Written by Siobhan Johansen
Hello from your local nerd!
If you’re unfamiliar with Dungeons & Dragons, it is a thrilling fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) created in the 1970s. It invites players to create characters and embark on exciting adventures together in a rich, fictional world. More than 50 million people worldwide are estimated to have played D&D (including me!) in the last 50+ years since its creation.
Here’s how the Dungeons & Dragons website describes the game:
In Dungeons & Dragons, the players form an adventuring party who explore fantasy worlds together as they embark on epic quests and level up in experience. The Dungeon Master (also known as the DM) is the game’s referee and storyteller. There’s no winning or losing in D&D—at least, not in the conventional way.
At its heart, D&D is a game that focuses on storytelling. The dice just help you along. Everything is your decision, from what you look like, to how you act, to what happens next.
The collective creativity in your D&D game builds stories that you’ll tell again and again—ranging from the stuff of legend to absurd incidents that’ll make you laugh years later.
Now that you’re caught up let’s get back to what marketers can learn from D&D. Here’s a breakdown:
1. Storytelling
D&D and advertising rely on storytelling to engage the audience. Instead of just selling a product, make people care by focusing on the experiences and emotions associated with your brand.
2. Knowing Your Audience
Just like DM’s need to understand their players to craft a compelling narrative and throw appropriate obstacles in their way, marketers should have a strong understanding of their audience to anticipate their needs and preferences along the buyer’s journey.
3. Personalization
D&D allows players to personalize their characters and shape the story. Marketers can create personas to speak consistently to audience types. They can also create personalized content for these personas at various stages of the buyer’s journey.
4. Interactivity
D&D is highly interactive, with constant give-and-take engagement between players and the DM. The same goes for marketing. Engage your audience through various interactive platforms and channels and respond to their input.
5. Reward System
Just as DMs reward players with treasures and level-ups, marketers will benefit from rewarding loyal customers with exclusive content and incentives.
6. Flexibility and Adaptability
D&D players need to adapt to unexpected situations, and the same holds for marketers. Be ready to revise plans and adjust to changes to keep the narrative and engagement flowing.
7. Unleash Your Creativity
D&D requires strategic and creative thinking, and marketers can use this as a cue to think outside the box and create innovative campaigns that set them apart.
It’s incredible what these two things have in common, right? I hope this gives you some insights into how to infuse the spirit of the wonderful world of Dungeons & Dragons into your marketing strategies!
