Term Paper on "Marketing Plan for a New Nintendo Product"

Term Paper 12 pages (3685 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Marketing Plan for a new Nintendo Product

Nintendo is the undisputable leader of the video games industry but it does not take this position for granted. Nintendo has consolidated its first place with the introduction of the Wii, and its core strategy of targeting new customers, rather than focusing on already existent customers (Farhoomand, 2009). The same strategy would be implemented regarding the new product -- the game collection for mobile telephones. The move towards this product is given by the necessity to ensure sustained rapid growth of Nintendo and the securing of a leading position within the national and international industries.

The first move in the creation of a marketing plan is constituted by the analysis of the situation, meaning a simultaneous look at both the company as well as the market and industry in which it operates. The company analysis was conducted with the aid of the SWOT matrix, revealing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The most important characteristics are revealed by brand and financial strength, counter-balanced however by an increased dependency on manufacturers and a relative inflexibility.

The analysis of the external environment -- industry and market -- was conducted with the aid of the PEST matrix, detailing the forces which currently mark the political, economic, socio-cultural and technological fields. The most notable of them include a political emphasis on the protection of the consumer, an increasing customer base, a reduced purchasing power or the massive technological developments which pose both opportunities as well as threats.

Based on the company and industry analysis, as well as based on the features of the product to be developed and commercialized, the target markets are identified as adolescents looking to be fashionable, young male adults looking to enhance their hi-tech experience and young female adults looking to engage in complementary pleasurable activities. The successful launch of the Nintendo mobile games onto each of these personas is characterized by risks associated with the adjacent competition for the respective personas.

The next step is constituted by the construction of the marketing mix, which virtually integrates the strategic decisions which need to be made regarding the product, the price, the channels of distribution or the promotions.

The budget estimated for the entire marketing campaign is of $500,000, with an forecasted return of $1 million during the first year of sales. The first risk is that of investing the money without retrieving a real ability to generate a return on the investment. The mitigation of this risk would be insured by the correlation of the outcomes with the expectations and the development and implementation of solutions as necessary.

The second major risk is that of going over the budget and getting expenses out of control. This risk could however be mitigated with the assignment of a special committee to oversee the spending of the marketing budget. Finally, the third most important risk is posed by the complexity of the marketing campaign, which simultaneously addresses three different and complex personas. The mitigation of this risk would be achieved through the slow implementation and the thorough and immediate analysis of all intermediary outcomes and impacts.

2. Situation analysis

2.1. The company

The analysis of the organization is best conducted through the construction of the SWOT matrix, revealing the internal strengths and weaknesses, but also the external opportunities and threats, as follows:

Internal strengths

- Long standing reputation as innovator and a strong, well developed brand

- Leading position within the international community

- Vast technological expertise

- Sufficiency of resources to research, develop and market new products and a limited dependency on borrowed funds (Datamonitor, 2010)

Internal weaknesses

- Large organizational size which often generates loss of centralization abilities as well as the loss of flexibility

- the Nintendo applications are often inflexible and depend on other devices, such as consoles or joysticks

- the company depends on manufacturers to retail its applications (Datamonitor, 2010)

External opportunities

- Increasing interest for video games and other technological applications

- Enlarging market share as more people gain access to technology

- Increasing popularity of mobile application and the ability to extend into this market

External threats

- Despite the advent of technology, there are still global regions in which technology is not a daily commodity. This reduces the opportunities for global expansion

- Fierce competition within the industry

2.2. The market

Similar to the analysis of the company, the analysis of the market can also be conducted through the construction of a well established marketing research tool -- the PEST analysis. This is revealed below:

Political

- the political climate is rather stable, but the legislation regulating the telecommunications industry -- including video games -- is still developing. Changes could as such be expected in the future.

- the past trend has manifested in the sense of increasing patent rights, and also the protection of the customers by limiting the exposure to violence and nudity. It is expected that this trend be maintained.

Economic

- at an economic level, the most important element is represented by the emergence of the internationalized economic crisis which has generated a reduction in the spending on video games, which are not a necessary commodity.

- the second element is given by the fact that Nintendo sells its products in various global regions at fairly the same price, but this makes the products unaffordable in the less economically and still emergent economic regions.

Socio-cultural

- at the socio-cultural level, the observed tendency is that of an increasing popularity of video games among various consumer categories, including the elderly who are becoming gradually introduced to the world of it.

- the second element is composed from the incremental pressures on environmental stability, which means that economic agents have to operate in such a manner that they generate less pollution. This often implies the replacement of technologies and equipments and the generation of additional expenditures.

Technological

- the technological field reveals a series of developments which constitute both opportunities and well as threats.

- on the one hand, the technological developments allow Nintendo to improve its own products and services

- on the other hand, they also allow other players in the industry to improve their own product and service offers and generate as such more powerful competition.

2.3. Targeting

The collection of video games for the mobile telephones would address three specific customer segments: adolescents, young male adults and young female adults. The first segment is characterized by the desire to continually keep up with trends and fashion. They would purchase the games because Nintendo is fashionable and because they own the mobile telephones and desire to game on them. The second target market is composed from young adult males, with a collective interest in hi-tech applications. These consumers are often software developers or work in other positions within the technological industry. Mobile telephones represent for them a multifunctional gadget, on which they would also play games; these consumers are generally hi-tech connoisseurs.

Finally, the third consumers' base is formed from young adult females, who use the telephone for its main purpose -- that of ensuring communication. Nevertheless, the device does offer them specific applications, such as the ability to browse the internet or play a game while waiting in the parlor shop, in line at the grocery store, on the bus to work and so on. At this stage, it would be assumed that the second persona would be the most valuable for the firm as it is both able to make its own purchases -- rather than depending on the parents or other tutors -- but also because they would appreciate the complexity of the applications, rather than just the interface. This characteristic nevertheless increases customer demands and raises the bar for higher quality games.

2.4. Positioning

The Nintendo set of games for the mobile telephones would be positioned using the organization's long lasting reputation. Emphasis would be placed on innovation and the adaptability to the new era and its new demands. Additionally, the positioning strategy would also focus on the high quality of the games, as well as the multitude of other features, such as easy accessibility or the entertainment dimension. Overall, the company would use a single positioning strategy to launch the product onto all three markets, and this positioning strategy would have to integrate elements of appeal for all three personas, namely -- fashionability, innovation and entertainment. At a more detailed level of promotions, the approach could be diversified to best appeal to each persona.

In terms of positioning also, the new Nintendo video games for mobile telephones would be characterized by high quality and affordable prices, these two elements also indicating its location on the positioning map, as revealed below:

A specific element which has to be discussed at this stage is represented by the competitive threat on each individual segment. In this order of ideas, the success on the persona formed from the adolescents is pegged to the strength of competition on the part of the… READ MORE

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