Hearthpwn

So we all know that leading up to the expansion Blizzard tends to generate hype through card reveals (sometimes through voting, sometimes through the community, sometimes using reveal streams, etc.). Sometimes they've used other methods, like the Talon messenger for Mean Streets or the explorer videos for Un'Goro. But one thing I've noticed about this expansion is that Blizzard has really tried to step up their marketing in ways other than card reveals. They've tried a lot of different ideas such as the Lich King interview video, the Ice Cream Citadel, the 3 free online lore comics, The Frozen Pwn takeover, the facebook chat blueposts, the Frost Festival (with free arena runs, free 1st win, and free packs), the developer video on the Lich King solo mission, and now the Arthas hero skin.

So I was just curious: What do you think of the marketing campaign for Knights of the Frozen Throne so far? Do you think it's effective? Would you rather all marketing focused on card reveals instead? Which aspects of it have you liked/disliked? What other methods would you like to see used to promote expansions in the future?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Cheers! :)

I think they did a great job with all of that you mentioned but it seems like people are more interested in cards and are not really grateful for all the free content. Just look around. Half of the threads are moanings about how they release cards really slow and how everybody are disappointed with new cards that are once in hs history not powercreep cards and require some deck building skills and more experimentation. I think Blizzard couldn't do better job for this expansion and you can see game designers and Ben Brode are really excited about this expansion and they are giving their best for us to experience this in best possible way. Of course their strategy wasn't perfect but they tried something new and I really appreciate that. But explain that to spoiled children...

OOOOH, I'M A MARKETING MAJOR AND THIS STUFF REALLY INTERESTS ME.

I think my big favorite was all the things they did for WotOG, with the guerilla marketing graffiti strategies all around the world, in addition to the first time they ever did the whole "vote for which streamer reveals which thing next", which was such a brilliant way to tie in one of Hearthstone's most dedicated communities into expansion hype. All in all it just covered SO many corners, and did such a great job at drawing in hype. Un'goro's was impressive too, with one of the stronger attempts at a tied together storyline on the official site, in addition to the promo videos with Danny Pudi, which were excellent.

This time around, they had an ice cream pop-up at a game convention, they put out a 3-part comic series, and they've had that weird group-chat storyline on the official site. The ice cream was only really relevant if you were at the convention, I didn't know about the comic series until they tweeted about the 3rd chapter (and granted, I liked it a lot, but it didn't really do much aside from supplement hearthstone's very thin lore), and the group-chat thing just feels like one of those billboard ads that uses emojis, that you just know didn't have any young person involved? I really haven't felt it much this time around :/. Each attempt feels very secluded, and hasn't felt very hearthstoney, I guess? The ice cream thing would've worked just as well for a WoW expansion, the comic's ties to hearthstone were limited to easter egg characters, and the group-chat thing just feels uncomfortable and completely separate from the intent of the expansion. I guess I just want something that isn't SO tied to being in-the-know about Icecrown and the history of the Lich King, with much more emphasis on why we should be so excited about revisting this tread-upon ground THIS time around.

Quote from Ikec01 >>

I think they did a great job with all of that you mentioned but it seems like people are more interested in cards and are not really grateful for all the free content. Just look around. Half of the threads are moanings about how they release cards really slow and how everybody are disappointed with new cards that are once in hs history not powercreep cards and require some deck building skills and more experimentation. I think Blizzard couldn't do better job for this expansion and you can see game designers and Ben Brode are really excited about this expansion and they are giving their best for us to experience this in best possible way. Of course their strategy wasn't perfect but they tried something new and I really appreciate that. But explain that to spoiled children...

It was really awkward to see no card reveals for about two weeks after the first reveal. They said hype for other expansions slowed down because they revealed too many cards early. I can understand that, but I think they overcompensated. Brode's AMA was the 14th and he said there would be more reveals on the 24th. Such a long gap made me lose interest in any Hearthstone news until the 24th. I think it would have been more effective if they alternated between a video/comic and a few card reveals. 

In terms of what I'd like to see, I think I want them to go full-throttle on creating Hearthstone lore aside from "well, you're in a tavern, and, uh, suddenly, in walks, i don't know, kiljaeden". The League of Explorers is a good example of their ability to create their own narratives seperate from WoW's source material, so seeing something that takes that just one more step would open up so much room for people to get hyped for these expansions.

With card reveals, I think effort should be made to actually draw in the community. Old Gods and Gadgetzan they did a great job with, but these days they've only kept the part where streamers are announcing cards, and entirely stripped the experience of the INTERACTIVITY, which is SUCH a cornerstone to any online campaign. These card reveals have felt less like a sponsored attempt by Blizzard to offer us news every day or so, and more like an unmanned treasure hunt as we try to search for the most recent released card on our own. It's like bingeing a TV series by reading the plot synopsis on wikipedia, if they don't put in the effort to maintain some sort of control over how their consumers are presented with their product, than they've lost their ability to control how their consumers are perceiving their product.

Quote from Lucied >>

It was really awkward to see no card reveals for about two weeks after the first reveal. They said hype for other expansions slowed down because they revealed too many cards early. I can understand that, but I think they overcompensated. Brode's AMA was the 14th and he said there would be more reveals on the 24th. Such a long gap made me lose interest in any Hearthstone news until the 24th. I think it would have been more effective if they alternated between a video/comic and a few card reveals.