Any business’s launch needs their public relations to reach a certain critical mass for it to be deemed a success. This is true for running competition sites too. A good initial launch is a combination of player expectations, smart branding, and the length of the first game – it’s a balancing act.

Different companies come up with different tactics to hit that sweet spot between establishing a recognizable brand for the competition and making your players wait too long for their prizes.

Tentacle Solutions’ clients have come up with a number of approaches to solving the problem of the perfect initial launch. Granted these solutions are not universal that would work for everyone in every situation.
In the past, some companies decided to give away the first competition for a slight loss to guarantee that the competition ends successfully and the satisfied players spread the word of the game, bringing more and more players for the next one. Another company decided to give away the first hundred tickets for free to garner the positive first impressions without making the players wait for the competition to gain that critical mass.

In both cases, strategic planning and understanding of the competition’s mechanics by both the marketing company and Tentacle, the developers, allowed to write off the losses down to the marketing costs. When the players see that the game works, that the prizes are real and the organizers are honest about it – they will naturally bring others in.

Though, it is necessary to keep in mind that making these tactics work require close-knit cooperation between the tech company that develops the site and the marketing team.

Building your initial player base for a great start of the competition is essential as they will help promote the competition’s brand when they see the site really works. That feeling that players get – “this thing works and I can win real, tangible things here” is priceless as it builds a relationship between the organizer and the players.
Gaining the trust of your initial players can prove to be a priceless move as they spread the word of your competition to friends, family and their social media audience.

Over the years (over 15!), Tentacle has realised that our client’s competition’s success can only come from a healthy synergy between their marketing team and us, the technology suppliers, By doing so, you get a team that are in sync which will work together for that perfect initial start.

Making those tactics work requires close-knit cooperation between the tech company that develops the site and the competition and the marketing team