The Escape Box with Gabe Lawson

In this episode, host Nalin talks with Gabe Lawson about marketing for The Escape Box.

As a first time creator, Gabe gives many insights on what can be accomplished with good market research and organic engagement; and how starting with the goal of creating a sustainable business can payout once you get fully funded. Check out everything he learned and shared with us!

We discuss:

[1:29]: Gabe’s transition from creating real-life escape rooms into creating his board game version, and how he had to figure out who the audience for this new concept really was.
[05:33]: Taking his experience in real escape rooms along with the covid global situation as an opportunity to put this game out there for people who like escape rooms but couldn’t access them anymore; as well as reaching out to the puzzle games audience.
[8:36]: How market research is key when you have no experience creating a crowdfunding campaign page. Looking into other successful campaign pages in the same niche really helps to get an idea of what people are looking for and what works for marketing.
[15:51]: From other campaigns, successful and not so successful, they learned the shipping approach they wanted to do, how other creators were keeping their audiences engaged, the FAQ for day one, and reviewer/promotion options.
[20:31]: How to balance the mystery side of the game, with the gameplay experiences and the updates showing people the pieces to keep the audience engaged and intrigued by it.
[26:36]: As a first-time creator, Gabe learned the importance of having your preview page live weeks ahead, of putting in the work to find your audience, and the reality of how much time it really takes to have a successful campaign.
[30:19]: As the main marketing strategy they used Facebook groups and Instagram. Mostly organic engagement, and almost no paid advertisement!
[32:40]: The strategy they’re working on how to grow as a business and go into retail.
[44:19]: How to get in touch with Gabe Lawson.

Thanks for listening to the Board Game Marketing Podcast!

Final marketing tip from James to new board game creators:

“As a first time creator it’s really important to find and build your audience prior to pre launch. Find a way to give prospective backers a taste of your work whether it’s a walkthrough, review, free print and play, or other vessel to get your concept across. No one can truly love your brand until they’ve interacted with it, so show and tell as much as you can. If you don’t have prototypes ready for playtesting, then give sneak peeks at the development process and share work or background info on your team.”

Escape Room Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CHgl0OFhxAg/

Escape Room Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theescapebox/the-escape-box-mysterious-puzzle-adventures

For more information on how to market your game, be sure to check out the Meeple Marketing Blog.