R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), a leading global provider of marketing, packaging, print, and supply chain solutions, enabled Wizards of the Coast (Wizards) to supply key retailers with customized, launch-specific marketing materials. The partnership increased new product launch visibility and won the award for “Most Innovative Supplier of the Year” at the 2022 Toy and Game International Excellence (TAGIE) Awards.

Wizards is a family of studios specializing in building role-playing, trading card, and digital games for all genres of players. With a focus on community, they partner with more than 6,000 local game store retailers through the Wizards Play Network (WPN) to bring products like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons to players around the world.

The WPN includes a wide range of privately-owned stores that cater to a diverse player base, providing a unique challenge to product marketing. Wizards is continually exploring new solutions to create marketing materials that can be customized to the style and size specifications of each individual WPN store.

Through an existing partnership with RRD Packaging Solutions, Wizards entrusted RRD’s Technology Solutions Group to develop the solution. RRD designed and built a CustomPoint® online portal — the “Wizards Play Network Custom Marketing Materials Portal” — to support the ordering, production, and fulfillment of quarterly launch-specific marketing materials. RRD and Wizards are currently piloting the Custom Marketing Materials Portal in over 200 WPN Premium retail partners in North America.

“We designed the platform to provide seamless integration into the existing Wizards Account infrastructure, allowing each retailer to auto log-in and choose complimentary marketing materials (e.g., art posters or marketing displays) directly from the site prior to each new product launch,” said Al duPont, Chief Commercial Officer at RRD. “Retailers seeking additional marketing materials can also choose to purchase supplemental items beyond the complimentary pieces offered.”

Each quarterly launch has a designated ordering window where stores can access the available promotional material options, make their selections, and add customization. Once an order is placed, RRD handles the printing, kitting, and shipping of the collateral, ensuring it reaches stores in time for the launch.

Due to the highly sensitive nature of Wizards product launches, the portal includes the ability to manage access to the site and limits the addresses where materials can be shipped. Additionally, the portal tracks log-ins and provides detailed reporting to ensure confidentiality is not compromised and all custom text meets brand guidelines.

Wizards has promoted the WPN Custom Marketing Materials Portal to its retail partners through press releases, email campaigns, and other channels. The launch of the portal in Q3 2022 saw high retailer demand with over 150 orders placed, kitted, and fulfilled. The program has provided:

• The first-ever custom marketing collateral program designed for WPN retailers
• Increased in-store awareness of new product launches and Wizards product offerings
• Improved retailer marketing support
• Waste reduction due to marketing kits being produced based on specific store needs

To learn more about Wizards of the Coast visit www.company.wizards.com, and to learn more about RRD’s CustomPoint capabilities visit rrd.com/custompoint.

About RRD

RRD is a leading global provider of multichannel business communications services and marketing solutions. With 30,000 clients and 33,000 employees across 28 countries, RRD offers the industry’s most comprehensive offering of solutions designed to help companies—from Main Street to Wall Street—optimize customer engagement and streamline business operations across the complete customer journey. RRD offers a comprehensive portfolio of capabilities, experience, and scale that enables organizations around the world to create, manage, deliver, and optimize their marketing and business communications strategies.

​​About Wizards

Wizards of the Coast is a family of studios specializing in building role-playing, trading card, and digital games. Wizards creates entertainment that inspires creativity, sparks passion, forges friendships, and fosters communities around the globe.

In every pursuit their mission is to inspire a lifetime love of games.

With a focus on community, Wizards partners with more than 6,000 local game store retailers through the Wizards Play Network (WPN) to bring products like Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons to players around the world.

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