Today, I opened my weekly Friday Gaming Update from MicroCenter.
Right smack in the middle of offers on games, consoles, and controllers, was this particular ad:

Do my eyes deceive me?
What is this bottle that looks just like the “health restoring” potion that heals your character in almost every single fantasy-based RPG game in existance? An energy drink?
I couldn’t help but click on the link to learn more – which took me to the MicroCenter site, where they’re advertising the drink.

Okay. Harcos, Inc. I have never heard of you before. What the heck.
So, a google search and I’m taken to http://www.manapotions.com

This… this… Could there be a more perfectly niche product? And marketed through MicroCenter? BRILLIANT.
The website, clearly designed for gamers, promoting a product clearly designed for gamers. OMG! I never see planning this well done.
The site’s frame is used for navigation – at the bottom, where a console gamer is used to seeing it, not at the top like for a typical website. No words for the navigation until you mouse over the icons – there’s a scroll for “about”, a bottle for “buy”, a spyglass for “locate, a… well, I don’t know what it is for “Fun”, and a sealed letter for “contact.”
According to the About page, the products are sugar free energy shots. For gamers. You can buy them from their site (or through the locate page) find retailers locally.
The biggest coup of the site, though, is the fact that the fun page is the most populated page of the site. Six big icons of fun:
- The Mana Elite: if you’re THAT good at gaming, you could win that status)
- How-To & Video: How to build stuff that any nerd would rejoice in. (So saith this nerd.)
- Sponsorships: Believe it or not, you can have them sponsor your team, party, or event. Cool.
- Our Friends: Okay, this is just links, people. But they’re to sites that most gamers will actually find fun.
- Downloads: Imagery of the product, worthy of being a game screen capture.
- The Mana Chronicles Official Blog: Well done. Good content. Frequently updated.
Now, I’m not a HUGE gamer, although I do enjoy a nice bit of Baldur’s Gate every now and then. And I’ve never even tried an “energy shot.” Yet, somehow, after visiting this site, I kinda want to.
Hm… I may just need to make a pilgrimage to MicroCenter.
Yeah. That’s marketing that’s working!