The Best Little Deck They've Never Heard Of

No, this isn't the story of that elusive, archetypal, original Tarot, designed by some mysterious magician centuries ago. Instead, it's the story of my own Bright Idea Deck -- and it's a cautionary tale, especially for those of you who are interested in designing and publishing your own decks someday.

Here are some insights into the little deck that could have -- and should have -- found a larger audience than it ever did.

After more than a year on the market, the Bright Idea deck is selling pretty well, considering it gets zero advertising and you really can't get it anywhere on the planet except Amazon.com.

The concept behind the deck was pretty radical for its time. In an effort to broaden the appeal and enhance the practicality of Tarot, I wanted to create cards that could be used any time, anywhere, by anyone. Knowing how critical creative, out-of-the-box thinking can be in the workplace, I also wanted to design a deck that would be perfectly at home in in the working world, from small businesses to the corporate cubes.

People who own a copy constantly tell me it's one of their favorite decks, and I still get email from enthusiastic new users who ask, "Why didn't I hear about this deck when it first came out?" From the beginning, though, the deck was stacked against the Bright Idea Deck. Here are some reasons why so many people have never made a connection with this great little set of cards:

1) The Shelving Strategy. Llewellyn is a great publisher, and the fact they would take on a project like this one says a lot about their willingness to experiment with new directions for Tarot. But, as a metaphysical publisher, Llewellyn's contacts are, of necessity, with the people who make buying decisions for the New Age sections of the big chain bookstores.

As a result, despite the fact the deck was tagged with the shelving label, "Business / Self Help," the Bright Idea Deck wound up in the Tarot section -- not the business section -- of your local Border's Books. Tarot people who spotted it didn't see the word "Tarot" on the packaging ... and passed it by. Business people who might have embraced it were several aisles away, browsing business books ... not New Age titles.

As a result, the deck never really found its audience. Slowly but surely, the chains gave its shelf space over to other products, and opportunities to reach the mass market faded.

Lesson learned: As part of the product proposal process, develop strong ideas as to where your product belongs in the chain stores, and ask straightforward questions about how the publisher will get it there.

2) The Name. The early working title for the Bright Idea Deck was, "The Idea Deck: A Brainstorming Tarot." I chose that name with an eye toward the online shopping experience. People shopping for a Tarot deck on Amazon.com type in "Tarot." People shopping for a brainstorming tool search on "Brainstorming." In my opinion, the best way to make sure folks connected with the deck was to put both "Tarot" and "Brainstorming" in the title.

To this day, people still ask me about the deck's title, and why I chose to go with "Bright Idea Deck: Breakthrough to Brilliance." Most folks are pretty surprised to find out that the final name for a deck usually comes, not from the designer or creator, but from a marketing team.

And, in some cases, that can be a good thing. Zach Wong's Revelations Tarot was originally titled the Adflatus Tarot. From what I've read, Zach was pretty passionate about hanging onto "Adfllatus" as the name of the deck. He must still be, as, on the official site, he continues to call the deck the Revelations (Adflatus) Tarot.

Clearly, though, from a marketing standpoint, that name would have been disastrous. The general public doesn't speak enough Latin to know that adflatus means "breath" or "inspiration." Most people would have taken one look at The Adflatus Tarot, associated adflatus with flatulence, and dismissed the product as a fart-themed novelty deck.

So: renaming The Adflatus Tarot made sense. Unfortunately, the "Revelations Tarot" is a name with problems of its own, not the least of which is the fact that the deck has nothing whatsoever to do with the Book of Revelation. The deck's most distinctive feature -- what sets it apart in a marketplace glutted with Tarot decks -- is its unique, double-headed art, which looks very different when a card is rotated 180 degrees. The best possible name for the deck -- whatever it might be -- would communicate that unique feature at a glance.

But I digress. The Bright Idea Deck: Breakthrough to Brilliance was the marketing team's choice for my deck. For all the facility the name offers (the deck, after all, is designed to promote breakthroughs in thinking and put users in contact with their own inner brilliance), it doesn't make the deck easy for people shopping for Tarot or brainstorming tools to find. Let's face it: if you're curious about brainstorming or Tarot, you probably aren't typing "Breakthrough to Brilliance" into Amazon.com's search engine.

Lesson Learned: As a deck designer, be aware that a marketing team (whose job is, after all, marketing your deck) may be more in touch with the market, and may, as a result, be better positioned to name the deck than you are. That said: in case they saddle you with a name you really think will hurt sales, try working a "title approval" clause into the contract. Short of that, be prepared to abandon or orphan a product that is being titled or marketed in a way that makes you uncomfortable.

3) The Marketing. Especially early on, Llewellyn's publicity team did a fine job of sending out the deck to reviewers and media types. We even got a great write-up in one of Oprah's magazines. The Bright Idea Deck, though, is one of those products that's hard for the general public to understand ... without seeing a demonstration.

I tried to do my part for the deck, too, building a basic website for it and creating a multimedia demo we used at the occasional book fair. If the deck came out today -- just a year or so later -- we'd have so many more creative options for promoting it, including:

- demo videos on YouTube.com and Google.com

- a Bright Ideas podcast, packed with brainstorming applications

- a series of e-books, like Bright Ideas for Authors or Bright Ideas for Business People, featuring applications for specific audiences.

But these things weren't practical to produce even as little as a year ago ... and now, with the deck creeping into what pundits now call the "long tail" of its existence, the wisdom of devoting time and energy to campaigns like these is questionable at best.

Lesson Learned: Ask your publisher to specify exactly how your deck will be marketed, and have that marketing plan (with specific milestones and dates) included as part of their obligation in the contract. If you feel your deck will need attention beyond the usual routine, define what you think should be done, and ask the publisher to comply.

Despite all these challenges, though, many of you reading this have actually found and purchased the Bright Idea Deck! I'd love to hear from you -- what you like about it, what you don't like about it, where you found it. If you get a chance, please drop me a line, and let me know about your experiences with what one woman recently called, "the best little deck you've never heard of."

Comments

[Amanda]

When I go to search for a tarot deck (or related deck) I use keywords: tarot, deck, cards, and oracle. I actually have heard of the deck and saw it for a very reasonable price at a discount new age bookstore. Although I have not purchased it, I do remember seeing it as one of their better selling items and, if I had the money to purchase one myself, I would probably go ahead and do it.

[Menno]

I am not sure if I completely agree with you. I have the deck on my bookshelf. And I absolutely do like it. But I have found it when I was searching the internet for creativity/brainstorming tools. A completely different route than the Tarot one. And although I do have several Tarot decks, I would not have bought The Bright Idea Deck if it was labeled as Tarot. Which would have been an absolute loss on my part. Your idea's on using a Tarot deck have renewed my interest in my other tarot decks. The fact that it was available at Amazon's made it available to me over here in Holland.

[Robert Goulet]

I discovered the deck via Llewellyn's email about a sale: http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/sale.php?p=8

I ordered it and am awaiting delivery!