Integrated Communication Plan - Research Proposal Example

Integrated Communication Plan This report presents an Integrated Communication Plan for Nintendo WiiU. Nintendo WiiU was introduced in the year 2012. However, the company has been able to achieve sufficient sales, and the company incurred significant losses. According to Byford (2014), the company reported a net loss of approximately $457 million from Nintendo WiiU. Thus, this report analyzes the situation of the company, and external environment of the company is analyzed. The report presents the market and the market parameters along with different market factors that influence the company. The report presents the PESTLE analysis and TWOS analysis, and these tools are widely used to evaluate the internal and external environment of the company. TWOS analysis also formulates different strategies using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. The next part of the report analyzes the competitors of the company. The other part of the report presents an overview of the brand and presents important features of the brand. Recommendations for the future of Nintendo WiiU are presented in the next part of the report and for this purpose, Ansoff Matrix is used. The report then comes up with an IMC plan for the company to improve its position. For this purpose, the message and brand positioning of the company for new communication plan have been discussed. The communication strategy and marketing strategies are then discussed in the report along with budget allocation and timeline of using different marketing and communication tools. Market or industry definition and parameters UK gaming market is the third most important market in the world, and it is the largest European market [1,2]. According to [3] there are more than 33.6 million gaming users in UK market in the year 2012. Moreover, this market generated revenue of £2.04 billion in the year 2014, and this is around 7% more than 2013 (Dring, 2014). According to Yahoo! News, with the growth of the industry there are more and more jobs coming up in the UK market (Brinded, 2014) The total value estimated of the video gaming industry is GBP 1 billion. Around 33 million people in UK play video games (IAB UK, 2011). Thus, the market segment is very large. These gamers can be categorized into different types. Among these types, 19% are the regular gamers and casual gamers, or social gamers are around 26%. Therefore, this segment of social or casual gamers can be important segment that Nintendo WiiU can target. The age group of casual social gamers is in the age group of 35 to 44 years, and most of these people are parents. At the moment, Nintendo WiiU is focusing on regular gamers that are around 19%. Many people use gaming as time consuming activity. (IAB UK, 2011) Situation Analysis (Micro and macro) PESTLE Political factors Gamers can get negative attention, and this can have negative influence and gain negative attention in the media. Thus, it is important for Nintendo to not come up with such games that can have negative attention in the media. Economic factors Smartphone or tablets or iPads can replace Nintendo WiiU. Therefore, from economic perspectives consumer may not be willing to purchase Nintendo WiiU as they can enjoy games on their smartphones or tablets. Therefore, it is important for Nintendo WiiU to come up with games that can attract a large audience and make them buy Nintendo WiiU. Nintendo WiiU is however, offered at an attractive price to engage the customers. Socio-cultural factors There has been an increase in the demands of the games. The demand of different games has been increasing. With the introduction Xbox, and other games by different companies, the trend of gaming has been increasing. However, Nintendo WiiU is a game pad; people can use this device anywhere even while travelling. Thus, such factors could have a positive impact on Nintendo WiiU. Also there is an increasing gaming culture introduced in the lifestyle and in general routine of people. Technological factors Technological factors offer several threats to the Nintendo WiiU. As the gaming industry has become very advance, and a number of companies have started coming up with different gaming devices including gaming devices on android. Thus, these factors could have a negative impact on the sales. The development of the gaming industry has encouraged different companies to come up with new games. However, with the brand name of Nintendo, Nintendo WiiU can still attract a large number audience if marketed properly. The other major impacts that technological factors have influenced Nintendo WiiU are the advancement in the Smartphone industry and development of different gaming applications for these smartphones. With this growth of new games in the smartphones, consumers may be reluctant to keep another device for gaming purpose as there are many games available on smartphones that consumers can play and enjoy. Similarly, the use of tablets or iPads allows the users to have more flexibility and more features as they can install several games as well as