MetaZoo’s Big Marketing Vision and the Road to Growth

MetaZoo fans have been wondering when they’ll see the next wave of marketing push. In the latest MetaZoo Monday, Charlie Hurlocker peeled back the curtain on how the new team thinks about promotion, advertising, and growing the player base—not just now, but for the long haul.

This wasn’t just a vague reassurance that “marketing is coming.” Charlie provided thoughtful, detailed insight into the philosophy behind the rollout—and why it might not always be visible from the outside right away.

The Philosophy Behind MetaZoo’s Marketing Approach

In response to a question about when we might see more advertising efforts in the wild, Charlie turned the question back to the community to help guide the approach:

It sounds like you have a specific idea of the type of advertising you are hoping to see in the market. Let me know what type of advertising you are personally responsive to. Super interested in the data.

- Charlie Hurlocker

From there, Charlie dug into the broader philosophy: MetaZoo is focused on building sustainable marketing systems, not dumping money into flashy ads that don’t generate long-term results. And part of that, he explained, has to do with the timeline of the game itself.

Most of the things mentioned so far have standard development cycles that exceed the entire timeline of the ownership of the new game thus far.

- Charlie Hurlocker

In other words, many fans are expecting campaigns typical of long-established brands, when the new MetaZoo is still laying its foundation.

Why We Haven’t Seen More Ads (Yet)

Addressing the perceived lack of advertising, Charlie explained that it’s not about neglect—it’s about timing. Many digital campaigns rely on SEO, search trends, and online listings being up-to-date. That’s been a challenge due to MetaZoo’s previous product backlog.

It is tricky to run generic search campaigns because the new product has not sufficiently populated the online spaces in its short time in the market. Much of that spend just gets consumed by static asynchronous listings for old products.

- Charlie Hurlocker

As more products continue to hit shelves and gameplay communities grow, that problem naturally resolves itself. But until then, a slow burn is smarter than wasted dollars.

Behind-the-Scenes Investment Is Already Happening

While the community might not see the marketing machine in full swing yet, Charlie made it clear that the investment is already there:

We are investing in marketing. We have literally hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in that so far. There will continue to be more marketing. Finding the marketing that is smart at the time that is smart is an ongoing study.

- Charlie Hurlocker

This approach reflects a deeper commitment to understanding the audience—where they are, how they interact with the brand, and what actually drives growth. MetaZoo isn’t trying to “just go viral.” They want lasting players, not momentary clicks.

New Players First, Not Just Preaching to the Choir

One reason the current fanbase hasn’t seen as much marketing activity? It’s not aimed at them.

We don’t typically target our advertising at existing fans. We are interested in customer acquisition funnels that ideally convert people into new fans. So it would make sense if not all of that has been visible yet.

- Charlie Hurlocker

MetaZoo’s goal is expanding the audience—bringing in players and collectors who haven’t experienced the game yet. That can be harder to spot from within the Discord, but it’s a core part of the strategy.

Why They Aren’t Chasing Pokémon-Level Ads

Responding to a question about more traditional advertising, Charlie offered a bit of hard truth—with a sense of humor:

Those Pokémon ads cost more money than the entire expenditures of the entire IP thus far, including producing three sets, printing two sets, developing the game, and acquiring the IP. Just to give you some frame of reference.

- Charlie Hurlocker

And in classic Charlie style:

I would also love to see a $20,000,000 investment in advertising. Hit me up if that’s an investment you are looking to make! We can make room on a cap table or two haha.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Marketing That Makes You Look Twice

Longtime MetaZoo YouTuber, MetaZoo Menace brought up the idea of reviving MetaZoo's past traveling roadshow format seen near the end of the original MetaZoo's run. Charlie responded positively to the general idea of "spectacle marketing" in the future:

This type of advertising is what we call spectacle. I love spectacle. I think that MetaZoo fits really nicely with it. I have ideas for the best way to use it.

- Charlie Hurlocker

However, as with everything else, the team is prioritizing infrastructure before showmanship:

For me, nothing beats a tournament that people want to play in because it is goofy and fun… I love the idea of people turning their heads to see the fun stuff that a game that doesn’t take itself overly seriously can have... People wanting to play because it looks like a blast when you see it from the outside is the topline goal—after establishing a baseline functional play ecosystem.

- Charlie Hurlocker

Building a Game That Lasts

Near the end of the Q&A, a fan thanked Charlie and the team for working hard and expressed hope that MetaZoo would keep pushing through the challenges. Charlie’s reply summed up the heart of MetaZoo’s long-term vision:

I think that the pace of what it takes to build out the company responsibly for a long-term vision can be challenging in the short-run. Especially if you believe that tomorrow might not come.

- Charlie Hurlocker

He contrasted this slow, intentional growth model with the frenzy that often surrounds the TCG world:

Going wide, thin, economical, and committing to building something great and populating over a 5+ year timeframe feels like the polar opposite of today’s culture in TCG, which sometimes feels more like 2003 Red Bull-fueled Black Friday deal brawling than it does the history of building a good game.

- Charlie Hurlocker

MetaZoo Is Playing the Long Game

For fans wondering where MetaZoo is headed, Charlie made it clear: this isn’t about rushing to the top of the charts overnight. It’s about cultivating something real, something fun, and something sustainable.

Finding that audience that resonates and creating a good time and something beautiful is part of a long process of building an ecosystem where people are excited about what you have—and not just tulip trading on the hot air marketplace... We’re here for it… The ecosystem gets richer with time and rewards people for being a part of it over time. That’s the aim.”

- Charlie Hurlocker