Forum discussions are now taking place on Discord. For all account questions and concerns, please continue to contact Customer Support directly.

Keep updated on Pirate101 on Twitter @Pirate101, Facebook, Discord, and @KI_Alerts!

Youtube Video Sponsorships/Ads to Advertise the Game

AuthorMessage
Ensign
Oct 24, 2012
3
Hi, I'm a longtime lurker but never realized buying crowns could let me post here until now. Anyways, I bought crowns recently and figured now might be the time to suggest this in an avenue KI Staff might see it.

As a disclaimer, I do know that KI advertised this game through commercials back in the day. I'm not sure how successful/unsuccessful they were, but I'm aware of it. Another thing I know is that some staff member once said on here that it was up to us to make the game popular through word of mouth.

While word of mouth is nice, I'm guessing this was said because the commercials didn't draw in as many people as KI expected it would? Either way, I do believe sponsoring a popular youtuber (or youtubers) would be the best form of advertising in this age. TV watching is on the decline thanks to Netflix, etc. and people tend to skip youtube ads (Though I'm including this in the suggestion because it could still leave an impression on someone before skipping and also some of my stats involve them), but youtubers name-dropping a sponsor seem less likely to be skipped over, and are a good way to spread the word.

A few stats of note that I think would be beneficial to this idea: (Source being youtube itself posting these stats)
  • 81% of 15-25 year olds in the U.S. use Youtube. You have the potential to reach nearly all of your target audience on Youtube through ads and sponsoring youtubers with certain audiences.
  • 15% of Youtube's viewers are from the U.S. To me that sounded low at first, but that's actually the highest out of any country. 2nd place is India at 8%
  • 10% of the most popular youtube videos draw 79% of the views. This means if you sponsor a youtuber who consistently comes up on the top trending videos section, you're likely to reach a disproportionately larger audience than one who does not.
  • Youtube is second most popular way to watch video on tv screens for 18-34 year olds behind Netflix, meaning Youtube is the most popular one containing ads. Its a good opportunity to advertise going to waste imo.


So in conclusion, assuming KI is targeting U.S. kids/teens, this is a better avenue to try to raise Pirate101's popularity than word of mouth could ever hope to achieve. I do hope KI at least considers this option, because it feels like Pirate101 is stuck in a death spiral. It's supported by a loyal few, but they won't be around forever, and bringing in new people starts with putting the game itself on people's radars. Part of me feels like I typed this for nothing and staff won't read this, but oh well I was procrastinating school work anyways.

Administrator
miniapollo17 on Mar 13, 2020 wrote:
Hi, I'm a longtime lurker but never realized buying crowns could let me post here until now. Anyways, I bought crowns recently and figured now might be the time to suggest this in an avenue KI Staff might see it.

As a disclaimer, I do know that KI advertised this game through commercials back in the day. I'm not sure how successful/unsuccessful they were, but I'm aware of it. Another thing I know is that some staff member once said on here that it was up to us to make the game popular through word of mouth.

While word of mouth is nice, I'm guessing this was said because the commercials didn't draw in as many people as KI expected it would? Either way, I do believe sponsoring a popular youtuber (or youtubers) would be the best form of advertising in this age. TV watching is on the decline thanks to Netflix, etc. and people tend to skip youtube ads (Though I'm including this in the suggestion because it could still leave an impression on someone before skipping and also some of my stats involve them), but youtubers name-dropping a sponsor seem less likely to be skipped over, and are a good way to spread the word.

A few stats of note that I think would be beneficial to this idea: (Source being youtube itself posting these stats)
  • 81% of 15-25 year olds in the U.S. use Youtube. You have the potential to reach nearly all of your target audience on Youtube through ads and sponsoring youtubers with certain audiences.
  • 15% of Youtube's viewers are from the U.S. To me that sounded low at first, but that's actually the highest out of any country. 2nd place is India at 8%
  • 10% of the most popular youtube videos draw 79% of the views. This means if you sponsor a youtuber who consistently comes up on the top trending videos section, you're likely to reach a disproportionately larger audience than one who does not.
  • Youtube is second most popular way to watch video on tv screens for 18-34 year olds behind Netflix, meaning Youtube is the most popular one containing ads. Its a good opportunity to advertise going to waste imo.


