Marketing

A Marketing Strategy is an important component for corporate strategy, which will clearly define how an organizastion will attract customers. A marketing strategy is usually derived from corporate strategies, mission statements, or goals. A customer is mainly the source of a company's revenue, where sufficient marketing can increase sales.

**Marketing Strategies:**

  • Product Differentiation - Creating a different game within the video game industry is a marketing strategy to be different, unique to the point people will want to buy your game.
  • Premium Graphics - Amazing, up to date, new techonological advanced graphics will make a video game stand out. People will come back to the company to see the latest graphics in video games.
  • International Language Capabilities - A game that is easily played, or has multiple language capabilities could easily be marketing across the world instead of one market.
  • Product Specialization - Spending more time on creating a sports game, racing game, action game - will make the product more compelling to play over similiar games.
  • Multi-player capabilities - Certain games can have up to 4 players, or at least 2 players. Some people will be turned off by a game that only has a 1 player mode. Plus the fact of playing online can make the experience more pleasing.
  • Additional Levels for longer play - A game like doom, or Double 007 will be enjoyable if it has alot of levels. Consumers will not return if a game can be beat extremely fast.
  • Target Demographics (Children, Teens, Mature, Adults) - The game can target a certain demographic to better market a profit. Marketing to either children or adults. A specializaion to certain players.
  • System Compatabilities (Made for Apple Computer/PC or certain systems) - A game that is made for the PC could have higher success versus a game only made for Apple computers. The majority of the public has PC computers. Production companies that do make games playable for the Apple computer and the PC will have a higher market possibilty of selling.
  • Amazing Sound Effects - A lot of time can go towards the amazing sounds within a video game. Sound can make a video game more compelling to play. Many games have sound tracks that really make the game fun to play. Like guitar hero, plus many other games that use audio as an excitement factor.
  • Story Line - What makes some games really exciting to play? That would be the story line involved. Certain Role-Playing games use the story line as the main back-bone of a game like Zelda, or Grand Theft Auto that uses story lines to create amazing gansta type of challenges.
  • Type of Genre (Sports, Action, Adventure, Animation, Role-Playing, Arcade)
  • Celebrity endorsement in game. (Tiger Woods Golf or Tony Hawk Skateboarding games) - Using a celebrity to endorse a game has been used to make a game become popular rather quickly. Examples would be Sporting games, other's would be Britney Spears Revolution. Madden Football is another example. Some games do have the online capabilities.
  • Name of Game - The title of the product could effect a game's success. Picking a good title ties into proper marketing. A name that nobody understands would not be appealing to kids. A game that uses childish grammer, like Super Smash. The title does an outstanding job explaing the simplicity of the game. The game is super filled with characters, whom you smash the liking of.
  • Camera Angle Capabilities - Sports game especially can have cool camera angles that make the game incredible to play. A sports game with a topography view can be dull, opposed to a football game that has moving action camera features. Or car racing games that have more than 3 viewing angles. All these features can be marketed within commercial advertisements.
  • Customization Availability - The possibility to make new characters, boards… Allowing consumers to become developers, by creating additional boards, or characters can add to the exciting level of entertainment. Especially online games, people continued to return to the networks because people would invest time in creating new terrain boards for fighting. Changing the missions, adding new graphics, and many other features.
  • Free product with game purchase - T-shirt, pen, stickers… Purchase a video game and receive a movie ticket, or a shirt, or any free gift is a marketing tool used to get a customer to pick a certain game on the basis of receiving an additional item. The game could be semi-par, but they received something "free."
  • Online Network play - The possibility of playing online or off-line. Many games that have online playability can be downloaded to a computer, or is a system game that can be played with 1 player. These games will alow players to gain experience, and then have the opportunity to face people in network communities. Marketing these games can benefit the game, as the network can grow on a larger scale level.
  • Product continuation - New Upgrades, New Editions, New Levels, Newer Games. A popular game is released. Like Warcraft. Two years later the game is re-released with newer editions. This will retain the players who grew addicted to the game, and also have the possibilty of gaining new customers through the new hot release.
  • Packaging design - Is the product packaging appealing? If the product is not digitized, then the product packaging and design can determine if the game is purchased. People will spend time reading the labels, looking at the pictures to determine if they will enjoy the game. Spending time on this can be very important!

Why will people buy?

**For producers, they are developing a game which they can potentially market & sell to manufacturing companies. The consumers who will purchase video game products are individuals who have a sufficient amount of leisure time to play the video games. Hard-core gamers will be the first in line to purchase new video game products. There people are referred to as the market leaders, or the "trend setters." You then have the followers, the individuals that do not spend a large portion of their time re-searching video games, instead rely on the hard-core gamers for purchasing advice. A natural market effect of popular video games will continue to have a funneling effect with consumers.

