2010-2011
American Marketing Association
Collegiate Case Competition
Sponsored by
Nintendo Co., Ltd.
Invitation to AMA Chapters………………………………………………………….
Nintendo Case Challenge…………………………………………………………….
The Target Audience…………………………………………………………………
Nintendo Products……………………………………………………………………
Evaluative Criteria……………………………………………………………………
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INVITATION TO AMA CHAPTERS
In 2009, 63% of Americans had played a video game at least once in the last 12 months.
Nintendo’s strategy in the Americas – the United States, Canada, and Latin America - is
to continue expansion of the gaming population.
The American Marketing Association’s 2010-2011 Case Challenge is to develop an
integrated marketing communications plan for Nintendo’s current line-up of console,
portable gaming devices, and software in the United States. Specifically, without
creating any new software or hardware devices, identify new or underdeveloped market
segments and provide an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan that will
attract current non-gamers in the United States.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. welcomes all collegiate chapters to participate in the 2010-2011
American Marketing Association’s Collegiate Case Competition and provide your
analysis, interpretation, and suggestions. Please note that by participating in the case
competition, all members of your team agree to keep the information in the case
confidential. Also, all case submissions become the sole property of the corporate
sponsor, Nintendo.
NINTENDO CASE CHALLENGE
Based in Kyoto, Japan, Nintendo Co., Inc. develops and markets game consoles, portable
gaming devices, and software worldwide. Through the years, Nintendo has been
responsible for such products as Donkey Kong, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES),
Super Mario Bros., Game Boy, Nintendo 64, Nintendo Game Cube, Pokemon, Nintendo
DS, and Wii. Established in 1889 in Japan, the company first began selling playing
cards. In 1963 the company adopted the Nintendo name and began selling games and
toys. Nintendo of America, Inc was established in 1980. Nintendo’s first home video
game console was launched in 1982.
Nintendo’s basic strategy is to expand the potential gaming market. Your challenge is to
create a sales and marketing plan that will reach current non-gamers in the United States.
Teams can be as creative as they would like, however, your recommendations should be
solely in the area of sales and marketing of currently existing products. Nintendo is not
interested in hardware or software development ideas at this time.
Case judges will read and evaluate your team’s written case submission with special
attention to the following issues:
• Research of the potential gaming market in the United States.
• Development of an Integrated Marketing Communications plan to support your
marketing strategy.
• Focus on expanding the gaming population by capturing the attention and
imagination of the non-gamer market(s)
• Use of $20MM budget during the 6 month period of January 2011 to June 2011.
THE TARGET AUDIENCE
Gaming companies traditionally have focused on reaching the “hard-core” gaming
population with their software and hardware devices. Nintendo sees opportunity
differently. Instead of focusing on marketing to the current gaming population, Nintendo
seeks to grow their opportunities by bringing non-gamers to the market. Viewing
everyone as a potential gamer, Nintendo defines their target market as anyone from 6
years old to 74 years old.
In the United States, 37% of the population had not played a video game in the last 12
months. How can Nintendo get this 1/3 of the population interested and playing? Of this
37%, approximately 6% are lapsed gamers – those who once played video games, but no
longer do.
Note: 82% of non-owners are aware of Wii compared to 65% for Xbox
360 and 71% for Playstation 3 (PS3). 39% of non-owners are aware of
DSi, and 57% are aware of Nintendo DS compared to 54% for Playstation
Portable (PSP), 14% for PSPgo and 51% for iPodTouch.
Nintendo leads in real world Word Of Mouth (WOM), significantly ahead of Sony and
Microsoft. Nintendo WOM has continued to rise among parents overall and different
parent segments. Nintendo also has continued to outperform Sony and Microsoft for
WOM quality, both overall and among most segments.
Brand Asset Valuator (BAV)
BAV is the largest study of brands, tracking 434 brands across 681,000 respondents in 51
countries. The study reports on measures such as brand health, brand
imagery/personality, and loyalty, among others.
BAV research of the Nintendo brands found the following information. In terms of
Nintendo’s brand essence, Nintendo (parent brand) owns the following attributes:
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Simple
Friendly
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•
•
Visionary
Innovative
Down to earth
The majority of consumer groups understands and gives credit to Nintendo'
s essence of
"making people smile." The overall size of the gaming market is still growing, and new
consumers continue to enter the category. Nintendo products are (mostly) the gateway.
Competitive products such as iPod/iPhone, Project Natal/Kinect & Sony PS3 Move are
potential threats to Nintendo’s brand equity.
NINTENDO PRODUCTS
As mentioned previously, Nintendo is not interested in new product development for this
case. Your recommendations and strategies should revolve around providing sales and
marketing communications strategies for current offerings in gaming devices and
software.
