Blizzard has been a successful corporation. As a subsidiary brand of Vivendi Games, its success was so consistent and extravagant that it was given relative autonomy in the company. Other subsidiaries composed expansions for Blizzard games, like Sierra’s expansion for Diablo. By the time Vivendi merged with Activision, the Blizzard brand was so powerful that its name was not only placed, but emphasized, in the new corporate name. Not only that, but the Activision brand actually gains notoriety from its association with Blizzard. Blizzard has reached a point where it is to game culture what Disney is to American culture. It is an example for the industry, representing dedication, commitment, evolution, expansion, and understanding of world markets. This did not occur by accident. This was produced through a conversation between Blizzard and its markets in a trans-media narrative that took place through marketing campaigns, forums, customer service, social activities, and press relations. These were monetary investments that were aimed at communicating a message to the public: we are honest, we believe in games, and we have dominating competence in game design.
The most important thing about Blizzard’s recent success in PR is its investment in communications. Attempts in this area are not always successful, and it’s apparent that Blizzard has learned from earlier examples. Before World of Warcraft was released, Sony maintained an MMO called Star Wars Galaxies. Their attempts at consumer communications imploded and the community rioted. Every player in the game was affected by the poor decisions that came from their community relations. The situation got so bad that the CEO of Sony released a confrontational letter to players, and Star Wars Galaxies was remade and overhauled several times. Blizzard learned a lesson from this event: you have to listen to your community. And to listen you have to have ears. When World of Warcraft was released, Blizzard hired costumer service people in droves. They manage forums, they communicate with players having issues in World of Warcraft, they handle phones and send e-mails. They get yelled at and work to diffuse situations. Blizzard recognizes that winning these small battles is important.
There are, of course, large battles. Where Sony’s forum management destroyed their game, Blizzard’s forum management has been such a great success story that it should be of interest to everyone in the industry. It is certainly of interest to start-up companies like Riot Games, who have robust forum involvement. Online communities have issues of lacking civility, especially when they are large, anonymous and open to anyone with money like Blizzard’s. The main reason Blizzard has been so effective is rules and authority. They clearly outline their rules. They use moderators effectively, by not only confronting issues but also addressing them to the public. Various levels of Blizzard employees come and give the company a human presence the communicates their goals, and their commitment to community feedback. Two very integral aspects of Blizzard’s success have been listening to players, and the presence of Greg “Ghostcrawler” Street, the lead systems designer for World of Warcraft.
Blizzard employees often let players know on their forums that they read a variety of community sites and talk about the ideas inhouse. In addition to their community reps, they have the very important people who read everything and say nothing to players but say something to designers. Players provide tons of useful feedback to Blizzard in the form of suggestions, complaints, criticisms, math, and diagnostic tools. Blizzard proves that they access this information when they update the game. Skills such as Titan’s Grip, the ability to wield a two-handed weapon in one hand, appeared as ideas on the forums long before they appeared in the game. Ideas for barbershops originated from forum suggestions. Paid features such as server transfer and appearance change were implemented due to public demand. Blizzard knows it is important to treat their customers fairly after they dedicate their time. They also know to not crumple in the face of erroneous public demands and ultimatums.
Much of the reason for this is Greg Street, who, as a leading designer with a strong communication skill, posts with some authority on the messageboard. Importantly, he represents the thinking of the larger team he works with, in addition to his own viewpoints. He communicates his message, which is Blizzard’s message. “You are here to provide feedback. We listen to mature arguments. This place is not an outlet to be incendiary or immature.” He is able to have authority over the community in part because of the moderation team, but also because he provides players with direct communication with a high level developer. He posts about Blizzard’s reasoning. He addresses controversial issues and defends the design team’s position. He maintains a mature communication, and asks that you remain mature so that it will mutually benefit every one. Blizzard was able to recognize that the designer is a leadership position within the community and can enable communication. Other companies, many scrambling to make rock stars out of their top designers, should look to this leadership model of calm maturity.
Forums are only one aspect of Blizzard’s rewarding investment in public communications. Additionally they work with news outlets, encourage fansites and fan coders who provide tools to the community. They host Blizzcon and Starcraft public events, a plethora of contests for artists, writers, comics and screenshots. Because of all of these investments, their brand thrives.