To Prototype or not... that is the question.

Hello everyone. I thought I would post a few theories or schools of thoughts on prototyping.

Originally, I adhered to the belief of "create a a phenomenal, knock out prototype and make it look as if it were on the shelf for sale." The idea being that it would put them (The buyers you are pitching to) in a sales mode rather than an R&D mode. They can not only picture it, feel it, and play it but can see it on the shelves. They can also do a cost analysis's more accurately. (A go or no go pinnacle).

Problems with that are obvious - it costs a hell of a lot of money-especially if you can't do it all yourself and have to farm some or all of it out. And then what happens if you put $2500 into the prototype and they say, "Hey that looks nice but no thanks." And what happens if like me you have over 200 concepts in your portfolio? You can't do them all. Even narrowed to your top 10 let alone top 3 can be an expensive undertaking.

The other train of thought is to just do market renderings or illustrations. They are great for presentations, easy to transport etc. The problem with that is that they don't buy ideas. They buy products.

We pitched a ton of concepts this way to Spinmaster. They loved 4 of them but opted not to take them. why? Because they were not proven. They would have to be made and tested and they were not willing to take on the risk of that expense. And at the time I didn't have the estimated $32k to make them.

BTW, as you move further along in your career and credibilty levels, the above situation is many times non existent because you become a proven commodity and so they will sometimes partner with you. Hasbro has offered that with me. Don't expect that right away however.

The next thing is a cheap "cocktail napkin" prototype. A step up from a simple drawing. This might be made of glued together foam board, paint/stickers and standard token pieces. Twenty buck prototypes. These can go a long way if made well enough. (And you can make them really well this way) One that comes to mind was one I can't reveal too much about because we are revamping it. But Hasbro looked at it and got so excited they said we created a whole new industry. They told us if we could make it smaller, and adapt it to one of their most popular games they were going to to do it as the next clone or cannibal product (Not their terminology - mine)!

Unfortunately, as good as it was it fell through the cracks of the process and fell out of the running. Too bad it wasn't before I spent 3 months of my time, energy and money and 12 prototypes later. They had me running through hoops.... at my expense. (Another lesson learned. If they want it-make them pay for it. They have to pay in house so make them pay you).

And the last would be to do a Sell Sheet, Tear Sheet, etc. A one page, one sided brochure of your concept. Picture of it, picture in use, a description,and a list of the benefits (the most important) and features and why it would serve them well. Not to wordy or crowded and with lots of "white" space.

I recommend the last choice for you for every single concept BUT, not as a stand alone. At least not at your beginning stages. I would combine it with a market rendering as well as with the "Twenty Dollar Prototype." Later on, as you develop the relationship (either with the Agent or the company) a sell sheet can be sufficient.

Hope some of this hits home, makes a difference and makes someone out there reading this lots of money.

Cheers,
RDR
Solomon's Thoughts, Inc