Infographic: Playing Card Projects on Kickstarter 2013

This #infographics is a supplement to our analytics post Playing Card Projects on Kickstarter 2013, which was updated with the 2013 actuals last week. I've specially created this for the awesome guys (and gal) at 52 plus Joker but would love to share it with all our readers here at Kardify as well. ^_^

This is my first attempt at creating an infographic (followed the theme of an existing one), so any feedback will be great. Please follow us on Facebook or Twitter to get the latest news, interviews and exclusive analytics.

Enjoy!

Case Study: LEGACY Playing Cards Relaunch?

After 3 successful projects- The Grid, The Grid 2.0 and Necronomicon, the guys from 4PM Designs (4PM) launched LEGACY at the end of Nov13. The project currently stands at $13.7k of their $15k goal with over 20 days remaining. According to our data provider Kickspy, the project is trending towards $21k (144% funded).

Everything seem to be on track. Project update on the Dec 27 gave the impression that everything is on track with a new add-on being offered. Then came the bombshell- On Jan 1, an update was sent out to all backers.

... As the Legacy struggles forward we have been considering different options for this project and our next. We have gotten plenty of good reactions to the decks and had big plans to continue the Legacy series as long as there was a demand for it. However, it doesn't seem that time is now. Before we go further, no we are not abandoning the Legacy decks. We love our Legacy decks and do plan to release it. We hoped to raise enough to have all the bells and whistles put on the decks but at the rate funding is going, and the costs of producing a minimum of 5,000 decks (2,500/2,500 each color), it makes things difficult. Instead of blatantly canceling then relaunching the project, we are presenting supporters of the 4PM brand some options, as new ones have been brought to our attention. Our planned KS deck to follow Legacy is planned for a February/March release. The reason why it would be launched so quickly is because of a business opportunity (which will make producing decks easier for us)...

The word struggle and cost caught my eye. From a backer's point of view, being 92% with more than 21 days remaining doesn't look like the project is struggling. Surely this project will be funded given the time. Also, why wasn't this decision made ealier?

In my opinion, this came down to inadequate planning, which indirectly affecting cost. Firstly, 4PM probably didn't expect the growth rate to slow drastically over the holiday period. Can't blame them seeing that their past 3 projects were all above the $40k mark. Also, LEGACY's day 1 stats were pretty impressive with over $6k raised within the first 24 hours. That's 44% of the funding goal.

Secondly, launching a project over the holiday period is always risky! For me, it's not about the money but more about the buzz and interest it generates. People do spend less time in front of screens during the holiday period and with all the traveling, family time and holiday sales that is going around in Dec, it is really hard to capture interest. I for one did not see the creator in the forums promoting the project or any social media marketing campaign. I tried contacting 4PM earlier in the campaign requesting for some non-watermarked photos of LEGACY for a write-up on Kardify to help spread the word. No reply.

Thirdly, 4PM were very ambitious to start with. Setting a lower funding goal to attract backers is great but what happens when it is just 5%-10% above goal? Potentially, 4PM would have to pay for and fulfill all of these products which costs above the funding goal leaving the bottom line in the red. The ideal scenario would be to have a lower goal and reaching upwards and above. Obviously, that is not happening fast enough. With all the extra feature 4PM planned to introduce over the course of the campaign- specialty inks, custom seals and tuck texturing, one would wonder why 4PM would take the risk and set the funding goal to the minimum.

Here's how 4PM describe the situation in terms of costing:

Fourth, on Christmas Eve, the Postal Regulatory Commission voted to hike the cost of sending letters, magazines, and packages by about six percent, starting Jan 26. Business groups are already howling over the above-inflation increases.This is unfortunate for projects launched before Dec 24 but one that is beyond almost anyone's control and hence, a higher funding goal is a good contingency.

Having said that, 4PM did the right thing by communicating and getting feedback from backers about the proposed options. Although not a popular choice, backers were able to vote for the deck colour they prefer for the relaunch.

Also, I applaud 4PM's choice to maintain the quality and their vision for the LEGACY deck. Not easy but at the same time, backers do share in the same vision and want to get their hands on this beautifully designed playing cards.

