Vampires & Demons | The Cursed Dead 1/12 action figures | Kickstarter Marketing Analysis and Opinion

[@UnparalleledUniverse]

Great video man! I really hope to see Cursed Dead get funded. I went all in and can’t wait to get them. Yeah it’s a lot of the same buck but each character feels different because of the designs and themes.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

Thanks amigo. I have a message. And my message is to invest in indie. Invest in the future. I encourage folks to not buy a Hasbro Dragonman and get a Cursed Dead instead. thanks for stopping by and watching.

[@UnparalleledUniverse]

@ I totally agree with that message. Except the part of not buying dragon man hahah I need that but yeah definitely less Hasbro,Mattel and funko and more Cursed Dead, Savage Crucible and Plunderlings!

[@kevindeantonio5582]

I've watched a couple of your shows, so far, and you're reviews are spot on, especially with this campaign. Using the same buck isn't new, but this is overboard buck use. And there really should be a basic figure offering, such as the Drinker figure. It really should be $25 to $30 each as it is a very bare bones offering, and then go from there. Anyway, thank you for your honesty review!

[@bengerman76]

These look pretty cool, the deluxe ones especially. But too much to take a chance on, lack of accessories really hurts. And i dont quite understand the concept/story aside from 'spooky'

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I think its just that, spooky filler characters.

[@eliteactionjoestudios8325]

Interesting sculpts for sure.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I think they work well for what they're going for.

[@robertsinfiniterealms1308]

Oh I had only heard the name and thought they had some association with Premium DNA, Good call on the name. I just browsed these and not sure if I am interested. I need to take a deeper look at it at some point.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

They kinda remind me of the Creature Replica figures I covered a month ago. These def would go into your Creeps and Beeps category.

[@robertsinfiniterealms1308]

@ True lol.

[@BrickSomething]

Appreciate the shout out and always good to hear different points of view, especially when they’re coming from a defined set of standards the way you lay out based on your marketing experience. Re: the tchotchke stuff, what do you think is the right balance for a campaign? I know you were rattling off a big list just as examples, but within this specific campaign, for a concrete example, would you recommend having one, two or three+ ancillary / brand building items in addition to their current figure offerings? Two+ at different price points? Etc. I ask cuz I’ve always been curious about the buyers that would be served by that kinda stuff because that’s not my personal approach. If anything, I appreciate a really low priced digital comic cuz I can get to know the world they intend for their figs to live in, but not so much a coin or a shirt. Thanks again for the food for thought. 2025 will be a busy year for Kickstarters and toy crowdfunding, and it looks to be horror-heavy. Should be a fun ride. Ultimately a good sign for the creative energy behind indie toys as a whole.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

Ahoy Brick! Happy New Year amigo. Good to see you. Remember on my marketing reviews that I'm the dumbest guy in the room. Always. And companies need to sell the dumbest guy or else the jokes on them. regarding auxiliary offerings. A new company like Toy DNA needs branding so they should be selling apparel like shirts and hats. Things that will get seen at cons and being worn on videos. Also stickers. Can't stress that one enough. Super easy to produce and fulfill. Someone who wants to support a new line but can't get into the $50 figure can always throw down $5-10 for a sticker sheet. And make a lot of them. Have 6 different sheets to collect. I threw $10 at Monstros doing exactly that. For companies doing world building like AWOK or Savage Crucible, they should be doing things like coins and cloth maps of the realm. Character artwork on trading cards and posters. And I have yet to see anyone do a cheeseball minifigure keychain tschotchke. Another good one is a convention badge/pass. You can make them yourself at Kinkos using their printers and laminators. All you need is a stack of luggage tags. $8 for 100 blanks. The balance between figures and how much extra offerings comes down to resources. Do as much as you can feasible take on. I have a more produced video coming this month covering everything and all regarding marketing for action figure crowdfunds. But I'm def looking forward to more episodes of N.E.W.S. Thanks for the comment, content and keeping me honest. ~mark

I like monster and fantasy toys more than other genres ,but these are not for me i really dont like the skinny bodies especially since it really only works for the vampires . At any rate i have my classic monster shelf complete already so i have no need for these . I like your takes i subbed . Even though its over i would be interested in your opinion on the Odious offering from Wade .

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I covered that when it launched but hadn't put together my formula for best marketing practices so it was more personal reaction. That campaign, because it funded, did influence my best practices guide. Quite a bit along with Savage Crucible. I liked the figure. I used to have big foot in my opening credits by coincidence. I did donate a paltry sum of $10 to Wade's campaign. To me, it won big on fun factor rather than value. His character seemed right at home with the wacky Mezco 1/12 Gomez figures. I thought Mezco should buy it off him. The campaign from a marketing point barely made it. He lacked variety and selection as well as missed having a low priced item for everyone to buy. I had to 'donate'. would rather have gotten some stickers or some other tschotcke. The figure has since become an underground fan favorite. People love to show off Odious in action figure photography. I'm glad it went somewhere. I'm skeptical he can do another one. I think its a one hit wonder as they say. But I'm wrong quite often and who knows? Maybe Wade's got something even better lurking around the corner.