uses these tablets or iPads can be used for numerous purposes. Therefore, this technological factor offers negative impact. Legal factors There have been increasing legal issues that can impact the gaming industry. These issues include copyrights issues, and intellectual property laws (Law 360, 2008). Therefore, it is important that the games developed on Nintendo WiiU should not create such issues as it could impact the brand image negatively. Environmental factors Environmental issues from the gaming industry have been ignored over the years. Thus, it is important for companies such as Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to come up with a solution to solve these environmental issues. TWOS Analysis TWOS Strengths Weaknesses One of the major strengths of the product is the uniqueness of the product. There are no similar or comparable products available in the market. Several features of Nintendo WiiU can be very attractive in encouraging the customers. For instance, the feature of Nintendo WiiU video chat is unique. The device can be connected to a monitor or TV and then users can enjoy the game play on a bigger screen (Nintendo, 2014b). The price of Nintendo WiiU is not very high comparing the product features and other products in the market (Nintendo, 2014a). The product is available in different countries. Nintendo WiiU is launched under the brand name of Nintendo and thus it can present the name of quality and trust to the consumer. Nintendo WiiU is not able to achieve significant sales overseas. Nintendo WiiU has limited features in order to replace this device with tablets. Nintendo WiiU can offer limited options or usage to the users. Opportunities S-O O-W Gaming industry is improving as the demand of gaming has increased. The sales of the UK gaming industry increased by approximately 7% in the year 2013 (Dring, 2014). Some of the games have reported significant sales. For instance, GTA V reported sales of $1 billion in only three days (CBI, 2014) Socio-cultural factors have also changed, and now consumers have become more involved in gaming. Nintendo WiiU can come up with more games to attract more consumers and to gain the attention of the audience. Nintendo can come up with several features and try to make this device able to replace the tablets. Nintendo WiiU can come up with new games as the gaming industry is growing and with the brand name of Nintendo and special features of Nintendo WiiU, consumers will be attracted. Changes in the socio-cultures along with the ability of connecting the device with TV can encourage consumers to enjoy the game. There are limited options and features available in Nintendo WiiU and, therefore, by adding more features, the product can be sold more. Threats S-T W-T Substitute products are the major threats for the company. Products such as Xbox and Play Station 4 offer significant threats. The company has to face competition from bigger console devices, tablets, as well as smartphones. Nintendo can come up with more games that could meet the needs of the customers, and with the feature of connecting the device with TV, this can work as a two way console. The price of the product is not as high as smartphones or tablets and thus, company can use this as an advantage to engage the customers. Nintendo WiiU can increase its features to make this gaming device as a multi-purpose device for those who want to use it for different reasons. Adding utility features along with normal chat applications can be helpful in helping the device to replace tablets and iPads. Competitor analysis Nintendo WiiU faces fewer threats from competitor's products. However, there are several types of substitute products that offer significant threats to the product. The brand has suffered a lot because of major substitute products such as Xbox and Play Station 4. However, with the increasing demand and growth of Smartphone along with advancement in the games of Smartphone, Nintendo WiiU is facing more and more threats. Moreover, the company has to face a major threat from tablets and iPads. Thus, the market can be considered as very complex and highly complicated as there are a number of substitutes that can meet the gaming needs of the consumers. The major competitors are: Microsoft: Microsoft has introduced Xbox One in November, 2013. Xbox One can negatively influence the sales of Nintendo WiiU. Sony: The introduction of Play Station 4 in November, 2013 also could negatively impact the sales of Nintendo WiiU. However, this product is specially designed for the hard coders or those who play games daily. Recommendation for future Ansoff matrix Ansoff matrix presents different growth strategies that an organization can use (Haberberg, and Rieple, 2008). Ansoff matrix presents four different future strategies that an organization can adapt (Piercy, 2009). According to Ansoff matrix, Nintendo WiiU can adapt following two strategies in the future to improve its sales and profitability. The two strategies include: Market Penetration Nintendo WiiU has expanded and distributed its product into different countries. However, it