Rumors and GW Marketing

[N1SB]

Hi Brothers, I just wanted to share a perspective on this issue.  On here I'm known as a finance guy or a speedpainting guy, but I'm mostly a marketing guy.  We do receive media training in reasonably priced hotels (it was mentioned in a recent WhC article), plus guidance on how to deal with things like leaks.  I'll start small then work my way up.

 

 

I AM ALPHARIUS!

 

Seriously though, I know the guy who leaks me the stuff and he's sent more than I can show, the reason I wont show it because he's stated that if it did come out GW could narrow it down with ease. 

 

 

So from just my viewpoint, where I've had to deal with both positive and negative...though practically all false, rumours, this is what I see:

 

> Valrak acquires sources through relationships built on trust

> He knows more than he's willing to report, to double-check the facts

> Then he goes out of his way to protect his sources, and their jobs

 

He just described elements of responsible journalism.  Didn't drop any jargon, it was probably meant to be a mea culpa, but instead reveals there's this innate, in-built, instinctive journalistic integrity in his core.  I always wondered why people leaked to him, like why does HE get special treatment, and now I see it's because he can trusted with sensitive info and he looks out for other people.

 

 

+++ to the broader topic of GW and its relationship with rumours +++

 

 

Rumours are fun, but no one wants to be played.  As a marketing professional, guerrilla marketing can be deceptive at worst and cringey at best.

 

The contention I see in this conversation is, are the leaks deliberately planted?  I don't know, but in my professional opinion, GW is too risk-adverse to try it IMHO.

 

But the other thing I want to point out is, I've noticed GW seems to have a rapid response team to leaks that pave things over so smoothly, that a viewer can very understandably believe the leaks were planned.  Like when you're fixing a broken miniature, you can usually still see a seam, so when you don't you assume it's By Design.  This GW SWAT team seems to know how to cover up those seams, and I'll give you an example.

 

The 1st time I noticed this was maybe last year, right before Orktober, when leaks about Orks vehicles came out?  Like someone noticed a discarded sprue or something and judged its size to be that of a vehicle, or something.  Then immediately Warhammer TV released a minimalistic Apple-like ad of the Scrapjet tank, no voiceover, no special effects, just the miniature rotating, with the tagline "Think Dakka" or whatever it was.  It looked like a very clever but also clearly rushed job, because most Warhammer TV reveals usually have a very lively soundtrack and that 1 female voice actress that narrates everything.  Then I noticed other things like how they would rush a text-heavy Regimental Standard (whereas they usually involve a graphic) article whose topic is about a recent leaked item.  The "tell" seems to be what they can pump out fast (a minimalist video, a jokey article without art) that uses non-sequiter humour to cover up the gaffe.

 

And it reminded me leaks do happen in real life accidentally...but that doesn't mean we can't design a system to manage them.  It's like airbags, you don't want the accident to happen, but when they do they're a system to minimise the damage.  And now cars have that predictive emergency braking system where an accident doesn't even look like an accident anymore.  All I suggest is GW has gotten so used to dealing with leaks, they got this damage control team to make it seem Just As Planned IMHO.

 

So I posit to you, such leaks might be organic or not, but they've got some guys so good at plugging them, they make it hard to really tell anymore IMHO.

[Sete]

"> He knows more than he's willing to report, to double-check the facts"

 

That selfish bastard!

[Wulf Vengis]

Very good answer N1SB.

[Antarius]

I accept that. Whole-heartedly and unabashedly.

I don't feel it would sabotage any of that in any way. Especially if they officially orchestrated its handling. But i accept their stance and won't deny their choice to never use this tactic whatever the reasoning.

An anecdotal example: I used to go to the "war of sigmar" site all the time, because they had the news before other sites - I didn't really see any reason to go to the warhammer community site.

Today, I rarely ever go to WOS because they are mostly reduced to reposting warhammer community stuff - otoh I now go to the warhammer community site at least once a day.