Most board games start with market research.
This one started with a creative director, a real scientific theory, and a mission to eliminate plastic waste.
Here’s how it happened.
Meet Judson Cowan – the founder of Deep Regrets.
As a kid, Judson spent his nights jumping out at visitors in Netherworld, one of Atlanta’s biggest haunted house attractions. Years later, while working in advertising, he kept looking for creative outlets. He spent two decades in the industry, eventually becoming creative director at Skyscanner, but always found time for side projects. He composed music for video games like Rogue Legacy and created Dark Souls world maps that became officially licensed merchandise.
In 2020, he founded Tettix Games and found the perfect outlet for his creative energy. His first two Kickstarter campaigns for Hideous Abomination were hits, reaching over 4,000 backers. Then came Deep Regrets. Taking inspiration from Edmund Halley’s real scientific theory about a hollow Earth, Judson created a fictional world where dark creatures hide under the sea. The game challenges players to fish in haunted waters while trying not to lose their minds.
But Judson went beyond just creating an eerie game – he made it sustainable. Every piece is eco-friendly: wooden dice, biodegradable bags, even sugarcane storage trays. As he put it, “The seas have enough plastic in them already, we won’t be responsible for adding more.”
On July 1, 2024, with the help of my team at LaunchBoom, Deep Regrets launched on Kickstarter.
He raised £115,287 in just one day… and by the end of the campaign, he had made £637,077 from 13,950 backers who couldn’t wait to start fishing in haunted waters.
But how did Judson turn his unique vision into such a massive success? Well, it wouldn’t have been possible without a well-executed pre-launch marketing strategy.
Let’s dive into what that was.
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Deep Regrets’ pre-launch marketing strategy
Making over £637,077 in 30 days is no easy task.
And hitting that milestone takes a combination of different marketing tactics, with the most important marketing tactic being the pre-launch.
More specifically, building an email list of real buyers before you launch your campaign.
The best way to do that is by using LaunchBoom’s Reservation Funnel System.
Here’s how it worked.
1. Deep Regrets drove traffic with Meta Ads
Meta ads are the first step to build a pre-launch email list. This is how Deep Regrets drove traffic. They tested many different variations of copy and imagery, but here was their best performing ad.
2. Deep Regrets collected email addresses on a landing page
The landing page is where they explained their product and collected email addresses. The landing page looked like this:
By the way, this is a screenshot from our LaunchKit software that all LaunchBoom Creators get access to.
3. Deep Regrets collected $1 reservations
This is the most important step and why we call this funnel the Reservation Funnel. Deep Regrets had this VIP offer for putting down a $1 reservation:
- Get a mini-expansion, Lamentable Tentacles, at a reduced price.
The most important thing to know is that people who put down the reservation were way more likely to buy (30 times on average, in fact).
Deep Regrets got funded on day one
Leading into the launch, Judson had 1240 people who had put down a $1 reservation deposit. Remember, there’s no better predictor of launch success than the reservations.
And just like we thought, their launch was a success.
On the first day, they made £115,287.
By the end of the campaign, they had driven £637,077 in revenue from 13,950 new customers.
This was all possible because they followed the LaunchBoom system, which is laser focused on getting creators the highest return on their investment.
Because at LaunchBoom, our goal is not to launch a successful product, but to launch a successful business.
And Judson was pretty happy with the results.
Do you have an innovative product like Judson?
We can help you turn it into a real business (or dramatically grow your existing business).
We’ve worked with over a thousand product creators.
If you want to be the next one…
Click here to talk with a LaunchBoom expert.
