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I think GW's challenges in the marketplace are a bit too complicated for a trite post on Dakka.

Though I feel like there are a lot of things I would have done in the past that would have led them away from the current stage.

But like the first poster put it fairly well. What would the shareholders allow? Having worked in marketing for fairly large public retail company (about nine-ten times GW's yearly revenue), I know what a bottom-line focus looks like in a business, and there is a lot less you can get away with when the company answers so directly to shareholders, versus a top-line focused private company might, that is less worried about reinvestment into the business and lowered margins.

At this point, GW's shareholders want to see profits, and profits mean cutting costs and driving more revenue. Which means the rules are always going to get the back seat.

MagicJuggler wrote:Never Skip Leg Day: We have a lot of spare torsos and arms lying around. A Sprue of Marine Legs would help clean up the bit box.

Legs are the "control" item in most kits. As in if the kit says "You can make 5 Space Marines", it has 5 sets of legs.

The rest of the parts in the kit are just gravy. That's the reason you have so many extra torsos and arms. Because they give you a variety of those, but only the exact number of legs you need. And, by consequence, why they are unlikely to sell a "leg" sprue, since the scarcity of legs are what force you to buy new kits.

The only kit I know of that is different than this is the Tau Fire Warriors, which has torsos as the control, which threw me off the first time I bought them.

If I ran GW, as a leader in the games industry, I would try to balance the 'game' part with the 'industry' part. Savvy moneymaking techniques are fine, but a well play tested and quality game is also paramount. Cogent, relevant, and above all frequently updated FAQs would be first on the list. Then a fair, consistent, and relatively concrete release cycle schedule.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
I think GW's challenges in the marketplace are a bit too complicated for a trite post on Dakka.

Some of them at least. Some of them are so simple that even the average forum poster can figure out the solution. For example, it doesn't take a business expert to realize that GW's attitude of "only WAAC TFGs care about the rules" is costing them sales and has a very simple solution. The only area where the average forum poster probably can't offer any useful opinions is prices (especially the popular "cut prices by X%"), since we don't have all of GW's numbers available.

What would the shareholders allow?

The premise of threads like this implies that the shareholders have given you control and are willing to let you do things your way at least for a while. Otherwise it's a pretty boring discussion because the answer is "exactly like the current management is doing it" and there isn't really any room for discussion.

My plans would be for expansion. Take $140 mil in revenue and expand it to $600 mil over 5 years by recommitting to licensing deals that transform and bring more value to the game's IP while reducing the need for capital.

Right now, GW operates very similar to a direct sales operation, similar to Cutco, which is very unusual for a company whose main business lines of business are around action figures and intellectual property. They compete at the wrong levels and this leads to dissatisfaction and failed expectations. The accelerated release cycle is their response, and it's not going to work forever.

GW needs to command the attention and imagination of people outside tabletop games to grow. The route I would take to this end would be similar to the following.

1) Simplify the process for licensing the game's IP for other creative works. Make it cheaper for other companies to build off GW's IP, even for miniatures. There is some outstanding creative talent going to work for alternative forms of entertainment, give them an option for working with you that creates upside without heavy risk. This would kill off a few competing game systems and create a path to recapture lost revenue, even if it's just a percentage based licensing fee.

2) Expand the brand to digital games. It's been far too long since there was a release on par with DOW or Space Marine, and mobile apps don't cut it. Focus on multiplayer games of the RTS and first person shooter genre, but incorporate unique aspects of the GW franchise (squad based games come to mind, along with other aspects of the game - overwatch, fear, the warp, etc.) Learn to translate game concepts into game mechanics.

3) Expand the brand to Movies and TV. GW enjoys worldwide brand recognition for some aspects of 40k but it's inaccessible for many audiences. Get someone working on a film that captures people's imagination a la Aeon Flux or Starship Troopers. The goal should be to build a franchise that can play out over a few decades in different forms. Who would not love a grimdark cartoon about Space Orks pillaging the galaxy?

4) Keep the existing range of miniatures but simplify the ruleset - dramatically. Introduce public beta testing and incorporate feedback into product development, with the goal of making every army satisfying and competitive to play and collect. Change the mantra from Beer and Pretzels to Delighting the Imagination of Every Gamer. Make every game of 40k an experience you walk away from transformed and envigorated.

5) Become the alternative to Lego. There's a moment in adolescence where younger people become locked in with the brands they will reference for the rest of their lives. Be the viable alternative to the mass produced vanilla ones. Do this through exposure in community setting that create access to youth markets and build the next generation of gamers. I'm thinking discounted school fundraising programs, church tournament leagues, sponsored tournament that offer some form of official recognition and the like. For that matter, give players really practical assistance with organizing their own gaming groups, and create exposure for them through the web.

