Free League Publishing
From Transactional Sales to a Brand Ecosystem: Driving 31% Repeat Revenue & Total Niche Dominance.
Industries
Gaming and Tabletop
The Brand
Free League Publishing is a master of immersive storytelling, known for award-winning tabletop RPGs like Alien: The Roleplaying Game, The One Ring™, Blade Runner RPG, and Vaesen. Their products aren't just games—they are deep, expanding worlds that rely on a dedicated player base.
The Challenge
For years, Free League worked with a distributor to manage their Amazon presence. While the distributor successfully moved volume, the strategy was purely transactional.
The "One-and-Done" Problem: The distributor treated every sale as a standalone event, failing to capitalize on the expansion-heavy nature of RPGs.
Fragmented Brand Voice: Without a unified brand strategy, customers bought "a game" but didn't connect with the "publisher," leaving significant Lifetime Value (LTV) on the table.
Defensive Fragility: The account relied on organic branded searches but lacked an aggressive strategy to bring in new players who weren't already looking for the specific titles.
The Solution
We shifted the account strategy from "Distribution" (logistics) to "Ecosystem Building" (community & acquisition).
New-to-Brand Acquisition Engine: We launched a targeted advertising strategy designed specifically to capture new players. By targeting "genre" keywords (e.g., "sci-fi rpg", "horror board game") rather than just product names, we filled the top of the funnel.
The "Collector's Loop" (Loyalty): We optimized the catalog to encourage cross-selling. By linking core rulebooks with expansions and accessories via A+ Content and Virtual Bundles, we turned single-purchase customers into long-term collectors.
Total Niche Domination: We utilized Brand Analytics to ensure Free League didn't just "show up" for their keywords—they owned them. We targeted 100% Share of Voice for IP-specific terms to block competitors completely.
The Results
By moving from a distributor's "transactional" model to our "ecosystem" model, we built a self-sustaining revenue engine that balances aggressive growth with high retention.
Seven-Figure Sales Volume managed annually on the platform.
31.5% of Total Revenue now comes from Repeat Purchasers—proving the "ecosystem" strategy is working.
43.4% of Ad Sales are from New-to-Brand customers, proving we are successfully recruiting fresh players while keeping the old ones.
100% Market Share on core franchise terms, effectively locking out all competition.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Repeat Revenue Share: 31.53%
1 in 3 dollars comes from a loyal, returning fan.
New-to-Brand Share: 43.44%
Nearly half of the ad revenue comes from new customers we acquired.
Brand Dominance: 92% - 100%
We own the top spots for Alien RPG and Vaesen completely.
Customer Loyalty: 23.5%
Nearly 1 in 4 customers return to buy again.
Search Query Dominance and Brand Purchase Share
We achieved near-total ownership of the brand's most valuable keywords, ensuring no leaks in the funnel.
Vaesen RPG: 100.0%
Free League Publishing: 98.2%
The One Ring RPG: 97.2%
Alien RPG: 92.3%
The Conclusion
Moving away from a distributor wasn't just about taking back control—it was about changing the fundamental business model on Amazon. We transformed Free League Publishing from a catalog of SKUs into a thriving brand ecosystem. Today, the account is a balanced engine of growth: 43% of ad sales bring in new blood, while 31% of total revenue comes from the loyal fanbase we've nurtured.
