Written by Liam Bosecke

  

  

  

Introduction

Metazoo, as a brand, continues to expand it's little cryptid tentacles into as many industries as humanly possible. This marketing strategy of complete product saturation has worked to an extent. But who is it that's buying these products? Is Metazoo being played? Or is it being collected and speculated on? The answer to this will depend on where the money is flowing from at a brick and mortar level and how the brands creator, Mike Waddall, decides to position his company in the coming years.

It's my belief, that the brand has a long way to go before it's treated as legitimate by the average individual. Atleast when comparing it to it's rivals such as: Magic the Gathering and Pokemon.

  

Metazoo on Walmart Shelves

 

  

Kickstarter

One issue that the brand faces, which is being addressed even as we speak, is recognition. It may be hard to believe for someone reading this article, but the majority of the population that collect TCG's, have not heard of Metazoo. Mike has proven to be effective at networking and is continuing to expanding the Metazoo range of products. We have also recently experienced a second Kickstarter for Metazoo Playing Cards, which has raised it's own set of questions among some collectors.

   

  Metazoo Official Tournament via Discord

   

The overwhelming success of the Kickstarter seemed inevitable, given the amount of money pouring into Metazoo products globally. It also provided Mike the opportunity to flex the brands ability to garner unwavering support, as Metazoo rides "to the moon" as many pledgers stated in the comment section of the Kickstarter. 

   

Metazoo's overwhelmingly successful second Kickstarter Campaign  

 

One question that was raised with many is; why another Kickstarter? Mike does address this in an update post, where he stated that the Kickstarter was made as a way of "celebrating our origin story". There is nothing wrong with using the platform of course, but when established companies use it as a way to crowdfund new products, it isn't exactly the best look in my opinion. It was, however, a great way for Metazoo to prove to the world it's legitimacy as a brand, by having raw data as evidence. Throughout the campaign however, there were promises of stretch goals for the playing cards, which turned into paid add-ons. 

When we look at the backer to money ratio, we see that the average pledger spent $348.15. Given this data, it is safe to assume that a majority of the money flowing into this is from market speculators or storefronts (like us, who also pledged). None of this is bad in any way, it just isn't sustainable in the long term for brand legitimacy: To have products being propped up by market speculators.

  

Metazoo branded Footwear  

 

Metazoo as a 'Game'

Legitimacy for a trading card game comes from it's core: The game. Is anyone actually playing the game? A common question worth asking. Well, it's clear that people actually are playing the game, especially if you are located in the United States. But enough is not being done to promote this game to the players on a global scale. I can see that Mike has the games best interests at the heart of his decisions. However, it appears to not be the focus of the brand and if that is the case, then that is totally fine. Maybe Mike wants to work on developing the story, as appears to be the case with a Netflix series rumoured to be in the works. The game itself has some 'teething issues that need working out', according to one player I spoke to. But they believe the hype of all the collaborations between brands is covering up these issues.

The issue of stores not stocking Metazoo product is being negated by sheer volume of sales figures. If Mike can prove to distributors and stores that the brand is a money maker, then stores will stock the game and therefore, be exposed to more potential players as a result. It's a strategy that makes sense on paper, especially in the competitive and cut throat TCG market.

  

Metazoo x DIM MAK Clothing  

 

The Global Market

Unfortunately, in the wake of this strategy, Metazoo has shown that it doesn't spare much of a thought for those residing outside of the United States, which understandably, is where it's choosing to focus ninety nine percent of it's energy. Here in Australia, if you ordered anything from there official marketplace since the outbreak of COVID-19, the items were never sent, with no communication on their part as to what is happening. I can understand that it is hard to grow your company in one country, let alone the whole world, but these were issues that were easily avoidable.

We ran a poll on the Metazoo Australia Facebook Group which currently consists of 836 members and not a single person has received their products directly from the marketplace, with everyone's tracking numbers remaining inactive. If this is a strategy used to boost sales numbers when approaching potential business partners, it's a very dishonest act, when the right thing to do would be either: find a new courier or suspend services to Australia. The only exception being NFT products (we will get into this later). Consumers have had to get crafty to receive any of the exclusive products, such as forwarding from US addresses, or ordering through different storefronts which appear to have no issue sending to Australia.

  

Metazoo NFT  Roadmap

  

The NFT Club

I'm fascinated, personally, by NFT's having real-world utility. Metazoo have managed to successfully find a use for digital tokens. This move to utilize NFT's however, especially when it's the source of many online scams, has made the brand appear even less legitimate in the eyes of many. Especially if they are being messaged on discord by a scambot to invest in Metazoo NFTs, which has happened to myself on many occasions. The exclusive NFT club has caused alienation among many Metazoo fans, since they appear to receive special VIP treatment, including in the recent Kickstarter, where they receive special gilding on their cards, that wasn't announced prior and that isn't accessible by anyone else.

The launch of the NFT's was filled with disaster after telling many people that they were on the whitelist, when they weren't. Many people have been left jaded by the whole experience. 

  

Creating an echo-chamber of hype can work within your own community, but any outsiders looking in, can see that this doesn't address any of the outstanding issues.

  

The Discord

Metazoo has taken a completely new approach to it's engagement with fans. It has decided to communicate with people directly and frequently using Discord. Whilst this isn't a bad thing in the least, the way they handle any criticism within the discord is comparable to that of an authoritarian regime. Moderator's will ban anyone who voices anything critical about Metazoo, no matter how small. Creating an echo-chamber of hype can work within your own community, but any outsiders looking in, can see that this doesn't address any of the outstanding issues.

  

 Mike Waddall hosts Q&A sessions within his Discord

   

The discord server is a revolutionary way to engage with people directly and show to your audience that you are transparent about your decisions. It also allows people to feel or even directly be involved in the decision making process, which has never been done before. The way it's utilized however, I believe that needs some improvement i.e. not silencing those with legitimate concerns, if you truly want to see community involvement. The idea itself, is unique and something that truly sets it apart from other TCGs.

  

Conclusion

I don't believe Mike is making any decisions to intentionally do harm to his company or his fans. I think he just wants everyone to enjoy Metazoo as much as he does and show the world that Metazoo is a legitimate brand. Despite my personal gripes with certain business decisions, I do support the product and have a strong belief in having a diversified market of TCG's, that aren't solely deemed a success or a failure by large corporations.

Metazoo is a rags to riches story, a game which was chosen by the people. Despite some growing pains, it appears to be on the right track in terms of it's success. I just hope it doesn't become a soulless brand, selling itself out to boost sales figures every quarter. Behind the cracks of each decision that Mike is making for Metazoo will come severe consequences for it's future. Whether that be for the players and collectors, or for the investors.

We hope those decisions are for the best.