Nintendo Wii's internet marketing campaign and cross-generational strategy

Internet Marketing Implications on E-Commerce Strategies

A Study of the Nintendo Wii

Nintendo Wii Integrated Marketing Campaign

The intent of this analysis is to analyze and evaluate the Internet marketing campaign for the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo's business model centers on creating gaming platforms that can be quickly capitalized on with graphically sophisticated yet intuitive games and personal improvement products. Their strategy of relying on content to drive profits is evident in their Nintendo DS and Wii product positioning and marketing (Binken, Stremersch, 2009). The reliance on an Internet marketing campaign specifically for positioning and strengthening the Nintendo Wii also capitalizes on social networking as well. The collection of Web 2.0 applications and sites the company relies on are shown in Appendix A of this document (Bernoff, Li, 2008). The Nintendo business model concentrates on propagating new games, software and both individual and user group experiences via the Internet to its customers and as a result over the last five years been able to increase its Gross Contribution margin (GCM%) as is shown in Appendix B: Nintendo Company Ratio Analysis. The impact of their successful execution of Internet marketing campaign strategies is reflected in the continual growth of their profitability as well. Throughout this analysis the financial implications of their Internet marketing campaign strategies are discussed. The promotional tools the company uses are also provided in this analysis. This analysis concludes with a series of recommendations for future growth of the Wii brand through the use of Internet marketing campaigns and their resulting strategies.

Key Success Factors

The most critical factors for Nintendo are being able to manage the unique value proposition of their products through the Internet marketing campaign and continued marketing strategies to continually grow new sales. The ability to create a highly salable gaming platform and then use it as the catalyst for increasing online sales is evident in their financial forecasts and the findings of empirical research in this area (Binken, Stremersch, 2009). To excel in their specific markets Nintendo must continue to lead the industry with their new product introduction process and set a pace of innovation competitors cannot match. This extends into their game product lines as well, as they are designed specifically for downloading over the Internet. The entire product strategy concentrates on capitalizing on the Internet as a communication, collaboration and product delivery channel.

Marketing Objectives

The marketing objectives for the Wii launch centered on being able to create a gaming platform that would allow for an entirely different type of game strategy to be put into place (Turner, 2007). This strategy centered on multi-generational consumers, and concentrated on creating activity, both physical and intellectual, to create an engaging experience but also lead to the development of an entirely new market segment. Nintendo relied on the concepts in Blue Ocean Strategy (Kim, Mauborgne, 2004) to plan and execute their product development, Internet marketing campaign and service strategies. The specific objectives from a marketing standpoint were as follows. First, to launch the Wii through multiple communications and sales channels, ranging from the Internet with the use of YouTube videos, heavy reliance on bloggers and key influences as evidences by their Web 2.0 strategy, in addition to a series of television commercials that approached the American and European customers as needed voices and inputs to make the product successful. The two Japanese travelers with the Wii were seeking feedback -- in effect they were offering the consumers who played with it ownership of the Wii's identity. The use of traditional print and banner ads online were supplanted with intensive print advertising in gaming magazines, again targeting key influencers. The television commercials were used to generate global awareness while specific communications strategies across a variety of print and online mediums were used for attracting key influencers' interest and keeping it up to the launch.

Company's corporate image and brand management

The Wii was the first product ever for Nintendo where they allowed for it to have its own identity outside of the branding conventions and structures they had created in the past (Kemp, 2006)