Silence - The PR Style that Rarely Works

Sacadon

ZOS,

EDIT: Intent of this thread is just to see if ZOS can do anything to be more responsive to hot topics that overwhelm our forums with negative speculation and concerns.

---

We all know that you read the forums.

So, I would like to understand why your communication strategy and/or PR style is such that very large and concerning topics don't at least get acknowledged and minimally tell us that a response is in the works (legal or other).

IMO the style of silence (such as B2P, P2P, F2P) is very antiquated and old-school. Hard topics are not like wine. /bad-analogy

Minimally, you could get Paul and legal to approve something like this: "We've seen all your concerns regarding changes to our license model and will get a response back to you as soon as we possibly can. As you can imagine any answer to such questions requires a lot of time to formulate and get approved regardless of the answer. We cannot give you a date on when this response will be provided, but we will update you weekly on our progress even though our updates may be that we are not yet complete with our communication."

Anyone who reads the forums has to weed though 60% or more concern and negativity when a quick and clear response from ZOS could at least put those of us willing to wait for ZOS at ease until more information is available. Yes forums will be forums and there will always be some form of negative speculation. But the hands-off approach and letting the community go in churn tirelessly promotes speculation fear. Maybe someone way smarter than I knows that I'm wrong and the silence is the best PR route, but I don't believe so.

I'm to the point where I'll only read a thread if I see the green ZOS response tag. This is how you've been training and conditioning your community. I believe that eventually you will alienate most players from actively contributing in the forums and all that will be left will be those who like to share their worries or those few with a bullet proof state of mind.

At this point, I could go into how you're destroying what loyalty remains with players by keeping us in the dark...

Bloodfang

Constructive topic, much better than all Topics created today.
Sadly I doubt you're going to get an answer from ZOS.

Obviously their answer is -> Silence -> You can interpret that in 2 ways

liquid_wolf

I don't like what you posted because it just seems like an attempt to force the company to say something. It just reads like you want to shame or coerce them.

When the company has something to say on the matter, they will probably make their announcement. I'm pretty confident that is what "The Road Ahead" announcements are for... a time to address concerns, opinions, and reveal their future plans.

Right now the people don't have confidence. I don't really think an announcement saying "Trust us, everything is all right" would change that.

Besides... a company that jumps at every single rumor or demand seems like more of an organization that is reacting instead of planning.

kieso

tldr

Roechacca

I don't want F2P . I wrote a long thread about why it's bad . On the other hand I'm not going to loose my mind worrying about a lack of announcements over it . Nor would I try to demand a company to release an official statement . There's plenty of threads to voice concern . We don't need all these new ones .

Amsel_McKay

They are going to sell this game to another big company... like SOE... There was talk of this way way back when they secured funding, people want their investment back and the best way to do this is sell the title.

The "ESO 2.0" patch and console release date moving would be great for a company taking over the product. They get another "mini launch" and rights to the console release.

Think if Microsoft or Sony get the rights to the game they could launch it on their console only.

AlexDougherty

I think they are keeping quiet because they know people will interpret a denial as confirmation (God help us, people can be so thick at times).

Of course they can't use reverse psychology either, because people would interpret that as confirmation (which it would be, even if used ironically)

Which means they have two choices, say nothing (and have everybody complaining they aren't telling us anything) or say something (and have everyone say "well they were going to say that, weren't they?")

Sacadon

liquid_wolf wrote: »

I don't like what you posted because it just seems like an attempt to force the company to say something.

It just reads like you want to shame or coerce them.

When the company has something to say on the matter, they will probably make their announcement.

I'm pretty confident that is what "The Road Ahead" announcements are for... a time to address concerns, opinions, and reveal their future plans.

It was sincerely NOT my attempt to shame or coerce, but I do respect your take on it. My biggest issue with writing it was feeling as though I was wasting my time stating the obvious. But I've also learned that if there's a top-down related issue that's preventing people like @ZOS_GinaBruno‌ from getting answers to us, then giving them something they can use internally to move through the corporate sludge/red-tape may help them and us.

Agreed regarding the purpose of road ahead announcements... And clearly ZOS will talk when ready. However, I try very hard to NOT be bound and/or restricted by how things are currently. So I ask for and go after what I want, even more so when told "no" xD.

liquid_wolf

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

They are going to sell this game to another big company...

Zenimax and Bethesda own the license to the Elder Scrolls series. Selling the Elder Scrolls Online MMO, without granting the company creation/manipulation rights of the lore and franchise as a whole would be pointless. What would a buyer do with the product?