For bonus points, I would do all of this in a very public way and let the world know they can write my office anytime and expect a response. I would have interns responding to rules questions 24 / 7 and communicating with the people who design the games.

Id do exactly as they are doing; focusing on core competencies, picking value statements et al is basic BSAD 3-400 level textbook stuff. Rebranding/restating core values and stabilizing share/stake holder value is always priority number one. Id suggest that if people care so heavily about the direction of GW they should buy some shares rather than armies and exercise voting rights.
Also Lionel trains failed because trains failed in the USA, children stopped seeing trains so the market demand died off as more exciting or relavent toys emerged. Slot cars werena direct replacement good for toy trains, and erector/chemestry sets were more fun and more socially relatable. The rest of the SJW material in this thread is a great example of confirmation bias by an ideologue when the answers are simple S&D a along with the natural life cycle of a product. Marketing to new demo's is the only way to break free from the leading to bleeding edge product cycle; so in its timeframe attempting to market trains to girls was the business correct descision.

Hmmmm, If I was in charge,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, I would lock all of the doors at GW HQ. Shut off the lights, and hunt them for sport with a chainsaw.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
AAAANNNNDDDD burn it all to the ground.

Only then start from scratch rebuilding the game, GW culture, and trust of the community.

I'd hire a statistician to come up with an algorithm(s) and to analyze the current rule sets. They would be paid to make units balanced, while taking into consideration themes. I'd also fire whomever was responsible for the GK codex and the newest Eldar dex. I would also prohibit Phil Kelly from having anything to do with CSM.

Make Orks the new Eldar

But no, I think the first thing I'd do is sit down with the rules writers and go over every inch of the rule book and figure out what needs to be done to fix the state of the game.

I'd get rid of that motto 'models first, games second'. Not many people collect models just for the sake of it. People get more motivated to buy if they have a way to PLAY with their toys. So, give people a GOOD way to play, and models move.

Redirect all revenue to Novorossiya


But in all honesty, I do not think any poster here on Dakka is qualified to give a sensible answer to such a question. As others have said, it would require very good knowlegde of GW and its position in the market and what the shareholders want you to do.

1. Post battle reports and other hobby articles on the website to attract more visitors.

2. Make "Kill Team" a fully promoted starter to the hobby with Kill Team sets for each army that could even include paints, a piece of scenery and other bits.

3. Remove all points for units from codexes. Have online documents with the "current" points values for every unit. These values are tweaked on a regular basis in the pursuit of balance.

4. Do limited runs of old collectors figures (for example, "this month we're casting some of the old Necromunda miniatures. Order yours while stocks last!")

5. Revert White Dwarf to again A.) being monthly, b.) having names and photos of the staff, c.) having jokes, d.) being good

Peregrine wrote:The premise of threads like this implies that the shareholders have given you control and are willing to let you do things your way at least for a while. Otherwise it's a pretty boring discussion because the answer is "exactly like the current management is doing it" and there isn't really any room for discussion.

Except anything that disregards the fact that GW is a public company is just fantasy wishlisting.

Which may not be "boring", but it's bombastic and silly.

 Veteran Sergeant wrote:
Except anything that disregards the fact that GW is a public company is just fantasy wishlisting.

It's not about pretending that GW doesn't have shareholders and you're free to trash the company however you like, it's about assuming that the shareholders recognize that GW has major problems and an uncertain long-term future and allow you the freedom to make reasonable changes without demanding immediate results. There's no point in discussing the subject if you assume that the shareholders will refuse to accept "this might hurt profits for 2015, but the long-term result will be better sales and more cash in your wallets" and insist that everything stay exactly the way it is now.

Which may not be "boring", but it's bombastic and silly.

A silly thread is still better than a completely pointless one where every answer is "I would do exactly what the current management is doing because that's what the shareholders want".

Apart from what has been said, I would try and broaden the appeal of the game; seems to me that GW still try to market it to kids even though they admit mostly adult males play it. As such, I would move towards what appeals to this demographic.

Far too often we see two reasons why gamers with disposable income won't commit to a model. They are usually in the order of:

1) I don't like the design
2) I don't like the rules

Rarely is it a cost issue, so I would utilize these two pieces of information and make excellent models with a balanced rules set, while expanding the IP in movies, games etc.

