20/11/2012

1 | P a g e

Integrated Marketing Communications

Presented toDorothy KeanePresented by

Julieanne O Connor

Contents

History............................................................................................................................ 3

Brand Values.................................................................................................................. 4

Brand Personality...........................................................................................................6

Brand Strategy................................................................................................................8

Integrated Marketing Communication...........................................................................9

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................12

Bibliography.......................................................................................................................13

2 | P a g e

The Nintendo Company is renowned worldwide for their lead in the videogames industry to

date but this company started out long before videogames were ever even heard of.

Nintendo was founded in 1889 by a man called Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto, Japan. Mr

Yamauchi first began producing Hanafuda cards, which were Japanese playing

cards. These cards were initially intended for export from Japan but became

very popular within Japan and throughout the world. In the early years

Nintendo tried to launch into a number of different areas including the launch

of a ‘love hotel’ and a taxi company service but both these projects failed. But

even to date Nintendo have a number of different interests outside the video game industry

including being a majority stakeholder of Seattle Mariners major league baseball team.

(Nintendo, 2012)

In 1933, the company became an unlimited partnership know as Yamauchi Nintendo & Co.

In 1950 Fusajiro passed on all operations and power to his son Hiroshi Yamauchi who took

office as President of the company and changed its name to Nintendo Playing Cards Co. Ltd.

Nintendo Playing Cards Co. Ltd was the first Japanese company to successfully manufacture

plastic playing cards to a mass market. Hiroshi made a deal with Walt Disney to produce

cards which featured some of his characters on them. This opened up a wider audience and

allowed Nintendo to now also target the children’s playing cards market. In 1963 Nintendo

Playing Cards Co. Ltd was listed on the second section of the Osaka Stock Exchange and on

the Kyoto Stock Exchange. Just under a year later Hiroshi decided to change the name

dropping the ‘Playing Cards’ they were now to be known as Nintendo Co. Ltd. This is when

Hiroshi decided to explore the gaming industry which would turn out to be the major

success of Nintendo. (Balanon, 2012)

Over the years Nintendo have made significant developments which have changed the lives

of gamers throughout the world. In 1977, Nintendo in collaboration with Mitsubishi Electric

developed the first home-use video game console, "TV Game 15" and "TV Game 6". Since

then Nintendo has been the leader in the development of the video game world. They have

brought a new life and meaning to gaming. Nintendo opened the gaming world to everyone

3 | P a g e

rather than aiming just at the standard market. (A History of the Nintendo Company Ltd,

2012)

Brand Values

Brand value is in one aspect how the company is perceived from its consumers and the

general public, but brand value is also a representation of the company’s financial position

on a balance sheet. For this I shall discuss the perception of the company from the

consumers’ point of view.

Family Entertainment

Nintendo changed its focus to providing fun and entertainment for the family as a whole.

This was as a result of their plan to widen the audience for video games. Throughout the

development of Nintendo products they focused on how to involve the whole family in the

gaming experience. Nintendo proved this most successful in

the launch of the Nintendo Wii. The Wii is aimed as a fun

entertaining way for the family to interact. It allows for

hours of fun with the added bonus of exercising as you play

without even noticing. The marketing strategy of the Wii

was for everyone to see the benefits. Children would see the fun gaming side to it where as

parents could see how it allowed for hours of family fun and a way to get the family more

active.

Simplicity

Nintendo is synonymous with brightly coloured, fun children’s’ video games. It was always

seen to be aimed at the younger generation but now Nintendo attract all generations and

variety of people. Nintendo is seen to be too easy and occasionally referred to as been

‘dumbed down’. The company play on this perception of Nintendo games. They market it

as being a casual, enjoyable type of gaming experience for all to enjoy. The idea of the

Nintendo gaming range being too easy comes from the development of the hardware used.

4 | P a g e

In earlier times the limitations of the hardware lead to games being difficult even though

they were less complex. For instance, in MegaMan, all that you could do was run, jump and

shoot. So in order to make the game more engaging and keep consumers interested they

would have to make the games challenging.

Nintendo’s brand value is worth approximately $2,437m. This is an enormous amount of

value for a company which its main production is video games. (Finance, 2012)

It is very important for Nintendo to maintain this level of value and keep

their high standard within the company in order to stay competitive.