is important for Nintendo WiiU to penetrate in different markets. The company has already incurred significant costs by expanding to different markets, therefore by following the strategy of market penetration, Nintendo WiiU would be able to increase the profits and sales. Product development The other important future growth strategy is product development. Nintendo WiiU can come up with new games to attract audience. As it has been analyzed that the market is highly competitive, and there are a number of substitutes that can replace this Nintendo WiiU, therefore, introducing more games and games that could make the users addicted can significantly help the brand to become famous. Thus, product development strategy can be highly critical in increasing the sales of the company. Moreover, Nintendo WiiU can even offer these games for free or low cost as this will engage the customers to purchase the device. Although, offering games for low price or free may not help the company in increasing revenues from the games, but it will help the company in increasing the sales of the company. By increasing the sales, the company will not be able to increase its profitability but it will be able to increase its customer base and built more long-term customers. IMC Strategy and Plan The main purpose of this campaign is to come up with a new communication strategy. This communication strategy should be able to encourage the performance of the brand and helpful in improving the brand awareness and customer loyalty. The aim of this campaign is to present and formulate a new branding strategy that can be helpful in conveying the right message to the audience. Therefore, the objectives of the marketing campaign are discussed below: Objectives of Marketing Campaign To increase the sales of Nintendo WiiU by 10% in the market of United Kingdom within 1 year To increase the customer base by 15% within 2 years from UK market Objectives of marketing communication: To increase the brand awareness by 30% within 1 year in UK market To participate in different events in UK to improve the brand equity by 10% by next year Brand Positioning The positioning of the brand is critical in formulating the IMC plan (Mulhem, 2009). The brand positioning will show where the company wants to position itself in the market (Kotler, and Keller, 2009). The focus of brand positioning is not only to retain the current customers of the brand but also to attract and engage new and more customers (Zenker, & Martin, 2011). The company can target the casual gamers. As discussed, these people in the age bracket of 35 to 44 years. Generally people of this age use the previous version of Nintendo Wii console and, therefore, the company has to encourage them for a new product. The company can reposition the brand as ‘The Best Entertainment to Spend Your Time and Enjoy with Your Kids” and this can be important in attracting them to use the product. Message The message will play another vital role in the IMC plan (Smith, and Zook, 2011). This message is what the company wants to convey to the consumer (Kotler, 2003). Different strategies used and promoted in the IMC plan will be aimed to portray the use and experience of enjoying and playing with Nintendo WiiU. The message will be aimed in attracting new customers, conveying the message to the existing customers, creating brand awareness, increasing brand exposure, and motivating customers to enjoy games with Nintendo WiiU. Communication Strategy Communication tools used to convey a message are very decisive as appropriate use of tools can effectively convey the message to the audience (Kotler Armstrong, Wong, and Saunders, 2008). Therefore, different tools have been evaluated, and then communication strategy has been formulated accordingly. Advertising Advertising can have many positive impacts on the brand as it can significantly increase the brand awareness, brand exposure and ultimately attract the consumer (Fill, 2009). However, advertising can be very costly. Therefore, advertising must be used effectively and in a well-planned manner. Advertisements will be promoting the same message of ‘The Best Entertainment to Spend Your Time and Enjoy with Your Kids." Thus, it will help encouraging parents to use Nintendo WiiU to kill their time as well as to enjoy with their kids. Nintendo WiiU should advertise its products on TV channels at the right time; publish its ad in different magazines and newspapers to create awareness. Sales Promotion The company can offer several games for free on purchase of Nintendo WiiU, or the company can reduce the prices of games or can allow users to download a limited number of games for free. This will encourage customers to check the product, and it may lead to increase in sales. Organizing Events and participating in different events Nintendo WiiU can organize different events and participates in different events to encourage its sales. This will allow potential users to try the Nintendo WiiU and then analyze whether to purchase the product or not. In addition to this, participating and organizing events can be helpful in