Zenimax is privately funded, and doesn't suffer from the same investment problems as other publicly funded companies. I guess it would be more correct to say that investors are less likely to have a knee-jerk reaction like you see with other publicly traded companies.

The amount of money they make on Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and other titles is probably enough to help ESO keep going for at least a little bit longer.

Yeah... it might be costing them a lot, but the company has probably planned for that.

Selling the product is probably not high on their list of possibilities.

Sacadon

kieso wrote: »

tldr

Curious, why say tldr at all if you can't or choose to not read the post?

Heruthema

I personally would prefer that they put all their efforts into getting 1.6 out to the PTS, then having them running around trying to appease everyone with a statement that may or may not answer the questions right now.
There is plenty of time to answer between 1.6 and 1.7. An answer would be nice but it is more important that we finally get to see what 1.6 is all about and stop ALL the speculations about what it will or wont do.

Amsel_McKay

liquid_wolf wrote: »

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

They are going to sell this game to another big company...

Zenimax and Bethesda own the license to the Elder Scrolls series. Selling the Elder Scrolls Online MMO, without granting the company creation/manipulation rights of the lore and franchise as a whole would be pointless. What would a buyer do with the product?

Zenimax is privately funded, and doesn't suffer from the same investment problems as other publicly funded companies.

The amount of money they make on Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and other titles is probably enough to help ESO keep going for at least a little bit longer.

Yeah... it might be costing them a lot, but the company has probably planned for that.

Its why AT&T bought the iphone rights... they got how many new customers? If Sony of Microsoft bought it they could bring the game out on XBOX or PS4 as a unique game... ESO does have buying power to bring people from one console to another.

Sacadon

Heruthema wrote: »

I personally would prefer that they put all their efforts into getting 1.6 out to the PTS, then having them running around trying to appease everyone with a statement that may or may not answer the questions right now.
There is plenty of time to answer between 1.6 and 1.7. An answer would be nice but it is more important that we finally get to see what 1.6 is all about and stop ALL the speculations about what it will or wont do.

Yeah they do seem strapped for resources and I want focus on my areas too. However, I doubt the PR and communication groups are critical path resources for the releases. Exception being Gina who's typing war and peace length patch notes for us (ty btw)

liquid_wolf

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

Its why AT&T bought the iphone rights... they got how many new customers? If Sony of Microsoft bought it they could bring the game out on XBOX or PS4 as a unique game... ESO does have buying power to bring people from one console to another.

That is completely different because AT&T didn't BUY the iPhone... they purchased the right to distribute and allow their users access to the device.

You are talking about selling the entire game, and a portion of the franchise to some other company.

There is no reason to do that when they could release another Fallout or Elder Scrolls game to make money.

You don't sell your farm because a portion of the crop is struggling. Particularly when you can recover from the loss very easily.

Sacadon

roechacca wrote: »

I don't want F2P . I wrote a long thread about why it's bad . On the other hand I'm not going to loose my mind worrying about a lack of announcements over it . Nor would I try to demand a company to release an official statement . There's plenty of threads to voice concern . We don't need all these new ones .

Agreed on "don't need", if being pedantic, but IMO there's value in hearing from all even when largely repetitive. Thankfully forum post are not restricted to "need" and/or approval from others.

Btw, Not sure how it reads as a demand but will re-read to see what I missed.

Amsel_McKay

liquid_wolf wrote: »

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

Its why AT&T bought the iphone rights... they got how many new customers? If Sony of Microsoft bought it they could bring the game out on XBOX or PS4 as a unique game... ESO does have buying power to bring people from one console to another.

That is completely different because AT&T didn't BUY the iPhone... they purchased the right to distribute and allow their users access to the device.

You are talking about selling the entire game, and a portion of the franchise to some other company.

There is no reason to do that when they could release another Fallout or Elder Scrolls game to make money.

You don't sell your farm because a portion of the crop is struggling. Particularly when you can recover from the loss very easily.

Zenimax is so cheap for a company like Sony or Microsoft to buy, if they want it they will get it. They could even buy the rights to ES and Fallout. What an amazing idea for microsoft they could make it PC and Xbox only and buy a huge chunk of the gaming industry with little time on their part.

ESO cost 300million to make, if its not making the investors their money back like they thought I can see them thinking about selling considering they could make 2 or 3 times the amount of money on this game alone.

kieso

Sacadon wrote: »

kieso wrote: »

tldr

Curious, why say tldr at all if you can't or choose to not read the post?

