Tom Clancy
has a new book out. What a surprise. Like most of his recent books, he didn't write it all
alone, but went out to have somebody help him. Unlike his recent books, the paperback,
Politka, includes a mini CDROM. The mini CDROM includes a preview for a game based on the
novel.
This is being touted as the great branding of an author and his products.
WALLY'S COMMENT ... Regardless of what some publishers have said, Clancy is a brand.
People recognize his name, have a good idea of the kind of stuff he writes, and buy his
books because he wrote them.
So why not extend the brand by adding a game? Seems to me like a good idea, but you'd
better do a good game. The mini CD and Politka game is not going to work, but the problem
is execution, not the original idea.
Make no mistake, the game market is tough. Only four percent of the game companies turn
a profit and those are, mostly, the ones that have one or more big hits.
What's the problem with Clancy's game? The most obvious one is that it's not as good as
his books.
Years ago I remember seeing a cartoon which showed two little rectangles with a large
circle in the middle of them. The caption was, "tomato sandwich made by and amateur
tomato sandwich maker." Clancy's game appears to be a game made by an amateur game
maker.
Lesson: If you're out to extend your brand or come up with a new type of product, or
enter a new market, get the help you need to do it right. Tom Clancy would be better
served, methinks, had he gotten help with developing his game rather than with writing
this latest book.
What Clancy was really doing was extending his brand. Folks bought books because he
wrote them, so they'd buy games based on the book.
So what's the lesson for you? There are two.
First, if you're going to do something different make sure you do it right. Get help if
you need it.
Second: brand extension is difficult and usually doesn't work. As Al Ries and Jack
Trout say in their book The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: "In spite of the evidence
that brand extensions don't work, companies continue to pump them out anyway."
The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing is a book that I consider a classic. I return to it
often. You can check it out or buy it at amazon.com at
