good promotion?

[HardCache]

How is this really a good promotion? supposedly 413 out of 1000 cogs have been found, and I'm betting a lot of those are the ones that were sent to the supposed "VIPs" or whatever. Of the 20 or so COG Tags that we have been given coordinates for (and therefore the general public has a chance to get) about 11 have been on the west coast and 4 have been in Boston?!

Shouldn't the promotion appeal to all people, all across the country, and even the world? There's not even very clear communication on how one is supposed to get information on where COGs are hidden, and it seems like every time information is released it's a yet another Tag in a general location very similar to a previous one. Where's the Tags for Florida, Illinois, Colorado, Pennsylvania, The Carolinas?

Congrats on building excitement for the game and rewarding the people of California, Seattle, Boston, London and Budapest exclusively.

[Aphostile]

I really wonder if people think this is meant to be the biggest promotion ever for the game.

I have no idea what these videos are that air on tv... i think they call them... commercials?!

[HardCache]

I really wonder if people think this is meant to be the biggest promotion ever for the game.

I have no idea what these videos are that air on tv... i think they call them... commercials?!

yeah, and the commercials tell you to go the website, and the website for weeks has had "the last day" as the main tab that you see when you come to the website. So obviously Epic has spent some money on this promotion and want people to talk about it.

My point is that they are, IMHO, unfairly rewarding a certain percentage of the fans. It just seems ridiculous. You would think that they would at least have something near Epic's HQ in North Carolina, but their isn't. I keep seeing it said that "this is your chance to get your own cog", but they should really say, "This is your chance to get your own cog is you live in one of 5 select cities!"

[thebruce]

it's called "viral". It's not about directly appealing to the masses, and it's not about forcing advertising into people's lives. it's an 'opt-in' system, where people who opt-in are hoped/intended to have great experiences, and rave about the product to their friends, who won't necessarily get in the experience. The result is positive word of mouth, positive brand association... as long as the experience a good one.
Appeal to the hardcore, indirectly appeal to the masses.

-COGs are sent to bloggers and industry heads, who report on the 'gift' - word about the product gets out to everyone who reads those blogs and news sources.
-People rave about 'the hunts' they go on for these hidden cogs which unlock cool content on an obscure website - friends want to get in on it, or see it, or at the very least just hear good word about the product or brand...

And it all hinges on the positive experience. Because it's not forced advertising and it's not static (it's effectively interactive), experience is key - and it hits both ways: a good experience produces positive viral effects; a bad experience breeds contempt either for the creators of the experience (and the product indirectly) or the product itself.

It's a new trendy form of marketing, and more often than not, quite cost effective, and if done well, ties communities closer and tighter to themselves and the product...

Best part is, there doesn't even have to be a product. It can be just for fun, or it just for positive association.

[HardCache]

I know what a viral marketing campaign is. You're still missing the point. The campaign is only really appealing to a small audience. Yeah you have people in Seattle, California, and Boston excited about going on hunts for cogs and talking about there experiences, but it's hard for the rest of the United states to get excited when there is nothing for them to do other than monitor the last day flash website, which isn't updated that often enough to really keep a steady interest in it.

If this were a good Viral Marketing campaign they would have put at least one cog in a lot more major cities around the country to build this excitement everywhere. How many post have there been asking about a cog in Florida? I've seen at least 3. There hasn't even been one in New York for crying out loud.

I'm not trying to bash Epic, I have a lot of respect for them and what they do. I'm a huge gears fan, I love the game, I bought all the figures, I bought the comic, I bought the Aspho Fields novel today and am already half way through it. I'm just saying, this whole promotion could have been planned a hell of a lot better.

[STICKzophrenic]

it's called "viral". It's not about directly appealing to the masses, and it's not about forcing advertising into people's lives. it's an 'opt-in' system, where people who opt-in are hoped/intended to have great experiences, and rave about the product to their friends, who won't necessarily get in the experience. The result is positive word of mouth, positive brand association... as long as the experience a good one.
Appeal to the hardcore, indirectly appeal to the masses.

-COGs are sent to bloggers and industry heads, who report on the 'gift' - word about the product gets out to everyone who reads those blogs and news sources.
-People rave about 'the hunts' they go on for these hidden cogs which unlock cool content on an obscure website - friends want to get in on it, or see it, or at the very least just hear good word about the product or brand...

And it all hinges on the positive experience. Because it's not forced advertising and it's not static (it's effectively interactive), experience is key - and it hits both ways: a good experience produces positive viral effects; a bad experience breeds contempt either for the creators of the experience (and the product indirectly) or the product itself.

It's a new trendy form of marketing, and more often than not, quite cost effective, and if done well, ties communities closer and tighter to themselves and the product...

Best part is, there doesn't even have to be a product. It can be just for fun, or it just for positive association.

The key word is positive. for the hardcore fans that do follow this and have little to no chance of getting a COG, it isn't a positive experience. In fact, it's disappointing. I'm happy for all the people that received one, or went on a great hunt for one and recovered it, but there's so many people that WANT to be a part of it, yet all they can do is watch...and watch...and watch. It was exciting at first with the hopes of coordinates maybe making it to VA, but the excitement has died down with the realization that a COG tag here isn't likely.

[dargie1]

not to complain but if this was in fact a world wide contest then wouldn't there be C.O.G tags located in major cities located in important countries, for instance, new zealand is the country i live in, australia has a couple, france has none confirmed, Russia has none confirmed, Italy has none confirmed; these are a few that have been mostly left out, it is but more of a biast contest if you want my opinion...