The first time I stopped by to check on the Taza interactive display, two college-age kids were playing with their phones next to the counter. They said they were from MIT.
After a few minutes, the paper granite stone spun, and they high-fived each other.
This gave me a sense of hope.
A false sense of hope, it turns out. Because very few people engaged with the device over the next few weeks:
- Not when I took advantage of a Google Adwords promotion and used a coupon code to purchase $100 worth of Google Adwords.
- Not when I promoted a Twitter post about the game.
- Not when I promoted a similar Facebook post.
Was I way out of my league? Apparently I didn't understand game design, retail marketing, or online advertising.
I felt like one of the felled Colonists in my Fun Pak (above).
It didn't get any better. About a month after I dropped off a starter supply of twenty Fun Paks, I stopped by the Taza Chocolate Bar to check how many they had left.
"I’ve got just three here," the helpful young woman at the Taza counter said, rummaging around.
I made a quick mental calculation: Around 17 Fun Paks distributed? Not bad!
"Oh wait," she suddenly said. "Here’s another stash of them."
She started counting them out: 1, 2, 3... to 16.
So... one (1) claimed? And, realistically, that could be somewhere, misplaced, under the counter.
What's going wrong?