5 | P a g e

Brand personality

Brand personality is the human characteristics or traits in which the consumer will associate

with a particular brand. Brand personality shows brand behaviour in two different ways,

both as the individual, such as employees, representing the brand and also through the

companies advertising, packaging, promotions, etc. Brand personality is basically the

personification of the brand. The brand personality of a company comes as a result of the

consumer’s experience with the brand, so we can tell from this that first impressions make a

great impact on the consumers experience therefore this is one of the most important traits

for branding. (Grocers, 2012)

Nintendo has created a strong brand image. The variety of characters helps to personify

Nintendo. When you ask people what would they associate with Nintendo the most

frequent answer is Mario and Luigi or Donkey Kong. Nintendo characters allows the

consumer to engage with the company as selecting characters in games helps to make the

experience more realistic and a personal experience.

Words which are regularly associated with Nintendo include:

Mario and Luigi

Entertainment

Family fun

Learning

Interactive

Japan

Game consoles

One Direction

Donkey Kong

Pokémon

6 | P a g e

From these we can then personify Nintendo and create a more realistic image for

consumers.

If Nintendo was a person it would be:

Young

Male

Japanese

Fun

Active

Gamer

7 | P a g e

Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is decision-making for effective handling of brands. Brand strategy is based

on the definition of the characteristics of the intended consumers. This is the long-term

marketing support for a brand which includes the understanding of consumer preferences,

and their expectations of the brand.

In 2005, Sony ruled the video game world, closely followed by Microsoft. The close

competition between both companies, Sony with the Playstation and Microsoft with the X

Box, left no room for Nintendo. As a result of this Nintendo decided to develop a Blue

Ocean Strategy as opposed to trying to compete within this close market. Blue Ocean

Strategy is a modern age business strategy which focuses mainly on ignoring all competition

on the market, and creating new customers therefore creating a new market with less

competition. Nintendo’s aim was instead of putting this new technology and power into the

hands of gamers, was to put it into the hands of non-gamers. They wanted a console that

would appeal to everyone, to mother and child, teens and parents. Out of this came the

introduction of the Nintendo Wii. (Brand study Nintendo, 2012)

Another of Nintendo’s Brand Strategy’s was the employing of a

talented product design team. Nintendo has one of the most

creative production groups that have a thirty year record of

creating new games. The new strategy was for this group to be

open-minded in their creation and fulfil all of its potential. They

succeeded in this with the creation of both the Wii and DS. Both

the Wii and DS appeal to a wide range of people. The appeal of these products was “casual

games”. The new category went from 1% to over 20% by 2005 (Enterbrain, 2005).

A final strategy of Nintendo was the hiring of a new CEO. The new CEO was a young,

energetic, entrepreneurial gamer. He gained acceptance and began to generate excitement

around the new strategy, and was able to line up the talent which was needed to implement

it. This has resulted of nearly five years of market and brand success for Nintendo. They

now face competitors creating a formidable response. (View Point, 2012)

8 | P a g e

Integrated Marketing Communication

Integrated Marketing Communication is the approach to obtaining the objectives of a

marketing campaign through the use of different promotional methods that are

intentionally designed to support each other. It is also used when companies are trying to

attract new customers and retain them in the future. The stronger the brand value of a

company is the easier it will be for the company to retain customers.

Nintendo worked with advertising agency Leo Burnett for over seven years but in 2007 they

decided to break away from them. This resulted in a bidding war between advertising firms

to establish who would work with Nintendo. The marketing firm Karmarma outbid three

other firms with a bid of $13 million to become the current advertising agency for Nintendo.

Going out of their way to let people know they care about everyone, not just their target

market has allowed Nintendo to build up good relationships with all they encounter.

Nintendo use the following ways to advertise their brand:

Internet

Having a market that is influenced greatly by technology and innovation, Nintendo decided

to put a big percentage into internet marketing. Placing ads on popular websites such as

YouTube, Google and Facebook will help to reach the target market in a larger way. Also

giving the consumer an opportunity to purchase products online allows them to purchase at

their own leisure. Nintendo have set up contracts with some of the top gaming websites

which include gamestop.com, ign.com and cheatcodecentral.com. Exposure through these

leading websites will give Nintendo instant exposure and the ability to reach the target

audience quicker.

