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Branded Reviews

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Author Topic: Branded Reviews  (Read 330 times)
Calandale
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« on: July 15, 2014, 03:31:31 am »

I've been thinking about these consolidated reviewers (and what not) under a single banner. It seems
that they are of different ilks. So, I'm over at 2D6, and basically there is no demand there whatsoever.
It's just a place to post more than anything. I've gotten a couple review games through them,
but stopped bothering with that. The biggest thing it provides me is a consolidation for my vids
in one post (ala my BGG list I guess); the biggest thing they get is me submitting vids they could
use otherwise (by my youturd license). I wonder if it's
worth it - though the association with Marco, Joel (who left), and Lance was flattering.

Kev's got a franchise with Big Board - and if all I did was wargames, I"d probably prefer to head there.

Then there is the beast that is Dice Tower. With the intro graphics, it really seems like a different beast.
I guess if you're the biggest name around, you can force a level of compliance to such branding
on folk. Dunno. But it seems like a turn toward trying to be the chain restaurant of reviewing. People go
for individual reviewers I think (I like Slaqr, for example - but the others don't touch the issues
I need to hear to know if I want to buy a game), so I don't know if there's much real opportunity for
this kind of branding. It works for the group efforts - but makes less sense otherwise.
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Kreator82
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« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2014, 05:53:09 pm »

I agree that the branding seems to be getting a little out of hand. I like the dice tower, but there are 487 different people reviewing for them now, and 485 of them suck. I feel that they might be trading quality, for the ability to cover all possible games. I don't think that wanting to review alot of games is bad, but they are all reviewing the same games! I have seen Twilight Struggle reviewed like 4 or 5 times under different people under their banner. To me, that is excessive, and highly unnecessary.
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Calandale
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« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2014, 05:55:20 pm »

I had a hell of a lot of trouble figuring out why I wanted to be under a branding.

Dunno if I regret it, but it does seem pretty pointless.
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« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2014, 06:12:57 pm »

I had a hell of a lot of trouble figuring out why I wanted to be under a branding.

Dunno if I regret it, but it does seem pretty pointless.

I'd seriously argue that *you* wouldn't benefit much, if at all, from a branding.  Your reviews are essentially unique(*), so viewers who come to you from the site are less likely to be happy with what they find.  (Imagine a typical Vasel viewer coming across your Startup Fever review, much less the gameplay video.)

Similarly, your viewers might well be surprised if they watched almost anyone else who shared a banner with you.


(*) -- Lance rambles similarly, but seems to reveal far less of the strategic thinking/choices.  Rahdo starts to get into that strategic thinking, but doesn't cover things in the same depth (or wargames).  Kevin covers wargames and a lot of the minutia, but again I feel the strategic thinking is mostly missing.  And, I'm not sure I've seen another reviewer who can honestly step back far enough to explain why a game might appeal to some people or some moods (your TV Wars and Startup Fever reviews excel at this, with hard-to-explain games).
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« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2014, 06:26:41 pm »

Yeah, I think your videos are sort of in their own category.  There are several quality reviewers out there, all of whom have been named in this thread, but none of them actually do what you do with your videos, and I haven't seen anybody else who does.  I've certainly tried to emulate your free-flowing style, but don't have the stamina to put out the amount of content for each specific game.  My coverage of my La Bataille de la Moscowa turns is closer to the bite-size chunks that Kev does for his OCS coverage.  Probably the closest I've come to an actual Calandale-level video are my unboxing videos that are more an excuse to ramble on about wargaming related topics than they are a detailed look at game contents, especially since my real focus on doing them is to do them for old, out of print games that allow me to ponder the effects those games may have had on the hobby.

Anyway, like KevinR points out, how well would your content mesh with any other branded content?

It's worth arguing that by sheer volume alone you're already your own "brand", since people looking for any kind of internet presence for some of the obscure games you've covered are going to find your name and little else.

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« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2014, 06:30:12 pm »

Gregor's another unique critter. I can't even figure out how he manages to convey
things to me about a game, but he just does.
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« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2014, 09:03:27 pm »

Gregor's another unique critter. I can't even figure out how he manages to convey
things to me about a game, but he just does.

True.  His videos are some level of performance art, but you also learn what you need about the games.  Nobody else puts that kind of craft into it.
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« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2014, 09:32:12 pm »

Gregor's another unique critter. I can't even figure out how he manages to convey
things to me about a game, but he just does.

Didn't I see him around here earlier?
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Calandale
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« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2014, 10:01:46 pm »

Gregor's another unique critter. I can't even figure out how he manages to convey
things to me about a game, but he just does.

Didn't I see him around here earlier?

Yeah. He said high and left.
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