A decision to relaunch the LEGACY project will only hurt 4PM's reputation and trying to win backers trust (especially early backers) will be challenging. With more than 20 days to go, 4PM should give it a go and start focusing on social media marketing and maybe start introducing stretched goals to fund the extras and at the same time generate interest.

This classy deck will be printed by USPCC. Currently (if no relaunch) available in two colours- red and blue, the LEGACY deck will be Bicycle branded. Pledges starts from $23 for a pair of LEGACY deck. The first deck is due out to the backers by August 2014.

I am a backer and I want to see this project succeed! Fingers crossed.

Data provider:

Review: Max Playing Cards and Kardify on 2013 Crowd-Funding Part I

Max Playing Cards and Kardify is proud to present part one (of three) in our first annual insight into crowd-funding as a platform for funding playing card projects. We hope this will enlighten designers, creators, backers and collectors on crowd-funding projects in general.

In part one, we will go through our choice for the best and the worst Kickstarter campaigns in 2013 and in part two we will cover some details on how crowdfunding, particularly what works and what doesn't on Kickstarter.

There’s no doubt that crowdfunding has had an impact on the playing cards industry. As of December 2013, 257 projects were created and a total of $4.0m were pledged. For those unfamailiar with crowdfunding, in a nutshell, is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money (backers) to support projects initiated by other people or companies. The pool is used as capital for products and/or services offered as rewards to backers- only if the funding goal is achieved. Each projects have a variety of different pledge options (reward tiers) where larger pledge are rewarded with increasing incentives. 

KickStarter has been the most popular platform for crowdfunding a variety playing card projects. With Kickstarter, designers and artist can use this crowd-funding platform as a means of by-passing the typical distribution process of a major company. This is especially rewarding for talented creators with good ideas and design giving them control of their creation. For collectors and card enthusiast,  this platform enables them to interact with designers directly and playing card decks can be purchased at a reasonable price. Also, backers get more choices such as limited edition add-ons for early backers. Having said that, here are some of our thoughts on 2013 playing card campaigns on Kickstarter:

Best Kickstarter Campaign 

Max: I would say one of my favorite campaign is the Venexiana deck by Lotrek. I have chosen this campaign not only because the deck is cool. I have to admit there have been fantastic decks in KS. The reason for this opinion is due to the way the artist, Lotrek, has handled the campaign and the honesty he has demonstrated with his backers. 

Let me give you just an example of this honesty. He had the chance to take advantage of the campaign's success and get more money offering stretch goals but he preferred not to do it just because he wasn't sure if he would get the goal or not and he didn't want people go further their economical possibilities and not to be able to cope with their expectations due to insufficient funding; so he decided not to do it. Furthermore, the artist showed all the time a complete availability to answer every question and to clarify anything regarding the project. He also showed a deep respect for people like me or other bloggers that work to spread the voice about the art and the artist. 

Ivan: I agree, Lotrek's Venexiana project along with Lee McKenzie's Empire and Joanne Lin's Emperor project are amongst my 2013 favourites: excellent design, good communication during and after the project and smooth delivery. For me, Jackson Robinson's Federal 52 Part 2 campaign gets my vote for 2013. I absolutely love the original Federal 52! It is by far the most elegant deck of playing cards I've ever seen BUT trying to get my pledge amount right was confusing! Too many choice...! Branded, unbranded, gold cert, unbranded gold cert, shipping cost for multiple decks, international shipping... oh.. and new add-ons keep coming up! It was quite daunting! Imagine being a first-time backer.

Then came Federal 52 Part 2 where Jackson introduced the alphanumeric system for different reward tiers. With this system, backers can easily identify the various combinations for different reward tiers and calculate any add-ons they want from the provided pricing matrix. Clean and simple. 

The other thing I liked about the campaign was how Jackson brought backers on a journey with the project updates- giving insights to the design process, design inspiration, production process and even a vote for sicker design. This gave a sense of involvement and also a piece of mind to backers that things are actually moving along in the background.

Finally, I like how Jackson utilises crews in the comment section to answer any backer queries. This kept backers up-to-date with the project on a daily basis. Excellent strategy. I reckon Federal 52 Part 2 is the first, if not one of the first to utilise crew as spokesperson for the creator. Today, there are many playing card projects that emulate the crew strategy to stay on top of communications.