People will continue to purchasing new video games, because they constantly want change. Consumers want new, innovative products that are current with the date. An example is Electronic Arts who creates Sports Games. Sports are seasonal, which is constantly changing. Players are getting older, improving in performance, or even getting injured. This is consistent with coaches, players, and team statistics. The company is able to market a new sports game every year, with adjustments, including graphics & detail. When a sports game is released, you usually associate the year. If EA was to release video games that had star players from five years ago, then the reality of the game will not be too significant.

In connection with the internet, the question why would people purchase internet related games. Well, the world of Warcraft already has a large network of users. The game's mobility and creativity continues to evolve. New players are learning through friends, the media, and hard-core advertising (Pepsi) about the game. These new targeted consumers will become curious about the popular video game, playing demo versions which will eventually capture new players. A release of a demo is a marketing strategy to give a player a taste of the video game. Most companies release free trial demos either electronically or physically in gaming magazines.

Pricing strategy - (Value Proposition) Is one of the most important marketing strategy for any company. Most companies want an equilibrium where supply will equal demand. Price is the key aspect that will depict the number of units sold. If a new video game is sold for only $19.95, you will see a large quantity of games sold. Although, if the same game can be sold for $59.95, then how many less units do you have to sell to equal the total revenue received for the cheaper price. The optimal price for newly released video games has been set at approximately $59.95. Different interemediary sellers like Toys R Us or Amazon could potentially use bundling to entice consumers to purchase more products, but individual save money in comparison to full retail. With the internet, consumers no longer have asymetric information, where they can compare prices. Video game producers understand pricing is an important concern for buyers, and the public is vulnerable to high price. Production companies will concentrate on marketing content versus a low price. The concept of low-balling competitors price does not happen within the video game industry. You don't see two popular video game companies battling in price, constantly under-cutting the other's price. The capitalist economy does make competitve strategy possible, but video game producers will either charge a high premium for physical games, or FREE play on internet related games. (Revenue would later be derived through advertising) Other companies will create unique products to market to certain gaming demographics.

  • Who will buy?

Target Market - The target market for video games varies. Ideally, a company would like to create a product that can be marketed to anyone. Although to gain comparable advantage, certain companies will intensify their target market. EA sports will target sports enthusiasts, while Nintendo will focus more towards children. A violent game like Grand Theft Auto will try and target teenagers to adults. The violent content is not intended for teenagers under the age of 18, but the younger demographic want to play these violent intense games, therefore the internet allows games that are target for an older demographic to be purchased online. The internet cannot verify age. With the use of a parent’s credit card, any teenager can have access to a mature video game. The internet has provided success to companies that have been targeting older demographics.

Woman will tend be attracted to games that are more feminine. What is a feminine game? Dance Dance revolution for example, is a game that targets the female audience. Creating a game that can target only 1 sex could potentially have overwhelming number of sales, as every female gamer will demand this game. Using the same strategy towards child oriented games; you have a company like Leap Frog, who only produces games that are oriented for educational purposes. These games can connect to a network, and they also distribute many hand-held versions. Targeting a demographic like educational learning will attract the hidden target audience of parents who care about their children's future. Many companies don't only target to direct consumers, but to hidden consumers. These are the customers who purchase products for someone else. Like adults buying games for children. Also, parents could potentially look to surprise children with a unique gift, and might purchase a game that will look suitable for kids or teens. A company like Sony producing a cute little dragon like Spyro will seem very appropriate for children to play on gaming networks. Although, this type of game can look childish, but when played is similar to World Of Warcraft on a childish level. The playability of running around a world, killing certain creatures makes these games similar. The way you market a game can have all the potential for success.

  • How do companies communicate with the public?

**Viral Marketing Companies will communicate with the public through many different mediums. The uses of television, blogs, internet, magazines, newspapers, radio, billboards, products…etc will be used for marketing campaigns. Right next to Yankee Stadium you see a giant advertisement that can be seen by all advertising the new Grand Theft Auto game by Rockstar. This company produces video games for the personal computer and gaming systems. They chose to use to mainly use the internet & billboard Medias for direct communication. The game was already expected to have huge sucess, then why advertise? The company wanted to continue reiterating the games success to the public. The overall goal was to use constant imagery and media attention to get consumers to actually go to a store/online and order the game.

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It's looks like you got this idea of marketing strategy from Wikipedia. Unfortunately the Wikipedia entry on this topic is a mess. It confuses business and marketing strategy. See this marketing strategy checklist for a simple description.
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Prof., Yes, I am conducting a search online for different marketing strategies & tying it together with the video game industry. A lot more information will be placed on this page. (Is that fine?) Wish I still had my marketing book… Took a look at your lecture notes concerning marketing, but it was only 1 unfinished slide. Also, isn’t safe to say that businesses use marketing strategies to further profit, therefore mixing the points would be acceptable?

