money on things that will make the business better. The corporate side also has a very clear and focused vision for what the business is and how it should run. As the investors website reminds us: Games Workshop is a manufacturer first and foremost. Everything else it does is with the purpose of making and selling the best fantasy miniatures in the world. The retail stores are just the front end of the manufacturing business. LESSONS WE CAN LEARN There are just so many things we can learn from the rise of Games Workshop and the success of the Warhammer brand. The first and most important lesson is quite simply that – to learn lessons. The infamous social media disaster of 2006 heralded the start of a slow death spiral for the company. Thankfully the company managed to realise its mistake in time and has since turned its fortunes around with some fantastic community engagement across all manner of different platforms. Of course, this is not to say things are easy for Games Workshop. There are still many challenges on the horizon. One of the biggest is how to manage its IP. It has developed a reputation for being quite strict with its IP controls, sending cease-and-desist letters to many content creators online. While the company is happy for fans to engage with its products, it does have to protect its brand – especially from unscrupulous individuals who may try and profit from the IP, or distort the IP and potentially damage the brand longterm. Piracy is another potential threat. While home 3D printing is still a relatively niche interest, already there are numerous copies or imitations of Warhammer products available via various file exchanges online. While Games Workshop can attempt to crack down on as many imitator goods as possible, if enough people decide to ignore official products and print their own imitations then it could potentially harm the business in the long term. To counter this, the company focuses on the thing that it knows best: the design and manufacture of worldleading fantasy miniatures. For as long as Games Workshop remains at the forefront of miniature manufacturing globally, there is little chance that the company will suffer too much in this regard as, quite simply, the product is just far too good. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 41 Dr Mike Ryder is a Lecturer in the Department of Marketing, where he is Programme Director of the MSc Digital and Social Media Marketing. His website is www.mjryder.net m.ryder@lancaster.ac.uk
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