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Are Game Leaks A Marketing Tactic?
- Thread starter Cheezeman3000
- Start date
It probably is. Wouldn't be surprised if all major AAA game leaks were intentional, but it works so can't really blame them.
this is how I feel about it. it would be ridiculous for them not to use leaks as a cheapish way to start getting the word out there pre announcement.
Yeah. With how leaky they are, they probably have it factored in somewhere in their plans.
Companies don't leak to market. They leak to know HOW to market.
Based on my extensive dealings with gaming PR folks, I'd say no. If things are intentionally leaked (I'm sure it happens sometimes) it's a decision made above the marketing level.
1) Drum up interest in a PR release, presser, show, etc., without having to make an official statement or hype some "grand reveal." e.g., no "trailer for a trailer" or "announcement for an announcement"
2) Drive hype on infuencer channels
3) "Unintentional leaks" that were intentional by the development team but that the publisher wouldn't want
4) Get feedback
5) Cheaper marketing without going through normal marketing channels
6) Related to #3 and #5, ways to show off something in a project that the marketing teams don't think people care about, but you want to unveil it to your enthusiast audience without being chided by marketing for "going off message."
Probably more.
There are many leaks that are legitimate leaks that hurt a company and nobody wants released, but I'd estimate based on nothing but my own experience in the software industry (and formerly working in marketing in the software industry, non gaming though), that a majority of leaks are winks and nods to a specific journalist/publication/influencer from someone on development/publishing teams, and that it's okay for them to mention them casually to other influencers.
As I assumed (and as keeps happening when this topic comes up), in this thread we have:
- people working in games pr and marketing saying that in their experience it is not a commonly used tactic
- people who don't work in marketing saying that it is absolutely, 100% a commonly used tactic
Maybe it is a question of definition? When you ask me if a leak was planned, then I read the question as "there were meetings with presentations detailing how someone using the German word for toilet seat as their online handle with share random partial info about our game, during which some Directors or VPs approved said plan to be executed". Which is a scenario that says more about the perceived self-importance of some forum communities, tbh.
If you mean that many leaks are intentional as in "someone from the dev or publisher spread this information purposefully", then sure, that sadly happens a lot. But an individual goping rogue for whatever reason does not turn his actions into an approved "strategy".
- people working in games pr and marketing saying that in their experience it is not a commonly used tactic
- people who don't work in marketing saying that it is absolutely, 100% a commonly used tactic
Maybe it is a question of definition? When you ask me if a leak was planned, then I read the question as "there were meetings with presentations detailing how someone using the German word for toilet seat as their online handle with share random partial info about our game, during which some Directors or VPs approved said plan to be executed". Which is a scenario that says more about the perceived self-importance of some forum communities, tbh.
If you mean that many leaks are intentional as in "someone from the dev or publisher spread this information purposefully", then sure, that sadly happens a lot. But an individual goping rogue for whatever reason does not turn his actions into an approved "strategy".
In many cases feel like they are, so YES. Leaks is the easiest way to play with the expectations of the customer.
Same with easter eggs, it is supposed something that are hidden but every fucking time some youtuber find the easter egg the right time for the company to jeopardize from that.
+1000
Same with easter eggs, it is supposed something that are hidden but every fucking time some youtuber find the easter egg the right time for the company to jeopardize from that.
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Both of these are by definition (acting agains the acxual marketing plan) not part of a "marketing strategy", so they support the answer to the OPs question being "no".
I can only tell you I've been really tempted to leak things genuinely. But the stuff I know about wouldn't be massive news. An intentional leak only works for hotly anticipated games from top studios.
Sure. Leaks aren't a marketing tactic and if they're used as such, it's extremely rare. The amount of money and precision planning that goes into a AAA game marketing campaign is insane. A leak fucks that up and if there's one thing marketing people hate, it's not being able to control the message around the product they're trying to sell you.
There's usually plans in place to react if leaks do happen, but they're very rarely used as part of an actual campaign. They have little reach compared to proper reveals. I mean, look at the Pokemon Go leaks or the God of War artwork leaks relative to the actual reveals. The hype they generate is purely on internet enthusiast message boards.
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For the purposes of this thread, my definition of "leaking as a marketing tactic" would match your first paragraph. The second paragraph is what I believe most assume to be the case every time there's a leak, so I was considering maybe the first paragraph may also play a part.
So you can't imagine some leaks aren't part of a marketing tactic? I personally think it would be a smart move, but I also don't work in marketing as you said. The leak could be very carefully constructed to fit whatever need is necessary.
All I can say is that in nearly 7 years of working in gaming communication (community and marketing), I have never seen it happen myself. I have however several times seen (sometimes inaccurate) leaks completely ruin carefully laid plans or cause major issues for companies. And I have in at least one instace seen people lose their jobs over leaked information.
