Is Games Workshop Secretly Willy Wonka? Everything seems to be changing around Nottingham lately, perhaps even how they do their advertising.
Depending on who you ask, Games Workshop has been secretly “leaking” low res blurry pictures and giving information to select internet sites and forums for years right?
Or we suppose a lot of folks may just need to update their flip phones over to 2016. Either way it’s all good, because let’s face it; we all love rumors!
Fast forward to last year and we’re stating to see totally unrelated products found inside other box sets in what could be some sort of Wonka-esque guerrilla marketing campaign?
First we saw a plastic “Chaos Dwarf” that turned out to be a Fyreslayer inside a Tau box in December 2015, and then this new Chaos Sorcerer inside of the Deathwatch Starter in what may just be GW’s first steps on the road to guerrilla marketing.
Do assembly line robots really mess up this bad, or do they only package what is put in their hoppers to use for their product run?
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the father of Guerrilla Marketing Jay Conrad Levinson (whose 1984 book on the topic is now required reading for MBAs) defines it as:
..the soul and essence of guerrilla marketing which remain as always — achieving conventional goals, such as profits and joy, with unconventional methods, such as investing energy instead of money.
Remember they were super quick with a follow up video to the Sorcerer in which they acknowledged it being shown on the internets, and then even upped the ante and dropped a new Kharn on us!
I mean it may all just be too convenient to be a coincidence at the end of the day, OR perhaps Games Workshop is really keeping it’s finger on the pulse of the hobby more than we think.
Finding one of these models in a totally related box set is almost like going down to the Car dealership, buying out a new Ford Fusion, and getting home only to notice that the interior is all branded for a Lincoln version of the same car.
Do assembly line robots really mess up this bad, or do they only package what is put in their hoppers to use for their product run?
Either it makes for some very exciting times, and that may just be what it is all about as Jay Conrad Levinson explained above. Plus now I can’t wait to open my new Deathwatch box sets this week to look for my “golden ticket”!
New Chaos Model Roundup
Where there are Thousand Sons, the Wolves are sure to be not far behind… Stay tuned for more on this amazing story!
About the Author: Rob Baer
Rob Baer
Job Title: Managing Editor
Founded Spikey Bits in 2009
Socials: Rob Baer on Facebook and @catdaddymbg on X
About Rob Baer: Founder, Publisher, & Managing Editor of Spikey Bits, the leading tabletop gaming news website focused on the hobby side of wargaming and miniatures.
Rob also co-founded and currently hosts the Long War Podcast, which has over 350 episodes and focuses on tabletop miniatures gaming, specializing in Warhammer 40k. and spent six years writing for Bell of Lost Souls.
Every year, along with his co-hosts, he helps host the Long War 40k Doubles Tournament at Adepticon and the Long War 40k Doubles at Las Vegas Open, which attracts over 350 players from around the world.
Rob has won many Warhammer 40k Tournaments over the years, including multiple first-place finishes in Warhammer 40k Grand Tournaments over the years and even winning 1st place at the Adepticon 40k Team Tournament.
With over 30 years of experience in retail and distribution, Rob knows all the products and exactly which ones are the best. As a member of GAMA (Game Manufacturers Association), he advocates for gaming stores and manufacturers in these difficult times, always looking for the next big thing to feature for the miniatures hobby, helping everyone to provide the value consumers want.
While he’s played every edition of Warhammer 40k and Warhammer Fantasy (since 5th Edition) and has been hobbying on miniatures since the 1980s, Titans of all sizes will always be his favorite! It’s even rumored that his hobby vault rivals the Solemnance Galleries, containing rulebooks filled with lore from editions long past, ancient packs of black-bordered Magic Cards, and models made of both pewter and resin.