Having said that, what do you think are some of things a successful creator can improve on in 2014?

Max: I think the ambition is one of the worst things a talented creator can fall into and unfortunately some creators with a huge success have changed the spirit of the crowdfunding, developing fantastic and successful campaigns but with indecent prices creating not only unbalanced products but also an unscrupulous secondary market that has made many modest collectors cannot access them. I think that wouldn't have to be the spirit of a playing cards creator. Sometimes, this ambition makes the artist unavailable and even amnesic about his/her beginnings and origin. That's terrible.

I cannot consent to talk only about one creator and one project because I have been really lucky to build fantastic relationships with many of them and many have demonstrated that respect for backers and supporters I was talking before. Some of them (please, don't get mad at me if I forget someone.. I am too old to have a good memory) are Alex Willis, Bill Colins, Brian Denham, Caleb Gates, Chris Ovdiyenko, Dann Kriss, Elite PC staff, Jean Labelle, Juan Solorzano, Nat Iwata, Sean Whelan, Uusi and, as said before, many other firends and talented creators that make my writer life slightly easier and happier...

Worst Kickstarter Campaign 

Ivan: Let's move on to the other side of the coin. The worst Kickstart campaign for 2013 would be the Founders Playing Cards. The whole campaign was so well executed: sleek video, beautiful design, finished design prototypes and periodic progress updates. Even after the campaign ended, the creator was still giving 'progress' update. Little did backers know... It was an outright scam!  

Three months after reaching it's funding goal, communication just stopped! No one saw it coming. Disappointing! The creator actually launched the campaign with intention to scam as much money as he can. This was the first Kickstarter deck that I featured on Kardify. I am embarrassed by it. 

What's your's Max?

Max: Unfortunately, I cannot choose just one for the worst one. There are many campaigns that have been a disaster, badly handled and terribly delayed. In fact I am still waiting for decks that would have had to be delivered more than six months ago, and I have seen those decks available in online shops while many backers have not even received their rewards. But the very worst are those that are never fulfilled.

I have to say some of these projects have lead me to a kind of bankruptcy that has not allowed me to make bigger pledges in later projects. I have lost a lot of money in projects such as Asylum, Bicycle Core, Founders or Ultraviolet although this list is not at all the only projects I have not received anything yet... I think Kickstarter doesn't show any sensibility about this situation and they even get money from those projects that are never fulfilled, something I cannot understand from an ethical point of view as they become, in some way, accessory to scam backers. 

Ivan: Yes unfortunately this scenario is not uncommon on Kickstarter and there is nothing much any backer can do about it. I guess as backers, we can do our own due diligence by asking questions and doing some research. Sites like the Discourse, UnitedCardist and even Max Playing Cards and Kardify would be a good resource as well. ;)

It's your money. If you are not satisfied or not comfortable, cancel your pledge.

Most Engaging Kickstarter Campaign 

Max: I won't talk about a campaign, but about two themes: Lovecraft and Steampunk. I am not a fan of any of both, but I have been really surprised about the huge community around Lovecraft and all his work and also around the cultural movement of Steampunk. There have been this year more than a dozen decks dedicated to both themes, some of them even to both at the same time, and although not all have been finally funded most of them have been great successful projects. 

I think the most recent Steampunk Pirates by Nat Iwata, and both Cthulhu projects by Dan Criss and Shane Tyree are the ones I would say more engaging.

Ivan: Too many Cthulhu and Steampunk projects in 2013 I reckon!! Haha.. I almost expected to see purple Cthulhu or a white limited edition steampunk Cthulhu deck. Having said that, I have to say Call of Cthulhu: The Writhing Dark takes the cake. 

I love how Shane interacts with backers both on the campaign website and social media. Also a first on Kickstarter, the campaign has an Alternate Reality game that was run in parallel. Backers can unlock extra reward 'freebies' by completing investigations on a weekly basis. Very creative! It kept fans and backers involved while having fun at the same time. Finally, Shane organised several Google hangout sessions to answer questions, do some anthology reading and demonstrated how card design works. Brilliant!

Join us next month for Part II of our 2013 crowd-funding review.