*Market Dominance - Through the existence of owning a large portion of the market, companies like Activision, Electronic Arts, Nintendo… can use their brand imaging, their already present appearance to market. These companies are referred to as market leaders.

*Porter Generic Strategies - This strategy is achieved through variances in costs, differentiation of products, along with a different market segmentation. Microsoft needed to use the Porter Generic Strategies for entrance within the video game industry only several years ago. Microsoft was able to use both, Market Dominance from another sector to achieve success within the gaming industry.

*Innovation Strategies – Sony Playstation has done a great job in creating innovative games. As new technology allows these companies to produce new games that play on new systems, SONY was the first company who successfully produced CD-ROM games. The production of games on CD’s versus cartridges allowed Sony to continue marketing the older generation games. The newly innovated system was capable of playing older games. As the costs are concerned, people found the transition to the next system very easy. A user would no longer need several systems connected to a television to play games, but be able to still play classic titles that they love. The introduction of the PS3 with blue ray reading capabilities allows the company to market the system as an expensive DVD player as well. Many people chose to purchase the PS2, partly because the system was able to play DVD’s. These are innovative strategies production companies think about when producing games. They want to produce a game that can be marketed to the largest number of users.

*Growth Strategies - (Diversification & Intensification) Producers of the video game industry construct games that target different audiences. Companies use intense growth strategies by producing games that can be marketed to a wide audience, while other companies intensify their market. Electronic Arts, spends millions of dollars on concentrating on sports games. While a company like Activision will spend more time in diversifying the number/type of games produced.

  • Viral Marketing
  • Social Networking
  • Word of Mouth Marketing
  • Advertising
  • Publicity
  • Sales Promotion -including direct mail, coupons, volume discounts, sampling, rebates, demonstrations, exhibits, sweepstakes, trade

allowances, samples and point-ofpurchasedisplays

  • Conventions
  • Press Releases (Catch Media attention)
  • Discounts (Coupons, Game packages —> Buy 2 games, get 1 free) BUNDLING
  • In store demenstrations. What games are chosen to be played in store? Selected by game companies.
  • Mobile Mediums
  • How do you market the price?
  • Successful products already catch media attention.

Awareness resulted in sales

"We didn't have an awareness problem – people knew Halo 3 was coming out. We had a perception problem."

X-box marketing established through consumers/

Nintendo- Using focus groups to establish marketing

For companies to properly market to consumers, they must first understand what exactly they want. (Demand for the industry good) Companies first conduct consumer studies to fully understand the demographic of a particular game. Who knew that the game SIMS would be an amazing success to a vast age group? The Video Game Industry has "Game Players", people who become experienced with the game. These people will then consult with the marketing department of a company or outside specialized organization. Many advertisement campaigns would innitially be released in conjunction with the date of the game's release. A proper marketing plan can be very important to a video games success.

Marketing Concepts;

  • Media - The media is the #1 source to market a video game. The cost is relatively cheap, all you need to do is send a copy of a the game to specific reviewers. The media includes newspapers, magazines, blogs, websites..etc
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Media corporations:

Hot Game Magazines; PC Gamer, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Game Informer, Game Pro
Newspapers (New York) New York Post, Newsweek, Metro (Free-cheaper paper)
Websites: Yahoo, Google, Myspace, Facebook, VideoGameCritic.com, IGN.com, Gamezone.com
Blogs: Hiring people to talk about the blogs is an outstanding way to get public buzz
Radio: Private & Public radio stations have on air advertisments constantly. (NY; Z100, KTU, HOT 97)

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  • Commericals - Probably the second largest, most expensive medium to advertise a video game. Placing 30 second video game ads have been popular with a majority of the video game industry. I doubt you cannot watch television for an hour without seeing a video game advertisement. (Pre Tivo)

Important advertising T.V. Companies: Warner Bros, ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO, Comedy Central, MTV, Disney

G4 Tech TV: A station whose sole purpose is educating the public about video games, providing Game News, reviews, and other information.


(Watch this clever simpsons commercial)

  • Product Combination - A company can cross promote with another industry. For example: Collect Pepsi points, and redeem for video game related prizes. Collect enough, and earn an system. If the company wants to spend more money on advertising, they can purchase a print on the actually packaging of the pepsi bottle.

Known companies to promote video games: Includes franchises in particular (McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's), Nabisco, Pepsi, Coke.

