Video Game Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

2 Video game marketing: branding and design

Despite its moniker, the video game industry isn't all about fun and games. If you want to truly find success as a video game developer, you need to work hard - and intelligently - to help your customers identify with your products.

Branding your video games goes a long way toward doing that. When you consider some of the top-selling video game brands - "Halo" and "Call of Duty," for example - it is important to recognize that these are not only great games, they're great games with great brand efforts behind them. The following details what you need to do to brand your video game for success.

In business, a branded image is your logo, tagline, colors, fonts/type sets and other attributes that visually represent one's company. But it's also so much more: it is the ideas and emotions that these elements convey.

Twenty years ago if you heard the world "halo" you would have thought of a bright ring above an angel's head. Today, the video game probably comes to mind first. That is the power of branding. A branded image is a powerful identity for your video game that allows you to connect with customers. Without it, you have just another video game; with it, you're primed to take over the world of video games.

To identify your branded image, think about what genre your game falls into and consider the types of people who play them. It is important to know what your customers value, what they like and dislike, what their passions are, and what they respond to.

As a video game developer, you know your video game inside and out so you can take your key features and turn them into benefits for your customers. What is it about your game that your customers will love the most? What makes it different or better than all the competing video games on the market?

List the results of your research and describe your benefits in shorts bursts of text. Carefully study each phrase until you come up with one, or a combination of more than one, that accurately describes what your customers will experience when they play your video game. That is your tagline, which will form the foundation for all your other branding efforts.

Every great game needs a great logo – the symbolic visual representation of your brand. It's important to make sure your logo aligns with your branded identity - your tagline - for a cohesive marketing effort.

When customers see your logo, they should feel whatever it is that your tagline says. In this fashion, a skilled graphic designer turns your branded identity from a written concept into a visual motivator. And visual motivation means you've developed a powerful video game brand identity.

3 Video game marketing tools

Once you've developed a powerful video game brand, it's time to get your message in front of your targeted audience: your customer base and perhaps large video game producers. The following details what marketing materials you need to successfully market your video game for both.

There is perhaps no better way to announce your video game launch to the masses than with posters. Video games by nature are graphically impressive, so you can take graphics right from your game to awe potential buyers in a crowd. Or, you can create custom artwork. Print premium posters to send to video game stores and place them in prominent locations your audience frequently visits.

Posters are powerful ways to market your video games. Send them to dealers to put your game in front of buying customers. Keep your investment low with short-run poster printing.

Print short run posters

If you're a small video game developer, you might have aspirations to climb the ladder and sell the rights to your game to a large, mass distribution company. Professionally printed business cards will help you lend a professional impression. Consider printing ultra business cards , which feature a band of edge color on triple-thick paper stock, to make a stronger impression.

Your video game needs to attract attention on the shelf just as much as it needs to in online venues, so make sure you have well-designed (branded) CD/DVD covers or sleeves (depending on your format) to promote your video game in retail outlets. Remember that customers do indeed judge video games by their covers.

You'll need to print an instruction booklet that goes along with your video game. Whether you're developing for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, or the PC, your customers need to know how to play your game. In addition, there are likely certain FCC compliance statements you'll need to include, which you can do with a paper insert or in your booklet itself. If you have a highly complicated, popular game you can make more passive income by publishing a game guide/cheat code booklet as well.

Print instruction booklets for your video game. Get a premium finish with perfect bind booklets, or save money with saddle-stitched standard booklets.

Compare booklet printing options

Postcards are a cost-effective way to get news of your video game out to a well-targeted customer base. This is especially true if you have had success selling one video game already, and you can get your postcard to likely buyers and past customers. Include a time-limited discount coupon to facilitate sales. You can also mail postcard announcements to video game dealers. Make a splash with ultra postcard printing.

Print stickers that promote your video game logo and characters. You can print specialized stickers for laptops, gaming consoles, bicycle helmets, and just about any other application. Think about your customers’ other pursuits to come up with creative sticker placement ideas.

It's hard enough to compete in the video game industry today. Put up a website that includes trial levels, features and benefits, industry awards and testimonials, and, of course, where to buy your video game.

purchase ads on gaming ad networks, app stores such as Google Play, on video game review websites, magazines, and blogs, and relevant sites your audience frequents. Engage in email marketing. If you don’t have an email list, partner with someone who does and offer an affiliate program.

Send press releases, advance copies, posters, and other materials to video game journalists, bloggers, and influencers. Follow up with a phone call and work to get press coverage that promotes your game.

4 Video game marketing: copywriting

Together with your brand image and sales graphics, copywriting plays an integral role in motivating customers to purchase your video game.

Simply looking cool isn't enough; you need to tell customers how awesome your game is in language they can understand and appreciate. Your video game copy should reveal a taste of what your customers will experience when they play your game. Here's what you need to know about copywriting for video game marketing.

5 Video game marketing: distribution

Spreading the word about how awesome your video game is takes dedication and intelligent distribution. The following tips will help you get news of your video game to potential customers.

Direct mail is one of the best ways to get in front of your target audience. One reason is that surprisingly few video game developers take advantage of the proven power of direct-mail marketing, so there's far less competition to get in your way.

Send your campaign to past video game buyers and others who fit your targeted demographics. The 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing states that 40 percent of your success is dependent on the quality of your mailing list, so invest in a great list or hire a list broker to find one for you. The other 40 percent is contingent on your offer, and the remaining 20 is everything else (design, copy, etc.).

Test, track and tweak: These three T’s will help you develop winning video game print marketing campaigns.

Remember that video game development is a business, and if you treat it as such you'll vastly increase your chances of building a sustainable customer base that opens many doors for profitability as you grow.

6 Video game marketing ideas and resources

Try these creative video game marketing ideas and resources to boost your marketing efforts this year:

Creative ideas