Based on that, I have a hard time seeing the scenario as I described it in my previous post happening. Also, for those who don't speak German- Klobrille means toilet seat in German :p
Yes. Intentional leaks ae used across multiple industries. It's not just a gaming thing. You see it in tech. You see it in politics. You see it with toys. etc. etc.
Not every leak is intentional, but not every leak is a "leak."
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Ok, great insight, thank you! Maybe I can start to take this tin-foil hat off.
Lol, that's marketing. Data is a massive part of marketing.
Some leaks seem like they are intentional in order to give publicity to games that might get lost in the crowd during E3. They could also build excitement about a brand. That legendary ntkrnl leak on the old site had a ton of information about the future of the Xbox One lineup, all of which came true and it came at the perfect opportunity to build excitement. If this is absolutely untrue and this isn't done, I'd recommend doing it because a good leak (Project Beast for instance) can get fans very involved and build a ton of anticipation.
Leaks like CBOAT and the Assassin's Creed bungles are clearly the opposite of this. The former done in a whistleblower type way to reveal controversies and the latter done because of the sheer amount of people involved with the series that the odds of one person slipping up is very high.
Leaks like CBOAT and the Assassin's Creed bungles are clearly the opposite of this. The former done in a whistleblower type way to reveal controversies and the latter done because of the sheer amount of people involved with the series that the odds of one person slipping up is very high.
It depends on the situation. I can't speak to what happened with Rage 2, but would it surprise me if they simply moved up what they were already going to do, which was announce a game that would get more headlines pre-E3 than at E3? Makes sense. That's typically what ends up happening in response to "leaks." The official material is just pushed up, rather than pretending nothing is happening. That's what smart companies do, anyway. I can't say it's never happened, but you're not going to see a company "leaking" info to, say, a Kotaku reporter, and asking them to publish it. A good reporter would know better.
I think yes for some, its certainly planned "leaks" but for most likely not. However, I think companies are actually preparing contingency plans for "if" it does leak here is our play book. Rage 2 is a prime example of a company that was nimble on their feet and turned around an unplanned leak into a very positive reveal.
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That's an interesting angle, actually. So if a reporter was "leaked" some info, you'd think the reporter could see through the intentional marketing ploy and decide not to publish it? I'd believe that. But if they were smart they may try to leak the information through known influencers instead, like Emily for instance, who might get some stuff wrong but most stuff right, just enough to be credible but still not officially appear on the books.
You are surprised that a game has marketing assets ready less than two weeks prior to E3? I mean...what?
You have a verified member of a company that works at a games psychology marketing and research company that said:
Yes, absolutely.
This is why I despise them and hate people defending or even championing leakers. The internal reaction is so much more fulfilling and enjoyable when things are delivered without expectation as opposed to a line or two on Twitter taking all the wind out of the sails. These leaks aren't about some unethical dirt pile that companies are trying to cover up. They're leaks of things that the company plans on telling us. They want to tell us, and they are spending time and money to do it in the most enjoyable way. Jumping the gun to leak it for them over a few lines of text doesn't serve the audience, it only serves the leakers themselves.
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I do have to say, to me that genuinely appeared to just be a quick knee-jerk response to the leak using video footage they already had. Marketing teams can be nimble like that.
Or you could be right, they could also be playing it up, pretending like it was a knee-jerk response, like, "ohhhhh youuuu you sure got us!" Wink wink (we had that planned all along).
Fair enough, that one was posted while I wrote my intial reply. Good catch.
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This is probably my favorite post so far. A very interesting take. I think that's definitely plausible, as the hardcore Nintendo fanbase can be hard to please, and they are VERY vocal. Since Nintendo is traditionally very tight-lipped, they could have decided to help quell the possible outrage with a leak, get a pulse on the fanbase, and the timing certainly makes sense.
They CAN be a marketing tactic and have been used as such. That doesn't mean that they inherently ARE marketing tactics. That's the difference here. The majority of leaks are not in the control of the marketing teams tasked with selling the game.
This..... doesn't seem like what would be used for intentional leaks.
Those marketing materials are worked on long before the event, and are intended to be finished sooner than mere weeks before the big important once a year show.
Which is why they were ripe to be weaponized for marketing, and it will be happening more and more.
Besides, the subject was never game leaks are really just marketing. The op asked if SOME of the leaks werr in fact really marketing.
This isn't Cognitive marketing. (Human side cognitive, old term, not the newer one, cognitive as in they are aware they are being marketed to and can process the marketing cognitively. Im not referring to recent ai/data gathering cognitive marketing)
Mere exposure vs more exposure.
So if it weren't in fact usually something that wasn' supposed to happen, it would lose it's potential for impact.
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