I'm a jerk like that

Faugaun

Why, so much speculation?....Zos says nothing, therefore it is apparent Zos doesn't feel there is anything to say....Zos never mentioned anything about considering/going to F2P....Why should Zos speak on every little rumor to ever hit the forums? Keyword 'Rumor' ....

Zos had a $300 million budget meaning they are not repaying borrowed money, all sub's are profit (after operating expenses)
http://www.zenimaxonline.com/faq.html

They are hiring
http://jobs.zenimax.com/locations/view/7

They continue to spend lots of money on the game as evidenced by content releases and still pursuing new platform releases (Xbox, psn).

All of these indicate a company that's happy with their current position.

Don't mess with what works. Well it seems to be working. Maybe less speculation?

Roechacca

Sacadon wrote: »

roechacca wrote: »

I don't want F2P . I wrote a long thread about why it's bad . On the other hand I'm not going to loose my mind worrying about a lack of announcements over it . Nor would I try to demand a company to release an official statement . There's plenty of threads to voice concern . We don't need all these new ones .

Agreed on "don't need", if being pedantic, but IMO there's value in hearing from all even when largely repetitive. Thankfully forum post are not restricted to "need" and/or approval from others.

Btw, Not sure how it reads as a demand but will re-read to see what I missed.

I would consider 5-6 new threads a day on the same subject a little demanding . Just a little ...

Slurg

I suspect ZOS staff members simply have more important things to do than react to every single one of the umpteen hundred almost identical wild rumor "pay attention to me" threads that get posted every day.

In the threads they do respond to, they often tell us they hear our concerns and will provide us more information when it is available. And they eventually do.

Heruthema

Sacadon wrote: »

Heruthema wrote: »

I personally would prefer that they put all their efforts into getting 1.6 out to the PTS, then having them running around trying to appease everyone with a statement that may or may not answer the questions right now.
There is plenty of time to answer between 1.6 and 1.7. An answer would be nice but it is more important that we finally get to see what 1.6 is all about and stop ALL the speculations about what it will or wont do.

Yeah they do seem strapped for resources and I want focus on my areas too. However, I doubt the PR and communication groups are critical path resources for the releases. Exception being Gina who's typing war and peace length patch notes for us (ty btw)

If they are not then that is a problem. PR that is not validated by the production group is a prescription for disaster.

Sacadon

kieso wrote: »

Sacadon wrote: »

kieso wrote: »

tldr

Curious, why say tldr at all if you can't or choose to not read the post?

I'm a jerk like that

DarthRupert

@Sacadon‌ Thank you for this well constructed post.
It's certainly something I've let them know before as feedback. Even a simple "we are aware of the problem/situation/issue players are having" (which they occasionally do) help out a lot. I honestly think they've gotten better at letting us know they've at least seen the post.

I learned back in Beta their PR style so I never really worry, but I think many people either don't have the time or experience to recognize ZOS's paterns. This results as OP said into negativity and impatientce from the community.

I do worry about the forums, but know people who play that are unable to login to them any way. This is due to the post-launch mass bans for exploits. Even if the forums became barren (hopefully they dont) at least we could move to reddit where 50% of the ESO discussions take place.

Sacadon

roechacca wrote: »

Sacadon wrote: »

roechacca wrote: »

I don't want F2P . I wrote a long thread about why it's bad . On the other hand I'm not going to loose my mind worrying about a lack of announcements over it . Nor would I try to demand a company to release an official statement . There's plenty of threads to voice concern . We don't need all these new ones .

Agreed on "don't need", if being pedantic, but IMO there's value in hearing from all even when largely repetitive. Thankfully forum post are not restricted to "need" and/or approval from others.

Btw, Not sure how it reads as a demand but will re-read to see what I missed.

I would consider 5-6 new threads a day on the same subject a little demanding . Just a little ...

that make's sense... I didn't consider it from that perspective, thx

liquid_wolf

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

Zenimax is so cheap for a company like Sony or Microsoft to buy, if they want it they will get it. They could even buy the rights to ES and Fallout. What an amazing idea for microsoft they could make it PC and Xbox only and buy a huge chunk of the gaming industry with little time on their part.

ESO cost 300million to make, if its not making the investors their money back like they thought I can see them thinking about selling considering they could make 2 or 3 times the amount of money on this game alone.

