Coupons

It's interesting that you mention the charity approach. I actually intend to do that just before I do my second production run of Coopetition. I haven't picked the charity yet. I'm thinking I might actually use Ebay when the time comes to get the word out on a national level. (To date, I have provided and/or will be providing a few games for doors prizes at some local charity events. The issue with this type of promotion is that I can't measure or see the direct effect of the action.)

As for coupons/rebates, I'm leaning at the moment of doing a mail-in rebate when the game hits retail shelves. That way the retail stores don't need to hassle with the economics of the situation (or rather I don't need to hassle with the retail stores about the economics of the situation). I would take care of it directly. I'll simply make stores aware of the rebate so they can tell their customers (and perhaps provide a few forms to the stores), and have the rebate form available on our web site. Using mail-in I can track the effectiveness of the campaign. Depending on how you set it up, it would likely be more difficult to track coupon use.)

Chip

The number doesn't have to mean anything (put a number in the corner, small, or make it look like something official).

This way, when people use them, you'll know which coupon came from which store, so you'll have a better idea of where your customers are coming from.

Hope that explanation makes sense.

I haven't put Coopetition on retail shelves yet (that will come during the next couple months). But for all of the direct sales that I did since last holiday season when Coopetion was first introduced, a coupon was attached to each individual game ($5 off next game). For the most part the original set of games were purchased by friends, family, and friends of friends, etc. And a few coupons were redeemed (many of the original games were given as gifts during the holidays and thus made their way throughout the country). Each coupon had a two digit code corresponding to the original purchaser. I was thus able to see how information and word of mouth flowed.

My plan at the moment is to use a "mail-in rebate" when Coopetition hits retail stores later this fall. By its very nature I'll be able to determine the store at which the game was purchased. But I'll likely code the forms to determine also where the form was discovered (i.e. on the web site, from the store, from a flyer or direct mail piece, etc.) I'll be interested to see if any interesting info comes from it.

Chip