Analytics: Playing Card Projects on Kickstarter 2013 [Updated]

What a great year it has been for playing card designers, collectors and cardists. 2013 has seen a surge of custom playing card decks, attributed predominantly to the use of crowd-funding as a platform. This platform is not only ideal for entrepreneurs, but for creators and designers to get their decks out into the world- bypassing the traditional method of distribution via a major company.  

Updated with 2013 actuals. Not much change from the numbers published mid-Dec. Most notable the success rate fell 1% to 44% due to increased number of unsuccessful and cancelled projects in December.

Click here for the Infographic.

 

Playing Card Projects

In term of numbers, here is what 2013 looks like on the popular crowd-funding platform Kickstarter:

Year-on-year, number of projects launched are as follows:

Unbelievable growth! Three years ago, only 2 playing card project was launched, Broken Spells ($6.7k) and The Portland Places: The Illustrated Card Deck ($720). Since then, the number of successfully funded projects have increased exponentially to 257 in 2013. An average of 9.4 projects was successfully funded per month in 2013 vs an average of 3 per month in 2012.

How did the 257 launched projects do?

Breaking it down by percentage, the success rate of a playing card project is 44%, on par with the Kickstarter average. At a more granular level, chart below shows each individual month of the year, by successful and unsuccessful projects.

There seem to be more traction for projects ending around the summer vacation period (Jun-Jul) and thanksgiving break in Nov.

Funding

How much money did the 257 projects raise? 

Interestingly, the most common playing card projects on Kickstarter are not blockbusters like The Name of the Wind ($589k) or Federal 52 ($149k), but smaller projects that raise $20,000 or less. 

An interesting fact is that the size of the goal has a strong correlation with funding success. The lower the pledge threshold, the more likelihood the project will succeed. This is somewhat obvious: set the bar lower, it becomes easier to surpass.

However, successful funding does not always translate to successful on-time delivery of pledged rewards. One of the main driver is under-funding. The minimum run at USPCC is 2,500 decks and it would be an incredibly tight fit for projects under $10k, taking into consideration other costs as well: Kickstarter fees (5%), Amazon payment's fees (3-5%), taxes, add-ons and shipping.

Setting a lower funding goal to attract backers is great but what happens when it is just 5%-10% above goal? Potentially, a creator would have to pay for and fulfill all of these products which costs above the funding goal leaving the bottom line in the red and be unable to fulfill their promise to good faith backers.

The ideal scenario would be to have a lower goal and reaching upwards and above. However forecasting this scenario will be a challenge and until the project clock runs down, one will never be too sure.

A funding goal of greater than $10k would be a good indicator. Higher goals means that attracting backers might be an issue. But gives you an idea though, the average final funding for all successful 2013 projects is $30k.

It is also worth noting, that generally speaking, the higher the funding goal, the more a backer needs to be convince that the creator can achieve that goal.

Having said that, the top 10 successful playing cards projects in 2013 contributed 51% to the overall funding of successful projects. Here is a look at the top 10 most funded playing cards project of 2013. Note that the most funded playing card project was The Name of the Wind ($589k), which took in a whopping $589k.

Backers

Of course none of these projects could have happened without backers. Approximately 98,924 backers were recorded across all projects. People who come to Kickstarter to back a project often go on to back other projects. Some back a lot of projects.

The generosity and support that these backers have shown to creators is incredible. This can be seen in the average amount pledged by each backer. Top 10 projects by backer numbers below:

On average, a backer would spend $42.67 on a successful project vs $28.08 on unsuccessful ones. This indicates successful projects have more add-ons and higher reward tier to draw more funds into the project.

A backer’s contribution to a project is much more than financial. For example, there are a number of backers (crew) who dedicate their time helping creators answer questions from other backers, this can be seen in the World's First 3D Metal and Mechanized Playing Cards  ($149k) and Sherlock Holmes  ($100k) projects.

Two-way communication contributes to the overall success of the project. Creators of successful projects such as Black Book of Cards ($85k), Call of Chutulu- The Writhing Dark ($116k) and Sherlock Holmes ($100k) regularly interacts with backers by giving them progress updates, backers poll to vote for design preference and even rare insights into the design and development process. 

With the emergence of crowd-funding platforms, backers are literally helping creators fulfil their dreams and showcase their talent to the world. What could be better than that?

What do you think of the stats? Let us know.

Click here for infographic.