increase based on the number of people who would view it. Meaning that even the players who never purchase anything would still be contributing in a passive manner to the success of the game as a whole.
Thoughts?
Post edited by kendallbolitho on
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As long as i get an option to turn them off.
And the ingame ads have failed badly, exaple: in CoH
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
So, I'm not sure if we could get the ads in-game, but if an advertiser were interested, it might work. <insert standard gamer/deodorant joke here>
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I figure that if they are done well, people wouldn't necessarily want to turn them off.
There are already adverts all over the place in the game, some of them need an update to make the resolution high enough to actually read them, so while they are at it just change out a name and turn a buck. >shrugs<
Personally, I'd love to see a poster of a stylized Flo or Flo-bot from Progressive slugging Shadow Destroyer or one of the holographic signs near the super-jet showing 'Rob Mahogany interviews the Geico gecko on the real estate fluctuations tonight at 11', lol. :biggrin:
And we would probably get Peanut Labs ads.....
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber
That said, I suspect that if we made a thread on General Discussion with fan-made ads that fit within the lore and don't infringe on copyrights for fun, Cryptic might consider using them even though it makes no profit beyond intensifying consumer-creator relations thus making people more willing to purchase things from the Stores... Like fan art, only useable in the game as a resource for the creators!
They failed because they didn't cycle and they didn't have enough people to support them. It was only ever one ad, and honestly, turning them off was the bad part. I never understood why people in a city that mimics real life get offended when a billboard showing burger king is bad.
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Not necessarily.
Major brands and businesses pay to publish adverts in local magazines that have a lower viewer per day ratio than you stated.
In addition, "successful" forums/blogs that are approached by sponsors receive fewer readers per day than you quoted for CO. So I think it could still be a success despite the current player base being reduced from it's release. With the possible addition of additional regions to the player base it's success would only grow exponentially.
Hell, Cryptic/PWO could use some of the funding for advertisements of their own, to remind people that this is still one of the best MMOs out there. Most of the old CO players I encounter just casually forgot about the game because they had been pulled away from it by real life for too long, but with a simple reminder, they hopped back in with glee.
Cryptic/PWO could definitely benefit from reactivating the old fan base.
I understand that it might not be a smash hit in the beginning, but even if Cryptic/PWE were to charge $15-$20/PCM for a poster replacement, (Switch out the image file of all Foxbat posters for example) or $30/PCM for a billboard replacement, (same as above for "Got toxic waste" image files) or $50+/PCM to rent out a RenCenter floating holo-board, etc. it would increase their "bread and butter" income, which would allow them to take additional steps to revitalize the player base.
Cryptic/PWO seem to be caught in a catch 22 with funds management at the moment. They could use the additional advertising to increase the player base beyond it's current reach, but if they divert funds from the Dev Team to marketing, they won't provide constantly updated materials and in turn, they lose players.
I'm hoping that by increasing their monthly budget, they could invest that money to bring the game back to its full stature.
And playing by myself since Aug 2009
Godtier: Lifetime Subscriber