I agree about it having that mezco look i think he took a lot of inspiration from their style ,which is ok but i dont buy them because the way they sell them is not something i like . Wait 2 or 3 years and out of nowhere they want their money or they cancel and rob your deposit . Got me one time with a Conan preorder ,never again . As far as odious i dont favor comic looking figures at all ,and yea the price was out there . Another example of a strong fan base supporting something that probably wouldnt be successful on its own . As far as savage crucible ,thats more my style since i like the animorph type of fig ,i have one from the first wave and ordered a werewolve and panther man from the newest one ,hopefully they hold up . I also want some of the creative beasts studios dino riders clones ,especially the smilodon and at least ond armored dino . Cool stuff

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I backed Creative Beasts and went deep on Savage Crucible. Both companies going in the right direction and will become major players in years to come. Only Mezco in the collection are 2 Gomez roach heads I scored off eBay for $30 so as to be in the club. Did you see the Brutal Realm kickstarter and thoughts on that?

Yea i ordered 3 off the brutal realm stuff ,the african and two more of the creature types . Hopefully they come out as good or better than the renders . I also ordered two of the legendari ,the sprite and the gold winged one . They taking awhile but thats the kind of toys i like . I hate spiderman and all the repaints most of the domestic companies put out . The tmnt stuff is annoying too dont like them either . I got a few joes ,just for someone for my monsters to fight ,im kind of liking the monster force stuff but havent bought any yet ,im.mostly trying to finish up my shelves instead of starting new ones . The hobby is not fun anymore ,the hunt is dead and its becoming too expensive and after all this time i got more toys than i can play with . I dont want to be a hoarder or just buying stuff for the next new thing ,im in the endgame now .

[@KensToys74]

I like the sculpt and posable features of the buck. The basic figure "drinker" would fit in with my horror section. I see them as vampire zombies as seen in the movie Daybreakers. The not Fly Baxter aka Dr. Crane looks damn good to me. I do wish they offered more options, in arms and hands, tentacle arms with a bendy wire, bat style wings.... etc.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I think it will fund but that's a lot of zombie bodies to shovel out the door before you get to $175K.

[@KensToys74]

@ActionFigureAtorium it seems to me that if you want to run a successful kickstarter campaign, you would copy the successful ones. Savage Crucible, for instance.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

@@KensToys74 Correct! I have compiled a Best Marketing Practices of Crowdfunding based on successful campaigns and Savage Crucible weighed in very heavy in the tabulations. They are in essence, the formula at this point. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZCzfZSsd5J-ic0

[@YakBat]

The same outdated torso for articulation made it an easy pass for me. Especially at the ridiculously laughable price tag.

[@johnnytiger]

that was exactly my initial reaction when you mentioned toys DNA. I thought, he means premium DNA toys, right? So yes, definitely confusing. Also, jockstraps, really? ROFL.

[@BonesEye42]

Maybe throw in accessory packs. Different head/hand sculpts/weapons, etc. $40 is a bit much, most dip your toe in figs are under $35. I’ll probably be in for 2. And as far as dumbest guy in the room, you have competition for that with me!!

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

There's a lot of paths and strategies Cursed Dead could go with the body and different configurations. And the profit might not be in the figures but in the extras packs. If you have time, check out this video I did on the Mork Borg Dread Risen figure. They got $108k for their creepy dead guy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnesh3d6i5KJkJIsi=-kj6H4D19_hLx-2Q

[@jontuell5338]

I wna start out by saying that I liked these fellas and they def seemed savvy to the toy industry. They spent around 2hrs on Abhi's show a couple nights ago. They answered every question that was thrown at 'em. I have a sneaking suspicion that they're pricing profit in here. I also wonder if they're fundraising for a larger wave/project that were not privy to. Most startups do a lot more w/ this amount of money. I couldnt agree more w/ impulse items. Im surprised they have no tees, hoodies, hats, etc. I asked about carded options/versions of the figs or retro 5poa versions of a couple of the figures and he seemed uninterested. 3POA & 5POA figures can be manufactured(for quality) in Mexico, Guam, CentralAmerica and for competitive prices. It might open up other market opportunities as well.

[@ActionFigureAtorium]

I believe they're good guys and are in it for the long haul. The ask seemed kinda big given the one buck but like you, I'm guessing they know they'll need extra $$ at some critical stage. Other campaigns sometimes run out of funds early due to poor planning. I'm still waiting for a campaign to offer that cheap figure on a keychain version that allows 100% of the population to buy in.

[@trafikant01]

Too much money, I just don't see the value.

[@yolk2112]

Yeah, zero chance this thing funds. And for something that’s supposed to be a “re-imagining” of historical monsters they sure don’t show much imagination or creativity.

[@makinitasilva2138]

Its just the same thing over and over real soft