Wii
Wii console owners top 29 million units in the United States, 3 million in Canada, and 2
million in Latin America. Wii was developed to capture the imagination. Innovative
software for the Wii including product add-ons like Wii Fit has broad appeal. The
audience is equally divided 50% male/50% female.
In households with a Wii, 2/3 of household members play. This is higher than for any
other video game system. About 75% of children in Wii households play Wii. Wii &
DSi households tend to have higher incomes when compared to households with other
video game systems. (However, households with Apple iPhone/iPod Touch tend to have
higher incomes.)
In 3-in-4 Wii owning households, Wii is played at least once per week. Wii continues to
reach new gaming households as approximately one-in-five Wii-owning households has
no other video game systems. Wii is most likely to be in the living room (not true for
other consoles). One-fifth of Wii owners are new to gaming—they own no other
systems; and many are older female casual gamers. Wii owners are most likely to only
purchase video games, and never rent.
It is well known in the industry that “Software drives Hardware”. From copy testing
results Nintendo knows that the New Super Mario Brothers Wii ad performed very well
and had a positive impact on the hardware. One reason it performed so well among
adults was that it reminded consumers of the "iconic" Mario games they played when
they were younger.
DS/DSi
The Nintendo DS portable gaming device represents a much larger installed base of users
– 40 million in the United States alone. 53% of users of the Nintendo DS are female.
The Nintendo DS is more reflective of the general population than some competitive
offerings. The 3DS – 3D portable system – was recently announced at the E3 Expo in
June 2010.
In 4 out of 5 DS/DS Lite/DSi households, the system is played at least once per week.
DSi purchases are driven by Nintendo loyalty, DS upgrades, cameras and games. In 30%
of DS-owning households, the system is played daily.
Software
In terms of software, Nintendo offers titles which appeal to traditional and non-traditional
gamers. Nintendo’s titles include cooking guides, crossword puzzles, exercise journals, a
fashion boutique, and many more. Industry standards dictate that software titles should
be marketed to the Traditional Core Gamer, and that most revenues will be realized in the
first 3 weeks of the new title’s launch. Nintendo’s expanded audience causes their
software titles to have a longer life, often making money for years instead of weeks.
In addition to the traditional direct competitors that Nintendo faces, case teams should
consider how indirect potential competitors like the Apple iPhone, iPad, and iTouch
might move further into this space.
Also consider the evolving space of Social Gaming with titles like Mafia Wars and
Farmville in Facebook. Two-thirds of gamers have recently accessed a social networking
site as social media gaming is growing rapidly.
Cumulative Unit Sales on Consolidated Basis
Hardware
Worldwide
Americas
Game Boy Advance
81.8
41.6
Nintendo Game Cube
21.7
12.9
Nintendo DS
70.6
22.4
Wii
24.5
10.6
Software
Worldwide
Americas
Game Boy Advance
376.7
216.9
Nintendo Game Cube
208.5
138.4
Nintendo DS
396.6
123.2
Wii
148.4
79.4
Source: Nintendo Annual Report 2008
Units in Millions; As of March 31, 2008
Americas includes U.S., Canada, and Latin America
EVALUATIVE CRITERIA
AMA case teams should make sales and marketing recommendations for Nintendo in the
United States. A complete plan should present research on the potential gaming markets,
discuss how to grow Nintendo’s revenue through winning the hearts and share of the nongamer market(s), present a positioning strategy, as well as a complete IMC plan with a
$20MM budget during the 6 months from January 2011 – June 2011.
The written portion of the case should not exceed 20 pages in length, excluding
appendices. In addition to these 20 pages, 20 pages may be included in the appendix.
New this year: Your references will not be counted as part of the total 40 pages for the
case.
ITEM
DESCRIPTION
POINT
VALUE
Situation Analysis
The situation analysis should demonstrate a
thorough understanding of the situation facing
Nintendo in the desired market, and should
include a SWOT analysis or comparable
alternative.
15
Market Research
Primary research pertaining to the project.
10
Target Marketing,
Objectives &
Positioning Strategy
Description of the target market(s) for your
proposed marketing strategies. Develop a
positioning strategy and measurable objectives.
15
Integrated Marketing The plan should be based on the research and
Communications Plan situation analysis presented. Timelines and
50
budget should be included in the appendix.
Grammar &
Proper usage of grammar, punctuation, etc.
Punctuation
Specific case questions should be addressed to
either:
Dr. Traci Warrington
Salve Regina University
traci.warrington@salve.edu
Office phone: 401-341-2477
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Dr. Scott Swanson
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
swansosr@uwec.edu
Office phone: 715-836-5127