increasing brand awareness, customer loyalty, brand exposure, increasing brand equity as well as increasing sales (Ghauri, & Cateora, 2010). Publicity Public relations and related activities are important in creating awareness and in getting close to the consumers (Gosnay and Richardson, 2008). Nintendo WiiU can re-launch and rebrand the product and come up with new games and this, the company can organize PR activities. This will be helpful in achieving the objectives of increasing brand equity, customer loyalty and awareness along with increasing sales. Social media marketing The other important strategy to communicate is the social media marketing (Chaffey, Ellis-Chadwick, Mayer, and Johnston, 2008). Social media marketing will allow the company to have a two-way communication with the consumers (Hazlett, 2010). Moreover, this is a cheaper way of marketing, and it can have a great impact on the loyalty of consumers and in creating brand awareness (Dunay, & Krueger, 2010). Marketing Strategy The new marketing message should focus on portray Nintendo WiiU as the best entertainment to enjoy with kids or to kill time. Thus, in promoting this marketing message, three important elements will be required. These elements are formulated considering the target market and the behavior of the consumers. Advertising through print media and TVC Advertisement will be one of the most important elements of the marketing strategy. This will allow the company to spread its message to more and more consumers. These advertisements will be aimed at showing that the product is the best entertainer to kill the time and to enjoy with kids. Magazine will also be used to promote the brand. TVC will be commercialized on sports channels during peak hours so that more audience can watch the ad, and the message can be conveyed to a larger audience. The total budget allocated for TVC is £1,500,000. This budget will allow Nintendo WiiU to present and play its ad different times to reach an audience. The survey will be conducted, and this survey will be used to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of TVC. So, people will be asked about the recall of TVC, and this will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of TVC. Organizing events and participating in events Events will be the other important element in the marketing plan. This will help the company directly to interact with the consumers which is important (LeBoeuf, 2008). In addition to this, by organizing events the customers will be able to check the product and know more closely about the features and options of Nintendo WiiU. Also, the company will participate in different events particularly events related to technology or gadgets or gaming as this will help the company in presenting Nintendo WiiU in front of the potential customers. The company will also be presenting different gifts to the potential customers in these events. Some of these gifts will include Nintendo WiiU diary, t-shirts, mugs, and other such gifts that can remind the customer about Nintendo WiiU. So, these gifts will also be helpful in creating awareness or reminding the customers. A budget of £800,000 has been allocated for events. To analyze the effectiveness of the event, company will be taking interviews directly in the events and asking the potential customers. Social media marketing campaign The third important element of the marketing plan will be a social media marketing campaign. Social media has become an important role in influencing the behavior of the consumer, and it has a significant impact on the purchase decisions of the consumers (Mulhem, 2009). Nintendo WiiU will be formulating a proper plan that will be aimed at the casual gamers and the brand message of being the best time killer and best entertainer will be promoted. Social media is widely used by the people of all ages, and thus it will help the company in easily and cheaply create awareness and reach the customers. The budget allocated for social media marketing is £200,000. This budget will be adequate as social media marketing is a cheaper way to market the product. Moreover, it has great ROIs if it is managed properly. Social media marketing campaigns can be analyzed easily with different analytics and reporting tools available. Budget Allocation The budget allocation will help the company in evaluating the cost allocated for marketing campaign for different channels. The budget allocated is as below: Marketing tool Budget Advertisement £1,500,000 Events £800,000 Social media marketing £200,000 Timeline References Brinded, L. (2014). UK Video Games Industry Jobs Hit Five Year High. Yahoo! News, Available from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-video-games-industry-jobs-hit-five-high-123631488.html#V88N4Ea [Accessed 20th June, 2014] Byford, S. (2014). Nintendo reports third consecutive annual loss as Wii U sales fizzle out. The Verge, available from http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/7/5689878/nintendo-earnings-fy-2013 [Accessed 20th June, 2014] CBI. (2014). 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