email from jeremy -premium members

daheff

So I'm assuming all premium members got the email....what are your thoughts on it?


I'm not too pushed on there being advertisement instead of a stadium. I usually login by mobile, so i dont see it anyways. It might be good to get the money into the developers coffers to help speed up developments/ increase marketing for attracting new members

johnnysmack

ya i said go for it. cash injection to help develop the game

FewFew

Just going to quote it...

As you are a current premium member, I would really appreciate your opinion on the following.

Though nothing has been finalised, we've been offered a substantial amount of money from a company (represented by a fellow BR premium member) to 'skin' our site through until the end of December. This involves replacing the stadium background image with what is essentially a static advertisement. The catch is that they would like it to be visible to members who are proven to pay online i.e. premium members.

As all premium subscriptions to date have been sold on the premise to provide an ad free experience, I'm a little hesitant to allow this 'skinning' to take place.

The advertiser says the skin "wouldn't be intrusive to them as it would be shown only left and right of the screen with no flashing banners or anything".

The content of the skin is nothing offensive, it is not porn. And the colours of their site and likely the skin should fit well within Blackout Rugby.

The extra funds would certainly help as the middle of the year (summer in the northern hemisphere) is traditionally a slow period for the game financially. I will also dedicate a significant portion to a marketing campaign a bit later in the year when season 20 starts.

If you feel strongly about this either way, please feel free to share your thoughts. Would the skin annoy you personally?

Thanks for your time

Jeremy

It all depends really. If the money is going towards further developing the product then that seems ok, though above he's just mentioned a marketing campaign. Marketing might get more people in, but really it should be a cost/benefit type affair, where the expense is countered by the money made from the new players.

Also, the only thing that gives you a sense that you're really in a game is the stadium background, otherwise you could just as well be talking ice-hockey as rugby. On some level it's going to remove that connection in the player's mind.

He says it's not going to be obtrusive and will fit in nicely, which it might do, but it could also be this horrible eye-sore we're stuck with til December. Once a precedent is set, I can see it becoming a more common thing. If they're failing to generate sufficient revenue between paid subscriptions and ads, well I can see it becoming more and more attractive.

I dunno, I always wonder when the company's finances are an issue. It's a great game with very little competition, and with a dedicated focused interest group playing it. Maybe a marketing push is all they need to kick it up to the next level, but that should have been part of a business plan ages ago.

daheff

i suppose to look at it from a different point....more money for marketing means more teams =more transfers (money wise):D -ie I'll start getting money for selling my youth players again:P
more teams = more competition
more teams = bigger community
bigger community = better craic


I suggested that instead of completely skinning the site, that they zoom in the stadium a bit and put the advert on the advertisng boards in the stadium (make it big enough to read ) or on the in-goal like they do in RL. That way you get the best of both worlds.


If i'm going to be cynical, I reckon its a done deal and the email was only a way to placate the people who dont want to see adverts.....it'll be a case of "general consensus was its ok to skin the site"


I also see he hasnt read my mail back yet!!!!

FewFew

daheff wrote: »

If i'm going to be cynical, I reckon its a done deal and the email was only a way to placate the people who dont want to see adverts.....it'll be a case of "general consensus was its ok to skin the site"

Hah, yeah, I can see that being the case.

At the end of the day it's a business. I can ponder business plans and such all I like, but it's not my company and if they need to source cash for the marketing boost then I guess it'll benefit the game in the long run.

TheVoodoo

daheff wrote: »

I suggested that instead of completely skinning the site, that they zoom in the stadium a bit and put the advert on the advertisng boards in the stadium (make it big enough to read ) or on the in-goal like they do in RL. That way you get the best of both worlds.

Exactly what I suggested, and he mailed me back saying it was not possible.

As for ads within the stadium. There are several reasons why this is not viable. 1) They would be too small, 2) They look quite messy and cluttered, 3) They're extremely hard to sell - advertisers I've talked to are not interested in highly customised ads on a site with the relatively small amount of traffic that we have.

In the future, if this skin thing works out well, I would create two separate premium groups, one where skins and non-inline ads are allowed, and one where there is absolutely no ads, ever. One will be slightly cheaper than now, and one will be more expensive than now.

FewFew

TheVoodoo wrote: »

Exactly what I suggested, and he mailed me back saying it was not possible.

That last paragraph is what I was afraid of. It's not the one-time until December change his initial mail suggests, it's say hello to ads or increased subscription fees.

TheVoodoo

Exactly Fewi, I guess this is what he is leaning towards, and has been hoping for all along.

FewFew

It's a case of taking a step back from the game and realising they're not making enough money...

... then taking a further step back and realising that the player experience is the longterm key to making more money.