Zenimax Online Studios is a sub company of Zenimax Media... who owns:

Bethesda Game Studios, established in 2001.
ZeniMax Online Studios, founded in 2007.
id Software, acquired in June 2009.
Arkane Studios, acquired in August 2010.
Tango Gameworks, acquired in October 2010.
MachineGames, acquired in November 2010.
Battlecry Studios, founded in October 2012.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZeniMax_Media

As well as a number of other organizations.

The parent company would never sell off their namesake(ZENIMAX Online Studios) in such a fashion. They would sell off Tango Gameworks, or Arkane Studios first.

To buy ESO, they'd likely have to buy the entire parent company. That isn't going to happen since Zenimax Media has been expanding their products lately.

Read up a bit more about the structure of the company and what they have been doing.

Sacadon

DarthRupert wrote: »

@Sacadon‌ Thank you for this well constructed post.
It's certainly something I've let them know before as feedback. Even a simple "we are aware of the problem/situation/issue players are having" (which they occasionally do) help out a lot. I honestly think they've gotten better at letting us know they've at least seen the post.

I learned back in Beta their PR style so I never really worry, but I think many people either don't have the time or experience to recognize ZOS's paterns. This results as OP said into negativity and impatientce from the community.

I do worry about the forums, but know people who play that are unable to login to them any way. This is due to the post-launch mass bans for exploits. Even if the forums became barren (hopefully they dont) at least we could move to reddit where 50% of the ESO discussions take place.

I forgot about the post launch, but remember now how chaotic it was initially. It's good to know that we've a large group of players that are reasonable too. Maybe a little concern is weeding out those who are not. We've lost some great players in PvP, but doubt that was due to forum chaos.

Sacadon

Heruthema wrote: »

Sacadon wrote: »

Heruthema wrote: »

I personally would prefer that they put all their efforts into getting 1.6 out to the PTS, then having them running around trying to appease everyone with a statement that may or may not answer the questions right now.
There is plenty of time to answer between 1.6 and 1.7. An answer would be nice but it is more important that we finally get to see what 1.6 is all about and stop ALL the speculations about what it will or wont do.

Yeah they do seem strapped for resources and I want focus on my areas too. However, I doubt the PR and communication groups are critical path resources for the releases. Exception being Gina who's typing war and peace length patch notes for us (ty btw)

If they are not then that is a problem. PR that is not validated by the production group is a prescription for disaster.

True on the validation of messages, but typically this is done by development leadership and not heads-down developers and therefore shouldn't interfere with release schedules. Otherwise they really do have a problem.

Bloodfang

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

liquid_wolf wrote: »

Amsel_McKay wrote: »

Its why AT&T bought the iphone rights... they got how many new customers? If Sony of Microsoft bought it they could bring the game out on XBOX or PS4 as a unique game... ESO does have buying power to bring people from one console to another.

That is completely different because AT&T didn't BUY the iPhone... they purchased the right to distribute and allow their users access to the device.

You are talking about selling the entire game, and a portion of the franchise to some other company.

There is no reason to do that when they could release another Fallout or Elder Scrolls game to make money.

You don't sell your farm because a portion of the crop is struggling. Particularly when you can recover from the loss very easily.

Zenimax is so cheap for a company like Sony or Microsoft to buy, if they want it they will get it. They could even buy the rights to ES and Fallout. What an amazing idea for microsoft they could make it PC and Xbox only and buy a huge chunk of the gaming industry with little time on their part.

ESO cost 300million to make, if its not making the investors their money back like they thought I can see them thinking about selling considering they could make 2 or 3 times the amount of money on this game alone.

No game in the world costs that much to develop. ESO is at best around ~€100mil.

The record is held by: Destiny, with an estimated cost of €421 million (And even that is largely marketing not development).

Even SWTOR didn't cost more than €150mil to develop.

Gyudan

Faugaun wrote: »

They are hiring
http://jobs.zenimax.com/locations/view/7

The list of jobs hasn't changed for months, apart from the "community director" offer that disappeared from the list.

Solanum

Considering how the community tends to react, I can imagine they would first like to be absolutely certain what direction they're going, and how and when and why they're going in that direction before telling the community.

nerevarine1138

Slurg wrote: »

I suspect ZOS staff members simply have more important things to do than react to every single one of the umpteen hundred almost identical wild rumor "pay attention to me" threads that get posted every day.

In the threads they do respond to, they often tell us they hear our concerns and will provide us more information when it is available. And they eventually do.

This.

Silence is a great PR move when it's a response to absolutely inane posts. It isn't their job to respond to every trivial thread that some conspiracy nut posts in these forums. Their job is to tell us about what's actually happening with the game.