  • Sweepstakes/Contets - There are thousands of contests, sweepstakes. Many company will give away merchandise in an attempt to create a buzz with the public, or just attract attention. Example; Kelloggs had a promotion with Sony a few years ago. Log on to the website numerous times to win a Sony game. Kelloggs receives constant brand attention, while Sony is gaining video game consumers. Giving a game as a prize might persuade a buyer to purchase their platform opposed to a competitor.

Websites: Candystand.com, Local radio stations (Z100, HOT 97, KTU = Call in contests OR website contests), Coke.com, Pepsi.com, Edys.com, plus many other survery type of companies, and point collection companies.

  • Product Placement - Your watching your favorite prime time television show, and the actors are playing a specific video game. Also applys to movies, but might be some-what harder to perfectly time release periods.
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Hit TV shows that can have product placement: Sopranos, Prison Break, Eli Stone, (even LOST). Top TV shows can earn additional funds through game product placements. Full house during the 90's had the kids play Nintendo.

  • Internet - The internet is the fast growing medium of exchange. Advertisers continue to increasingly spend more money on online advertisement than any other industry. If a website has millions of traffic in a period, you know that they will sell advertisement. The video game industry has of coursed used this medium to market to customers.

You want to follow the demographics. Websites: Yahoo, Google, Myspace, Facebook. Most companies offer advertising programs.

  • In Store Ads - All companies now spend significant thought in producing a product's packaging. Example: The newst Halo 3 game recently released, was sold in a limited edition army looking metal tin. Many times pursuasive packaging can properly market to consumers. The mention of in store ads actually refers to the companies that produce cardboard type of display stands that will make a video game stand out. (With the release of Halo, the company sent unique looking army helmets to be placed on display with the game)
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EA Sports banners, Grand Theft Auto Billboards, Call of Duty ad's. Any game can throw away more cash by advertising ini store! Or even spending more time on product packaging.

  • Billboards - You don't see it too often, but companies will place video game ads on highways. This is actually a relatively low approach which is not used often.

Highways, Buses, Cabs, Airports, Cars…

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  • Concerts - Many concerts could be sponsored by a newly released video game. Below is a symphony of Mario Bros from Nintendo.
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  • Competitions - Hosting a gaming competition is a great way to bring attention to the gaming industry. Avid gamers love these type of events, and with proper cross promotion, a company like Intel can sponsor a portion of the event, sharing costs with another company.
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* Other: Playstation recently had a unique advertising approach by paying Graffiti artists to spray paint PSP imagery around neighborhoods. Everything was done legally, by paying store owners, but the public did not appreciate graffiti art advertisement as it promoted graffiti in lower class neighborhoods.

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Activision

Activision's target customer bases are a broad range from casual players to the extreme game enthusiasts. As they product games in many different genres, they make sure to attract many diverse customers. They produce games for children with kid approved ratings, and they also produced adult entertaining games with mature ratings. Activision targets the mass market of mass-market consumers to valued buyers. The company is a video game developer, but needs platforms to create for. Therefore, the sale of the video games in bulk will be supplied to an intermediary (a wholesale dealer), who will then distribute their popular games.

Microsoft

In 2007 Microsoft spent $11,455 (in millions ) on sales and marketing. Their marketing strategy (for their EDD) spreads across a wide array of platforms. Microsoft sees a potential customer in every walk of life. Microsoft advertises through television, Internet, trade shows, seminars, gamer magazines, news papers you name it. They even advertise on their own products. If you have an Xbox live account their is a dashboard on the screen of the games they sell. Microsoft is also trying to turn online gamers into console gamers. Microsoft also operates MSN and office live which they cross advertise for their Electronic and device division.

Vivendi Games

Vivendi Games will use the success of World of Warcraft to increase their popularity. They will continue to provide the best games for serious and more casual gamers. They also plan to expand their games to mobile phones. Vivendi is a large corporation with media and telecommunications divisions. Using these resources will help spread their products and services worldwide.

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Electronic Arts

One of the main ways that E.A. gets its revenues is through marketing. It markets its games through a variety of different gaming magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, GameInformer (i.e. James Bond, a EA game) and others. It also markets it games on video game television stations such as G4 tech T.V. Since E.A. has a large sports division, they also market their games during sports games, to capture the sports fans demographic. They also use an offical online site to keep customers and investors up to date with news, new plans and ideas, current and upcoming games etc…

EA Home Page (Dated 5.2.08)

Also E.A. obtains revenues by in-game advertising. By selling space in their games for ad placement. Game such as Madden and Need for Speed contain ads from in-game advertising vendor Massive Inc. This works by "delivering dynamic or "live" ad placements within these titles, allowing advertisers to frequently swap out messages and initiate media buys on the fly". So when players go online, ad come on banner and such in-game, and can be changed at will.

Adweek Story (Dated 3.18.08)

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