# Marketing Strategy and Fighting Games: Playing Footsies  - Author: [[jeffmatson.net]] - Full Title: Marketing Strategy and Fighting Games: Playing Footsies - URL: https://jeffmatson.net/blog/marketing-strategy-fighting-games-footsies/ ## Full Document [[Full Document Contents/Articles/Marketing Strategy and Fighting Games Playing Footsies.md|See full document content →]] ## Document Notes --- tags: - #marketing - #strategy - #gaming Author: Jeff Matson Source: Jeff Matson's Blog Reference: [Fighting Games and Marketing Strategy](https://jeffmatson.net/blog/marketing-strategy-fighting-games-footsies/) date created: 2024-09-25 10:30 --- # Title: Marketing Strategy and Fighting Games: The Footsies Approach ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: Jeff Matson draws an intriguing parallel between the marketing world and the concept of "footsies" from fighting games. He argues that marketing strategies, like footsies, require understanding your positioning, engaging cautiously but deliberately, and knowing when to strike or retreat. Matson emphasizes patience, knowing your audience, and being strategic with resources to achieve long-term success in competitive markets. ## 📖 Main Content: Jeff Matson uses "footsies" from fighting games as a metaphor to discuss effective marketing strategies. "Footsies" is a term that refers to the back-and-forth positioning between players in a fighting game, where timing, spacing, and patience are key to success. Matson applies this principle to marketing, suggesting that businesses need to be similarly strategic in positioning their brand and interacting with customers. He highlights the following key ideas: - **Positioning**: Like footsies, marketers need to carefully position their brand to maximize impact. - **Patience**: Effective marketing requires timing and the ability to wait for the right moment to engage. - **Resource Management**: Businesses must know when to spend resources and when to hold back, much like in a competitive match. ### 🗒️ Notes - **Footsies in Fighting Games**: Involves precise control of space and timing. - Patience and positioning are critical to success. - Wait for the right opening rather than wasting energy or moves. - **Marketing Parallels**: - Know your customer base and market position. - Don't rush campaigns; be strategic about when and how to launch. - Build a sustainable strategy, not just short-term gains. ## 📖 References: - Jeff Matson's Blog: [Marketing Strategy and Fighting Games](https://jeffmatson.net/blog/marketing-strategy-fighting-games-footsies/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1. Matson suggests that in marketing, much like in fighting games, the key to success lies in careful positioning and knowing when to engage with your target audience. Being patient and striking at the right moment is more important than making hasty moves. 2. Matson explains that successful marketing strategies, like a good match of footsies, require long-term planning and resource management. Businesses must be strategic about when and how to spend resources to maximize the impact and avoid burnout. ## 📰 Newsletter: This week, we're diving into the strategic world of marketing through a unique lens—fighting games! Jeff Matson compares the concept of "footsies" in games like Street Fighter to marketing strategies, showing how positioning, patience, and resource management are key to success. Whether you're launching a new plugin or enhancing your brand's presence, these lessons apply across the board. Don't miss out—learn how to "play the long game" in marketing! Check out the full blog post [here](https://jeffmatson.net/blog/marketing-strategy-fighting-games-footsies/). ## ✅ Action Items: As a Developer Advocate with a passion for WordPress and open-source, Matson's article offers insight into how strategic patience and positioning can be applied in open-source advocacy. Just as in marketing, fostering a sustainable open-source community requires careful resource management and knowing when to engage new contributors. For example, onboarding and sustaining contributors should be done thoughtfully, ensuring long-term involvement rather than rushing processes. These principles align with my goals of fostering transparency and inclusivity within the WordPress ecosystem. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - Strategic resource management in marketing increases long-term brand loyalty. - Businesses that apply the principles of "footsies" in marketing achieve higher customer retention. ### 📊 Methodology: - Conduct surveys of businesses that adopt long-term marketing strategies to assess customer loyalty. - Analyze market data to correlate resource management practices with brand longevity. ### ❓ Questions: - How can small businesses apply the concept of "footsies" with limited resources? - Are there industries where quick, aggressive marketing works better than a patient strategy? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Investigate the effectiveness of "footsies" strategies in different industries, such as tech vs. retail. - Explore how emerging digital tools can support the "footsies" approach in marketing. ### 💡 Implications: Research on this topic could provide actionable insights for marketers looking to implement long-term strategies, especially for small and medium businesses. It could also inform policy on resource allocation in advertising. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: - **Visual Learners**: Absent. The article would benefit from diagrams showing marketing strategy flow. - **Aural Learners**: Missing. An audio version of the article would enhance accessibility. - **Verbal Learners**: Strong descriptive language with metaphors, making complex concepts easier to grasp. - **Physical Learners**: Lacking. The article could include actionable marketing exercises. - **Logical Learners**: Present. The article uses a logical analogy of fighting games to marketing, explaining the cause-and-effect relationship clearly. - **Social Learners**: Limited. There could be community interaction prompts or discussion forums. - **Solitary Learners**: Strong. The article encourages reflection on personal marketing strategies. - **Naturalistic Learners**: Absent. No environmental connections. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - **Screen Reader Compatibility**: Needs improvement with alt-text for images. - **Keyboard Navigation**: No issues noted. - **Contrast and Readability**: Good, but could use better contrast for certain sections. - **Text Resizing**: Responsive and resizable without loss of functionality. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging) Assessment: - **Cultural Relevance**: Limited. Adding examples from different industries or markets would increase cultural inclusivity. - **Inclusive Language**: Mostly neutral but lacks gender diversity in examples. - **Neurodiversity Support**: The article is concise but could use more structured headings for improved clarity. ### ✅ Logical Validity: - **Strong Deductive Reasoning**: The analogy between footsies and marketing is a valid syllogism, reinforcing the strategic parallels between the two. - **Appeal to Evidence**: Somewhat weak. More empirical data to support the analogy would strengthen the argument. - **Circular Reasoning**: Absent. - **Red Herring**: None detected. ### 🔍 SEO Evaluation: - **Keywords**: Well-placed. "Marketing strategy" and "fighting games" appear naturally. - **Meta Description**: Clear, concise, and includes keywords. - **Title Tag**: Optimized and keyword-rich. - **Headers**: Uses H1, H2, and H3 effectively. - **Internal Links**: Limited. Could benefit from more internal links to related posts. - **External Links**: Lacking authoritative sources—adding references would improve credibility. - **Mobile Optimization**: Responsive and mobile-friendly. ## 🎯 Conclusion: Matson's comparison between "footsies" in fight ## Highlights - Learn when to poke, when to block, when to grab, and when to punish. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j8md5vvs32y5fjyvhjd5w2st)) - • Get a feel for what your opponent is about to do. • Understand how your opponent reacts to your actions. • Look for opportunities to punish. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j8md65jy1n9nfcxhfrbyq1v2)) - At some point, your opponent is going to call your poke with a counter play. If you’re not careful, you’ll get punished. You need to be ready to block at a moment’s notice. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j8md6d831k7jaax6zd3xjvbj)) - In fighting games, grabs are unblockable. They’re a great way to break through your opponent’s defenses and get some damage in, punishing your opponent for being too defensive. In marketing, this means finding ways to come at your target from a different angle that they weren’t expecting. It means finding ways to get your message in front of them that they can’t ignore. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j8md717hwn6wkp7eebt0vpsp)) - *Yes, “punishing” is a strong term for a marketing tactic. But it’s a fighting game term and we’re using fighting games as an analogy, so I’m going to use it. Get over it.* Punishing is about one thing - taking advantage of a situation to gain leverage. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j8md7b4jftyx04rrc3kqee09))