They have quality, brand and distribution covered, so it really would not take much to make GW very popular and profitable again. They seem to be on a track to doing it at least model wise.

 Markaret wrote:
Lot of negativity surrounding ol Gee Dubs at the moment, especially since the new Eldar dex. Lots of threads about how GW are going about things all wrong.

So what would be the TOP FIVE changes you would make to GW if you ran the company, to turn it all around?

Just wondering how the dakka community would do things differently.

-Markaret

Play test, do market research, and try to produce a good rule set. I.e. become the Anti-GW mwah hahaha!

1. Market Research. Reach out past, actual and potential customers to understand what they want. Notice which models sell more and why; which models sell less and why. Which models have been selling steadily? Why? Those should be the main target for the bad-selling models. What else the customers want?

2. Customer Relations. Create a forum (heavily moderated); store, telephone, e-mail and social media all integrated with one system to give official answers. And care about what is said, ask, requested, etc in such medias. Publish FAQs quick and in response to demand.

3. Prioritize. Abandon stuff like LotR (or sell it) and focus on what brings money in - Warhammer. Make the design team work together with the customer relations, finance, production and marketing - the entire company must work for one objective, instead of every part working for itself and with little to no communication.
Abbandon the 'beer and pretzels' mentality and get with the times - people want balanced games, so make a balanced game. Flavour of the month is detrimental to the game.

4. Fully integrate Forge World and let it be sold in stores. Transform Forge World in a brand for masterwork like Primarchs and LoW models. Imperial Armour books become part of GW's normal line (like supplements). PLAYTEST a lot; invite White Dwarf subscribers to help with it. Listen to their opinion. Post playtest battle reports in the official forums and comprehend the reaction. Apply reasonable changes to the original rules.
Update armies in one batch (alongside the new edition) and have 2 kinds of books - limited edition (colorful, hardback and really good quality paper) and normal edition (black & white, softcover and good quality paper); reduce the price of said books.

5. Substitute everything with plastic. No metal or finecast. Oh, and reduce prices and invest in marketing to reduce the 'niche' factor of the game. Selling to more people will popularize the game much more than selling it to some people with money - and fight recasters at the same time.

1. Stop this 'small store, single staff' foolishness and return to the glory days of less stores with bigger real estate and a team of staff willing to run events, competitions and provide community content.

2. Give at least a month warning of upcoming releases; let people know what you are bringing into the game well in advance and allow them time to consider purchasing. Rather than ZOMFG I GUT TEN MINETS TO BUY DIS DEN ITS GON FEREVA!!!!

3. Support independent retailers without forcing them to dedicate x-amount of shelf space as a pre-requisite.

Aside from that most have been mentioned. Little things I suppose but then no company is perfect.

Not read all the comments, so apologies if this is a repeat...

The first thing I would do, is make my customer feel valued. How? Go back 10 + years.

Re-introduce monthly White Dwarfs, with rules updates, FAQs, battle reports and well-thought out pieces.

Re-introduce 12- and 24- month subscriptions.

AND

Re-introduce the free gift with a subscription.

I would introduce cheaper basic unit packs so that more and more people would play the game, with the more advanced units being more expensive cash wise. The simple models could have a simplier ruleset, a mini-codex or something that was included in their box. This could speed up quick friendly games, allow more people to experiament with more armies and combinations and ultimately get more people into the game quicker and easier. I was in GW when a mom came in looking for birthdray presents for her children (girl and boy) she left bamboozled by the concept of what you need to 'enjoy' the game (and price tags just to start!). Admittedly she didn't know about it and the GW staff member wasn't the best at explaining but still...

1. Expansion loans, cut prices. 5-10 year restructuring and refocusing plan.
2. Clean out upper/middle management. Poach from large tech and blue chip companies.
3. More active and productive community management and relations.
4. Be willing to redo or replace ALL retail infrastructure, stores, online website.
5. Focus on volume and market share to create a stronger cycle that allows for strengthening of IP, with resulting profits.
6. Stronger game design/production department. Higher standards, more competitive.
7. Consider rebuilding or overhauling entire distribution and production strategy. Where, how, when products are made.
8. Buy/develop a video game studio. Positioning in a market as well as adjacent ones is a no brainer.

Was an econ. major before becoming a mech. engineer. Spent time as intern/junior analyst watching perfectly good companies sink in a couple of years due to sheer incompetence.

Its not just the customer these idiots are screwing over, its all the artists, sculptors, production, manufacturing, and warehousing staff that get taken for a ride.

