Promoting warbands

Back to the Tome of LARP

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I thought I'd put some advice for promoting warbands (player made groups in LARPs). Most of this advice will apply to LARP games too.

Have a solid theme

While this might seem pretty self explanatory many groups don't seem to be able to define their theme concisely. Either they follow the loose style of the founder or they try to take on too many aspects.

One good concept to be aware of is the elevator pitch. The basic idea is that if you only had one elevator ride to sell your idea to someone how would you do it. It is not literally about talking in elevators, but you should be able to define your warband/group in only a few sentences. This also make for a great reference to keep coming back to in the design and promotion processes.

Compare these two explanations

The Order of the Bear are a group of Knights who are personally commanded by the King. We act as bodyguards and personal troops on the battlefield. On field the highest rank is Banner-General and there is room for promotion amongst our members. Visually we are known for plate fighters and lightly armoured squires, both normally use sword and shield or greatsword. We value all contributions from our members and have costume/prop makers, armourers and experienced fighters ready to help our newer members. If you would like to tour with us then speak to XXXXXX.

Or

Yo, so a bunch of us got tired of fighting with our other warbands and wanted something new. We are thinking of being knights as we have a bunch of kit. If you like fighting in a shield wall hit us up. We have plenty of spare kit and tabbards for people to use. The Order of the Bear, get on it! :)

Another thing to consider is how well that theme comes across to others who aren't in the group already. The perception of a group is in many ways more important than the reality. You need to manage the perceptions and expectations of your group. If you say that your group focuses on high immersion and roleplay and then ignore that people will leave.

Artwork/images

Most warbands are pretty good at having at least a logo for their group but there are a lot of smaller things that can help with promotion. When putting up promotion posts try to have images or photos that really show off the strengths of the warband. Just seeing the logo time and time again doesn't catch the eyes after a while. View things from the perspective of a new player.

If you can get a graphic designer (even amateur) on board to help out. Consistency with font and colour can help with subconcious branding and marketing.

Value proposition

This is probably the biggest one that I see with warbands that are struggling. The concept of 'value proposition' comes from marketing theory. The short answer to it's meaning is 'why should I engage with this product'.

For example, there are a lot of warbands that focus on having loaner gear. If that is the only thing you have to offer you are doomed to fail. There is nothing wrong with having loaner gear but you need to stand out from the crowd. Work out the strengths of the warband in terms of social, skill, roleplay and fighting abilities. These are the real value propositions that you have to offer.

Many people don't like selling themselves or things that they are involved with as it can often be seen as arrogance. However if you have valid elements of your warband that are of value to players then go for it. And this can be as simple as having a good social culture and helpful people. Like attracts like in this case and if you put out honestly what you are trying to achieve you will attract people after the same thing.

Act professional

Again this should be a given but it is not always. If the warband looks like just a bunch of mates having a lark then it will be treated less seriously than others. Even if you are going for a casual social structure you need to have a professional administrative structure. This means things like replying to new players promptly and having answers prepared for common questions.

The second part to this is that if senior members of the warband (and especially warband leaders) act in an unprofessional/childish/aggressive/selfish manner in public or private forums it can seriously affect the reputation of the entire warband. This makes it a very much uphill battle to try and recruit new players.

Checklist

These are the things (in no particular order) that I think all warbands should have to successfully promote and retain new members.

Theme
Elevator pitch
Logo
Facebook page (or other organisation method)
Sample photos (current players)
Inspiration pictures (mood board)
Org chart (or other understanding of hierarchy)
Plan for training/helping new players
The willingness to remove problem players from the warband.
An off field sense of community or social connection.