The Value And Effectiveness Of Cross Sell Leaflets In Board Games

One of the most tried and trusted marketing methods for board games is the cross-sell leaflet. Typically, a cross sell leaflet would take the form of an A5 or A4 folded over insert into each game shipped, on which the other games offered by the company would be shown with pack shots and key selling messages. Our experience has shown that cross-sell leaflets are one of the most effective marketing methods offering great value for money and ROI, but with comparatively little investment. We have recommended a cross-sell leaflet to dozens of games companies in our Consulting work, and we have seen it be tangibly successful for them.

The argument against cross-sell leaflets normally states that: a). we’re already fighting to get manufacturing costs down and now you want to add to the FOB price we get from the factory (to which the answer is that’s just a matter of accounting, it isn’t a real barrier) b). because in general purchasers of mass market board games tend to play them around the festive season, it can be the best part of a year before they are in games buying a mode again. The answer to this though is that because most Games companies have a lot of products which sell year after year, the advertising message will be mostly relevant next time they open the box as well.

In reality, you will not find a better way of showing your products to qualified purchasers! Think of it this way – let’s say your game sells 50,000 copies each year, and the cost of inserting the cross-sell leaflet is $0.10, then the spend is equivalent to $5k USD. But if just 1% of those 50,000 copies leads to further sales you have generated enough sales to fund the leaflet. More importantly though, you have the chance to recruit interested gamers further into your product catalogue via encouraging and incentivising social media sign ups.

Bearing in mind how quickly marketing managers can burn through cash with little tangible return, cross-sell leaflets seem to offer great value and effectiveness. This marketing method won’t turn a non-seller into a hero, but it can be part of a structured marketing program to build a bankable following and to drive additional sales.

We run a Consultancy business helping board games companies to grow. We have experience of most major board games markets around the world and our team has developed more than 200 board games including versions of classic games like Monopoly, Clue/do, Risk, Game of Life etc. For more information on our services (including our Export sales Consultancy) please just click here: https://www.kidsbrandinsight.com/services/

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