Separate fluff from codex and rules.
Fluff is in the novels.

Update rules every two to three years but release all cod exes and rules on same day.

Change some aspects of rules. Allow customization for generic characters.

I.E allow generic characters to purchase upgrades of special rules.

You want an 800 point HQ, sure go ahead. But there would be a slight percentage increase in points for each upgrade. Or something like that.

Limit flyers and super heavies. Percentage wise based on game size.

Let unbound be a different style of game play.

Allow specialized games and have special rules for them. All fliers or all mech.

If no super heavies are involved then no crazy strength D weaponry.

Adjust rules for vehicles. I don't know why mo steroids creatures are tougher than a tank.

Be consistent with units. If it's a walker it's a walker, if it's a big beast it's a monsterous creature. Don't make walkers into monsterous creatures.

Balance psychic spells out.

Cut cost where possible but allow the public to benefit.

Some people like hard copies, some people don't, some people like digital some people don't.

Merchandise. License out my brand.

Understand that the media can be your friend.

Allow the selling of my product to all venders. Get out of the business of selling my own product.

First, I would hire out some new talent to help with the designing of a new more balanced rulebook and codex collection. Someone like Yakface who has a lot of experience creating balance out of the jarbled gunk of rules that is 40k. These rule writers would do extensive playtesting in order to make sure that extremely
overpowered combos do not crop up unexpectedly.

Secondly, I would gather all of the story writers and have them sit down with the rules design team and have them bounce ideas off of each other. I want as much cooperation and cohesion between these two groups as possible.

Third, I would move completely to plastic as GW is already doing, and I would start a line of ‘bits’ that could be sold in addition to the regular project. Each box would come with 10 of every conceivable loadout for the models in question.

Fourth, I would begin expanding to other stores such as Hobby Lobby, Walmart, Target, etc. to make access to the products more convenient. In addition I would start a slow drop in price starting at 10% of the current prices, and depending on the sales I’d either maintain or reduce further if possible.

Fifth, I would open up a forum with direct interaction between both the rules writers and story writers in universe to encourage customers and consider what they have to say.

Some of this thread is like reading a strangely scripted episode of Dragons Den

It amazes me the lengths that people will go just to get a scrap of information out of GW. The re-direct trick is a great example; how much time did someone spend figuring these out?! I myself spent way too much time refreshing all the rumor threads just to hear more about the Eldar codex.

This tells me that GW has a very passionate fanbase that is starved for information. GW takes it for granted. You can be secretive about your products, you can be Apple, but you should still take time to build hype and buzz for your products and not just drop them into a one week release window.

I work in digital marketing. Here is what I would do:

1. Stop being afraid of your customers. Engage with them, communicate with them, and enlist them to push your brand.

2. Publish digital content. WD needs to be digital. Their website needs to be integrated and they need to publish MORE content. Not just fluff or campaigns, but how about some inside the studio videos? Designer diaries, painting videos (the latest ones are great!), interviews, etc.

3. Close the damn stores already! They don't make money, they don't push your brand, they are an anchor around the company.

4. Have more events to celebrate your product. These don't need to be tournaments, and they don't even need to be hosted by GW. Here is a crazy idea; maybe you can take part in something like Adepticon?!

5. Finally, yes, clean the rules up, whatever it takes. Have OPEN beta with the rules. How freaking popular would THAT be? The community would help to shape the game.

Forgeworld tries to do a lot of these things, they even had a FB page, but it seems GW corporate is stuck in an age before the internet.

If I wanted to be successful: Screw the game, the miniatures, all that nonsense. Raise $300 million to produce a good movie, directed by JJ Abrams and starring Robert Downey Jr. Cartoons and TV shows everywhere for the win.

The whole miniature/wargaming business seems like a ridiculous amount of work for the tiniest of profits, even during GW's peak. Really, the only reason to be in it as a business, as far as I'm concerned, is for love of the hobby -- which, ironically, makes it a terrible idea to be a publicly traded company.

If I already had made my first billion and didn't really care about money: Buy back all the shares, make it a private company, and just make a cool game with cool miniatures. Don't care about the profits, or the sales; sales will come when they come, and I'd just support the company with my personal fortune, much like the owner of a sports franchise might because they love football, or whatever. Also: have a plastic thunderhawk kit.

1) Market Research
2) Listen to consumers and find out what they want
3) Hire non-biased play-testers to make the rules. Good English/clarity needed
4) Realise the game is what is funding the hobby for people and build on it
5) Pass savings onto consumers.

There might be more. I'm a little tired in this moment in time.