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Rebuilt Griddly Games Sports Strategy and Fun Company Thrives on Revision and Listening Ears
DEFINING THE LINE Our biggest mistake was not researching, not asking questions, and taking things at face value. We took over a failing company and were fed wrong information, so we thought we knew stuff we didn’t.  People didn’t know if Griddly was a sports game or like Monopoly. We learned to make it clear that we make strategy and challenge games, not sports games. ENVISIONING WITH OPEN EARS We had people play the games and got their advice. When you stop listening, you make really expensive mistakes. We tweaked our packaging so our products are easier to sell. On the box, we moved the name of the game up to the top third, listed the play time and put examples of the cards on the sides. The longer customers hold onto a product, the more likely they will purchase it. Mary Couzin, founder of Discover Games, is an invaluable resource. She goes to shows and, for a reasonable fee, will show your game in her group of inventors who share their knowledge. MAKING OVERSEAS, MARKETING AT HOME  We manufacture in China to get the price points people are looking for, and use a quality-control company. We found manufacturers through previous contacts and references. The company we use was exhibiting at the New York Toy Fair, and we took that opportunity to foster our relationship.Our marketing consists of making contacts with people and getting our name out through newsletters and websites. There’s no need to do a lot of ads, but PR is good. Trade shows are worth your time because they present an opportunity for people to touch and feel the games. We’re building a team of independent sales reps. We’re also working on getting distributors in the United States and Canada. Sales are up almost 300 percent from last year. We’ve raised thousands of dollars through Kids Playing for Kids, in which kids play our game for a minimal charge and the money goes to a children’s charity.
MANUFACTURING WISDOM We developed Wise Alec to broaden our audience. We asked educators what they were looking for and asked retailers what kinds of products sell, with the idea of making their jobs easier.  We wanted a game that young and old could play together — one that didn’t make the players who lose feel like idiots. In the game, you might get a Wise Alec card worth two points if, say, you ate all your fruits and vegetables that day. You lose points if you do something like burp in public. The point of Wise Alec is to instill good manners, activity and a healthy lifestyle — with a whole lot of fun. We put in $15,000 of our own money into research and development, fact checking and the prototype. Wise Alec debuted at Toy Fair 2008 and the response was overwhelming. We wanted to make sure we did it right the first time, so we listened to suggestions and made changes [see sidebar] before GAMA in April. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Do your homework, attend Toy Fair, walk around, talk, listen, attend seminars, and get many points of view before you go into production. Do it right the first time — before you spend your money. See of sampling of Griddly Games’ products below:
Griddly Headz Soccer Game by GRIDDLY GAMES INC.
 Writer's Bio: Elizabeth Greenspan edits and writes for trade and technical publications. She has interviewed and collaborated with some of the top practitioners in their fields. She lives in Philadelphia and travels extensively for her work. Read more articles by this author |
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