Dr. Neil Stacey • 01 Jun 2016

When Dr. Neil Stacey was a kid he figured he’d be a scientist when he grew up. Now he’s a scientist and has no idea what he’ll be when he grows up. He currently leads a bio-fuels research project at Wits University and resides in Johannesburg, which isn’t as bad as people say.

Top Deck recently played host to something of an experiment in external sponsorship for Magic the Gathering. It partnered with Sweatshop Press to post the largest cash prize in SA Magic’s history, at a tournament doubling as a book launch for ‘Kill Time or Die Trying’.

As a Magic player I love the idea of outside money pouring into the game. I like big tournaments, and I like cash prizes. For players it’s a win-win. With sponsored prize support they walk away slightly richer than when they arrived, on average. Generally, that means they walk away happy. Generating that sort of positivity normally costs a store money, but a modest cash injection can lift an event past that fine line between ‘Lousy Prize Support’ and ‘Making a Loss.’ This brings the venue valuable publicity and ideally, the boost in attendance needed to come out ahead on the day.

As the author of the book in question, I was a bit more sceptical. I have a vested interest in the financial success of the venture and there is a key economic principle that applies to just about everyone outside of governments and hedge funds: Money has to come from somewhere. So the sustainability of this as a sponsorship model hinges on a simple question. Was it worth it for the publisher?

Based on this trial run, the short answer is an emphatic yes. One of the biggest challenges involved in running a book launch is getting people to actually show up, and a major tournament guarantees feet through the door. Using a venue already set up for the same tournament also cuts out a lot of the other work and expenses involved in a book launch. Top Deck also happens to be a better venue than you could expect to rent for the sponsorship amount fronted by the publisher.

On the day, tournament attendance and book sales both exceeded expectations, putting Top Deck into the black through entry fees alone while paying back a good chunk of the publisher’s investment right on the spot. Add to that the value of publicity among a key demographic and the whole endeavour looks like tremendous value for money from the publisher’s side. Sponsoring Magic tournaments might actually be a pretty good way to spend a marketing budget.

Perhaps most striking about this arrangement is that the sponsor has nothing whatsoever to do with the game of Magic. The benefit of this is that it brings in money from an external source rather than squeezing it out of Magic players one way or another. In return, the publisher gets to leverage the tournament scene as an access point to a broader audience. Putting books in the hands of Magic players leads to sales among their friends who don’t play Magic, something that is wildly unlikely for card sleeves or binders, for instance. At the same time, people coming to a store specifically for a book launch raises the profile of the game out in the general population.

Everyone involved comes out ahead, which is the very definition of a good business model. Sweatshop Press intends to launch two titles per year with similar events, and I wouldn’t be too surprised to see others try similar initiatives. All of which is good news for Magic players.

Ed - Kill Time or Die Trying is now available for purchase from both the Top Deck online store and Amazon.