Interactive/Direct Mail

Direct and Interactive media is another way Nintendo can target a segment and keep them

interested. Demo booths set up in stores such as Gamestop will give Nintendo give the

market the ability to try out games before they buy them. This gives them familiarity with

9 | P a g e

products and decreases the chance of a customer returning a game that they do not like.

Interactive kiosk in shopping shopping centres will also allow customers to get an idea of

what the product is about. Billboards promoting our Nintendo will generate a buzz and

interest that will have consumers talking and interested to see what the company has to

offer.

Television

Like any company, television is an important method to use for integrated marketing

program. A strong advertising message will be a strong component to building solid ground

within the market. Placement of commercials on stations such as Cartoon network, MTV

and ESPN will target a good part of Nintendo’s target market. In saying this Nintendo will

also broadcast advertisements on channels that will target all types of consumers. The great

thing about what Nintendo are doing is that they feel gaming is for everyone to enjoy. To

get that information out to everyone Nintendo need to have an integrated marketing

communications approach that exceeds those that they have put out in the past.

Magazine

Magazine is a media link that is not used enough by companies. Nintendo want to hit the

magazine market in a way that will brings’ positive feedback and customers desiring

Nintendo products. Bleed pages is a strategy that Nintendo want to incorporate to grab the

reader’s attention. Nintendo have set up different structural measures with two of the most

popular gaming magazines: Game-pro and Game-informer. When reaching out to the older

market or less known markets, Nintendo’s strategy will concentrate more on the ability to

enjoy games at a certain age than the actual game they are playing.

Promotions

10 | P a g e

Nintendo’s promotion objective has less money

thrown into it, but seems to bring about the

most interest. Coupons in magazines and kiosks

placed in shopping centres will have

opportunities to get discounted items and

other bonus options. Combining the products in

with different discounts of purchases keeps

customers happy that they get a help with pricing, but also keeps them purchasing within

the company. Such promotions as purchasing a Nintendo game, you could get up to ten

percent off your next video game.

11 | P a g e

Conclusion

Nintendo as we can see are quiet successful with their branding. They are very good at

creating a unique image for the Nintendo brand. From their brand values it is clear that to

Nintendo want to create the ultimate brand for all to enjoy. Nintendo want products that

are for everyone not just your typical gamer. Over time Nintendo have built up strong

brand values and recognition. They treasure the fact that brand values are highly important

to consumers and try to build on these all the time.

Nintendo now tend to focus on the family aspect if gaming. From the release of the

Nintendo Wii they have managed to bring this aspect of gaming to the attention of all

consumers. This has created a whole new brand personality for the company in comparison

to many years ago. Nintendo is now perceived as a fun, active, family gaming experience.

Nintendo have also changed their branding strategy. Nintendo now operate a Blue Ocean

Strategy. This is a strategy which focuses on building up a consumer base and trying to

obtain this. Nintendo do not perceive the market as a competitor. They prefer to create

their own market and allow competitors to compete with them.

Nintendo use many different ways of advertising and gaining consumer interest. Their main

form of advertising is the use of the internet. This is one of Nintendo’s most valued forms of

advertising.

Overall Nintendo have many strong values and continue to grow within the market.

12 | P a g e

BibliographyA History of the Nintendo Company Ltd. (2012). Retrieved October 2008, from Yahoo voices: http://voices.yahoo.com/a-history-nintendo-company-ltd-2042898.html?cat=3

Balanon, E. (2012). History of Nintendo. Retrieved November 2012, from FacerEnzine: http://www.sundialmedia.com/sait/articles/foundations/eric_f.htm

Brand study Nintendo. (2012). Retrieved November 2012, from sixsix8productions: http://www.sixsix8.com/2009/12/brand-study-nintendo-part-3/

Finance, B. (2012). Brand Direcrtory. Retrieved November 2012, from Brand Finance: http://brandirectory.com/profile/nintendo

Grocers, U. (2012). Ugrocers. Retrieved november 2012, from Ugrocers: http://www.ugrocersbrand.com/gui/content.asp?w=pages&r=87&pid=206

Nintendo. (2012). Nintendo History. Retrieved November 2, 2012, from Nintendo Co. Ltd: http://www.nintendo.com/corp/history.jsp

View Point. (2012). Retrieved November 2012, from View Point: http://www.marketingpower.com/ResourceLibrary/Publications/MarketingNews/2010/10_30_10/Aaker%20on%20branding.pdf

13 | P a g e