So, maybe you saw our epic press release?
Yes, we admit, it was nothing more than a cheap attempt to get some, maybe not yet deserved, but certainly much-needed attention to our recently launched iLikeCereal!! (you’d be surprised how lonely it can get on the App Store).
Also, we were definitely hoping it would help get iBailout!!’s name out there too–which, in the awesome iBailout!!’s case, at least, is not only much-needed, but also definitely completely deserved. And, by the way, iBailout!! (along with 171 other surely fine contenders) happens to currently be undergoing the first round of judging in the 2010 IGF Mobile.
So, how did that zany press release scheme of ours work out, then? Well, in terms of press coverage and general attention, I’d say it did exactly what we designed it to do and was wildly successful, getting us unique stories (and even, our very first real review–a pretty darn nice one at that; which is really, really awesome and exciting) on almost a dozen different sites. Also, our YouTube view counts on the iLikeCereal!! and iBailout!! trailers quintupled from around 120 to 500+ views and tripled from around 60 to 200+ views, respectively, in the past ten days or so since we issued the press release.
And, of course, we’re very thankful to all the different outlets, writers, and editors that picked us up and covered the story: MobileCrunch, Pocket Gamer, Girl Gamers UK, GirlGamer, BeefJack, Blue’s News, Gaming Nexus, Gamer Syndrome, DCEmu Blog, Pocket-lint, and (my personal favorite write-up) Just Another iPhone Blog. Also, we’re just as thankful to everyone who tweeted, e-mailed, posted, talked, or perhaps even wrote a genuine real-life letter (news may be arriving as we speak!) about the story too. If we’ve left any media outlets or stories out, or anyone else that helped spread the word, please do leave a note in the comments as we’d like to check it out and offer our thanks.
Our release being carried by Games Press really seemed to do the trick to getting noticed by all the relevant and necessary parties, with Pocket Gamer’s piece really getting the ball rolling. Then, once MobileCrunch picked it up (with 40+ retweets to boot), our story took off from there, with dozens of sites carrying MC’s story on it.
Funnily enough, I’m actually in a completely different time zone right now too (just a tad bit ahead, being that it’s early evening here and the sun being about to rise back home in the D) and pulled a couple consecutive all-nighters working with Ivan on e-mailing and distributing this release to everyone and their brother (we were a bit overzealous (ok, downright ruthlessly militant) in getting this thing out there, so apologies to anyone that didn’t appreciate our contacts)–we figured the worst that could happen is that we’d get ignored. The point, though, as tired and weary as we were, it was all way too exciting to see so much coverage happen so quickly and get such widespread attention–especially so, considering that we had exactly zero coverage from zero outlets prior to these magnificent shenanigans.
In brief, the press release worked like a charm/Cthulhic chicken sacrifice and got us the attention and publicity that we were looking for for iLikeCereal!! and it did indeed get the word out.
But, the million-dollar question (as a veteran developer, might ask): Did it sell?
The one-dollar-and-ninety-nine cent answer: Well, the good news is that we’ve seen more than an 100% increase in sales in just the past 10 days!! Unfortunately, coffee’s for closers and, when you’re starting at jack squat and both jack and squat leave town, that still leaves you at only around 60 – 70 copies sold (Apple’s developer site, iTunes Connect, has been pretty awesome at failing to reliably report each day’s sales this past week).
Obviously, at still well under 100 copies (or units, in iTunes Connect-speak) sold, iLikeCereal!!’s (that’s the third time I’ve linked to the App Store–hint, hint) days in the sun are still yet to come. We know it’s not the Mona Lisa or I Am T-Pain or anything, but, once Apple does finally and inevitably decide to feature us, we don’t see any reason iLikeCereal!! shouldn’t make itself very comfortable in the App Store’s Entertainment category.
Overall, even though we still didn’t see the sales for iLikeCereal!! that we were looking for, this press release and the response to it was simply an incredible introduction to the Internets and the world at large and one that we’re extremely thankful for and very motivated by. We went from essentially nobody, but friends, family and iBailout!!’s fine publisher, Hands-On Mobile, knowing who we were, to getting a real nice slice of awareness and we’re very, very happy about that.
But, beyond that, we do get it. The people don’t want entertainment apps. The people want games. And turn-by-turn GPS. And those ‘adult’ apps that, as of late, are legion; for they are many.
Well, I’ve never had any kind of exceptional talent for navigation and our mothers just wouldn’t approve of us making any of those other kinds of apps, and, aside from this first version of iLikeCereal!! (seriously, that’s the sixth time I’ve linked to the App Store; please don’t make me beg–just buy it already!), we’re only ever going to give the people what they want: games. Awesome games. Nay, really, really awesome games.
A bit further, I do truly believe iLikeCereal!! could be one of these really, really awesome games and I would love the opportunity to take the already pretty fun and cool physics and theme of iLikeCereal!! (link #8; all right, I’m begging; see what you people’ve made me do?!) and mash it up with the undoubtedly simple, yet brilliant, and shamefully fun design that Ivan and I will undoubtedly come up with (really, it truly pains us to be this brilliant) and see how far exactly we can take this thing of ours–Ivan knows all too well how dangerously serious I am about iLikeCereal!! RPG.
So, while you, dear readers, and I try to convince Ivan to spend a little bit of his very valuable time, brain power, and 1337 programming skillz on making iLikeCereal!! into a proper game, just ready y’all selves for the power and majesty of iBailout!! (a.k.a. 2010 IGF Mobile entry #80)! We really weren’t exaggerating one little bit in how long the approval process is taking, but iBailout!! really should make its triumphant debut any day now.
Before we go, since this is such a heartily lengthy post, let’s hook up an executive summary (located at the very end, for maximum convenience):
Executive Summary of Zany iLikeCereal!! Press Release Scheme
Press: Good
Coverage: MobileCrunch, Pocket Gamer, Girl Gamers UK, GirlGamer, BeefJack, Blue’s News, Gaming Nexus, Gamer Syndrome, DCEmu Blog, Pocket-lint, & Just Another iPhone Blog
Review: Nice
Sales: Not Good
Sold: Jack Squat (Whom Both Left Town); iLikeCereal!! Now Around 60-70 Copies Sold
Overall: Awesome Introduction to the World
Buy iLikeCereal!!: Yes
iBailout!!: 2010 IGF Mobile & Coming Very, Very Soon
Buy iLikeCereal!!: Yes
And, that’s all, folks. Good night, and good luck. Peace.
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[...] Ok, so it didn’t quite get the sales moving for our humble little entertainment app like we needed or wanted, but it did get us quite a decent amount of coverage and went from no one having heard of us before to almost no one having heard of us before (which is actually quite an accomplishment with one humble little press release, if I do say so myself). For the full details, there’s a neat and, hopefully, entertaining little analysis for you to read right here. [...]