So in conclusion, assuming KI is targeting U.S. kids/teens, this is a better avenue to try to raise Pirate101's popularity than word of mouth could ever hope to achieve. I do hope KI at least considers this option, because it feels like Pirate101 is stuck in a death spiral. It's supported by a loyal few, but they won't be around forever, and bringing in new people starts with putting the game itself on people's radars. Part of me feels like I typed this for nothing and staff won't read this, but oh well I was procrastinating school work anyways.
Greetings and salutations miniapollo17, welcome to the Pirate101 forums!

Thanks for the statistics, these are very interesting. We've been increasingly working with our community's YouTubers and Livestreamers over the past couple of years now. If anyone here fits into this category, let me know, as we can help support your streams!

Dread Pirate
May 27, 2009
2131
Youtube and livestreaming are all well and good, but don't forget marketing to the parents and grandparents who would love a game to share with the young people in their lives. SO many of us are adult players who were looking for a game without violence or disturbing content, intelligent writing, delightful humor, have come to know and love the game for ourselves.

Give US something to talk about on our fan sites and social media. Give US something to talk about HERE, please!


Ensign
Feb 23, 2013
5
Bat Masterson on Mar 13, 2020 wrote:
Greetings and salutations miniapollo17, welcome to the Pirate101 forums!

Thanks for the statistics, these are very interesting. We've been increasingly working with our community's YouTubers and Livestreamers over the past couple of years now. If anyone here fits into this category, let me know, as we can help support your streams!
Well, we can't depend on Pirate101 community Youtubers to advertise the game-their audience is already people who play the game. That isn't bringing anyone new in, its just telling the people who already play the game to play the game.

Commodore
Feb 12, 2015
970
Rose2708 on Mar 15, 2020 wrote:
Well, we can't depend on Pirate101 community Youtubers to advertise the game-their audience is already people who play the game. That isn't bringing anyone new in, its just telling the people who already play the game to play the game.
But then how to bring in more people? Hmm... I remember Wizard101's advertisements back in the day, and a game quite like Wizard and Pirate101 is a very rare find indeed... Maybe Kingisle could draw in more players by reinstating public advertisement?

Ensign
Oct 24, 2012
3
Lookit Light on Mar 16, 2020 wrote:
But then how to bring in more people? Hmm... I remember Wizard101's advertisements back in the day, and a game quite like Wizard and Pirate101 is a very rare find indeed... Maybe Kingisle could draw in more players by reinstating public advertisement?
That's more what I meant. Sponsoring people who already play isn't bad, but I was suggesting sponsoring any kid-appropriate youtuber in general (Or whatever target audience KI wants). That way they're making the game known to more people who do not play but may garner interest in playing.

Pirate Overlord
Mar 16, 2012
10631
miniapollo17 on Mar 18, 2020 wrote:
That's more what I meant. Sponsoring people who already play isn't bad, but I was suggesting sponsoring any kid-appropriate youtuber in general (Or whatever target audience KI wants). That way they're making the game known to more people who do not play but may garner interest in playing.
Yet you should also consider that the parents are the ones with the money and control of what their children do. Finding a You-Tuber that can emphasize the family-friendly aspects as well as the fun of this game ( and that it has a generation-spanning appeal ).

Petty Officer
Nov 23, 2019
92
Rose2708 on Mar 15, 2020 wrote:
Well, we can't depend on Pirate101 community Youtubers to advertise the game-their audience is already people who play the game. That isn't bringing anyone new in, its just telling the people who already play the game to play the game.
We could start asking on wiz message boards, for the ones that have wiz membership.