Marro Marketing Mistake?

[fomox]

Given that I'm posting this on a site full of people who choose to buy Heroscape (and love it!) I'm not sure that many will agree with this, but I thought it was worth discussing:

Is the heavy emphasis on Marro on the covers of ROTV and now SOTM a mistake?

I personally found the Marro very offputting. I didn't give ROTV a second glance as it sat on the shelf of the ToysRUs I visited at least once a week for years. It wasn't until someone had left the box turned around that I actually LOOKED at the game. "Wow! This looks really cool!"

Then I turned the box around. "Ugh? What is this? Did some wart grow arms and start an army?" I didn't buy it.

We gave Marvelscape a chance earlier this year, and a family of heroscapers was born. We went out and bought ROTV within the next week, and uh..well...we've bought at least one of just about everything since then. (Yes, my dear wife, we DO need yet another set of trees.) And the Marro are actually fun to play. But I think that ROTV would sell better if the cover focused on the soldiers, robots, dragons, elves, or vikings.

How many other people were turned off by the Marro-centric front cover? We can't know, obviously, because if they were turned off, they probably aren't here. I consider myself lucky to have found my way into heroscape anyway, but it really was a stumbling block for me. Then Swarm of the Marro comes out, featuring some kind of giant fetus on steroids on the cover!

(Okay, I bought five of them, , but I still think it was an odd move to figure the marro so heavily, AGAIN.)

Thoughts? Could Heroscape do better with different packaging? With a non-marro Master set instead of SOTM?

[spiteofthedice]

I can't speak for the rest of the US (not after what happened last time) so I'll just voice the opposite viewpoint. The marro were the first thing about the game I became attached to (that and the whole "build your own terrain" thing), and I probably would never have lifted the front flap of the box if it had not been for that glorious portrait of the marro warrior on ROTV. I owe him my whole obsession, really.

So I know what you mean- that maybe something more recognizable might draw interest. On the other hand, something unrecognizable can be just as likely to lead someone to lift that front flap and realize "This is the habit-forming, expensive, brightly-colored, ages 7-12, its-for-my-um-nephew, maybe-there's-a-fansite, what-do-you-mean-wave-8-isn't-coming-out-until-next-year??? rush I've been looking for!"

[markwars]

This is just a matter of personal opinion.

I didn't like the Marro that much either, but if they had given me a box with nothing but Gruts and dinos there would have been others that wouldn't have liked it.

[Mythic]

Originally Posted by fomo6

Thoughts? Could Heroscape do better with different packaging? With a non-marro Master set instead of SOTM?

Wow, very insightful fomo6...and a topic I don't believe I've ever seen discussed before. (someone will prove me wrong)

Anyway, I can't remember if it was a factor or not for me. I will say that the general "darkness" of some characters/figs was off-putting for me at first, just because my kids were so young. Now that they have been properly desensitized...no problems.

I will say that I have personally witnessed moms and grandmoms checking out the HS boxes and looking quite unsure that this is what little Johnny should get even though it's on his "list".

[Death and Taxis]

I take your point and I really don't know whether having pictures of Marro on the master sets are a good marketing ploy, however, seeing as Marro are the theme of Swarm of the Marro, it seems logical to me that they would feature on the cover, and specifically Tor-Kul-Na as the centrepiece of this set.

While many of the other units are commonly found in other genres and games - e.g. Elves, Dragons, Robots (Soulborgs), Cowboys, Agents, Vampires, etc - the Marro are fairly unique to HS and do represent something different here that you won't find in other games. Perhaps that is why they were chosen for marketing?

The artwork on the original ROTV certainly didn't in any way put me off buying the game.

[DrRansom]

Originally Posted by EyeOfSauron

Anyway, I can't remember if it was a factor or not for me. I will say that the general "darkness" of some characters/figs was off-putting for me at first, just because my kids were so young. Now that they have been properly desensitized...no problems.

This is a minor reason that it is one of the sets I do not own. Tey have a creepy undead feel to them that I just don't personally care for having around my little ones. That being said, my buddy owns it and I enjoy playing the marro from time to time.

[Lank281]

I somewhat agree in a sense that Hasbro should not have so much of their focus revolve around the Marro. But, I didn't necessarily buy the game for the cover; I bought it for the game. Luckily, I fell in love with it and I bought everything that Hasbro dished out since then. At the same time though, the box can be used as an attention getter, and for you, it wasn't too successful. Although it was the very rare television commercial where I first heard of the game and got my attention. I truly glad you were able to get into the game. I too wish that Hasbro did not put so much emphasis on the Marro.

[spiteofthedice]

The marro are also a creation of the game. Orcs are not. Vikings, samurai, the militaries of various nations are not. Vampires and knights are not. Vipers, Greeks, Romans, Trolls, Giants, Ninjas. Sorry to go on and on.

The point is that, as far as I can think, the marro and the kyrie are the only prominent aspects of the game that are completely original, and its not unusual for the bad guys to be the characters on the cover.

EDIT: Death and Taxis made this exact point only minutes ago. His post is a marro. Mine is only an orc.

[nyys]

I definitely was turned off by the Marro on the front of the RotV box and never bother to look more closely until I saw the booster that had the Roman Legionaries.

In my case, I agree, but at the same time, as was stated above, a different focus would have had the same affect on someone else.

[ej]

I've stated this in other threads, too, so you're not alone. When the box art of SotM was released I thought it was a huge blunder - Tor Kul Na was just ugly. The Marro are ugly. I've not bought certain packs in the past because the plague dogs are ugly, Dund is ugly, those snakes are ugly.* However, it IS the unit that sets it apart from every other game out there, so I can't really fault them for thinking that was the one to go with.

*I don't like snakes. Snakes should die.

[Fatespuppet]

Being a Lego enthusiast I often find myself in toy stores. I rarely go straight to the Lego section though, and I find it enjoyable to wander around and look at all the toys kids have to choose from these days. This is how I came across HS for the first time.

Now, I'm not a fan of the Marro cover on RotV, but I must admit that it definitely is an attention grabber. Compare it to all the boxes around it and you'll see what I'm talking about. It stands out, for good or ill. It got my attention years ago because it looked so different.

I don't think the cover is the best choice for getting a kid's attention, but the boosters definitely are. I have stood there and seen a kid go "Mama, Ninjas!" only to have her spend a minute to see it requires the big box with the ugly guy on it and say "that's not for kids dear".

I think the game would have a better first impression if it was Raelin on the cover. Semi-angelic figures tend to go over better then weird zombie like ones.

[spiteofthedice]

Originally Posted by Fatespuppet

I don't think the cover is the best choice for getting a kid's attention, but the boosters definitely are. I have stood there and seen a kid go "Mama, Ninjas!" only to have her spend a minute to see it requires the big box with the ugly guy on it and say "that's not for kids dear".

I see your point, but honestly, if all she said was "That's not for kids," she might just as well have been looking at that big box full of small pieces and thinking "that's not for kids whose mothers don't want to have to clean it up, dear." It wasn't necessarily the marro that scared her off. I daresay most kids wind up seeing worse before long. Have you watched a video game lately?