Marketing Plan Tag Games Marketing Essay
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Tag Games is formed in 2006 as an
independent game development studio and publisher by 3 game manufacturer
veterans eager to bring new experiences to mobile gaming primarily, and then to
further platforms. The 1st heading "Dead Water" was launched on J2ME
mobile phones in Sept 2006 to extensive very important praise. Since then the
studio has developed a desirable status for modernization and excellence,
structure strategic partnerships with several main games developers and
development studios all around the world.
Having achieved success in the
beginning period 2007 Tag raised seed deal from successive Scottish technology
industrialist Bill Dobbie and they funded in middle of 2007 to enlarge
manufacture ability and to allow a more hostile move toward the licensing and
publication activity.
Tag Games was featured as no.23 in
the 02/ Real business 50 in 2007 to watch in Mobile listing, a greeting
acknowledgment of the excellence of the studio's games and potential of the
business strategy.
Marketing
Plan for "Back on the saddle game".
Most of the mobile games developers
develop the games basing on the news events. Marketing plan illustrates the
market segments and strategies, which we are employing to get customers and
create good revenue stream. We always develop the games with real life twist,
which always give advantage over our competitors by giving customers a new outlet
to enjoy mobile games.
We will fund development of our own
game by providing consulting services to create similar games for corporations
who are looking to create mobile games for promotional purposes. The consulting
project will come from advertising sponsorship relationships that we will
establish with companies who are interested in embedding their brand and offers
inside our other games and would also like something more custom that they can
offer as their own game. In first few years of the business, we expect
consulting to constitute a large portion of our revenue stream.
Vision
Our Vision is to provide people with
a fun over the course of their normal day. We create games that are easy to
play. We develop games basing on the real life situations and on life styles of
different country people. This unique feature always helps us in winning the
customers. We also help the customers in understanding the various cultures.
Our software development team is
experienced to create timely games quickly. Our marketing challenge is to
attract visibility quickly and we intend to accomplish this by leveraging a
multi-pronged approach that involves social media, email marketing and search
engine optimization strategies to gain market share. As we gain traction in the
marketplace, word of mouth will lift our game downloads significantly
Goals
Boost sales by 100% by the end of
year 1.
To be a mile stone in traditional
game development within two years.
To set up reliability among the
clients.
Our goal is to establish a reputation
for games that poke fun at what many would consider humorous actions by
well-known people.
Our aim is to create the most
innovative and fun casual games in the whole wide world!
Target
Customers
Ideal customers is between the ages
of 15 and 25 who enjoys playing video games and has a mobile phone that allows
applications to be downloaded, such as the moderate to high end mobile phones.
Customers usually have play station or TV-based video game unit at home. Some
of the even have a portable gaming unit such as the DS/DSI and other portable
gadgets. Most of the customers have access to a home computer, pc or Mac. Most
of the customers are teenagers living at home, others are college students or
who have joined the workforce in the last 6 years. They have a wide range of
disposable income.
Market
Definition and Segmentation
We target two segments:
Mobile game users.
Organizations that want to reach
them.
In the above segments, customers
enjoy creative experiences and computer and mobile phone savvy.
Free
mobile games:
Some features of free versions are
disabled and advertising is displayed in some strategic locations within the
game so that users are not bothered or distracted by the ads. For example, a
shoes company pays for a sponsorship and we might embed their name as a
tappable billboard that appears as if it is part of the game itself.
We offer trail versions of our games
for free so that users can get a taste of the full game without committing any
money up front.
Paid
mobiles games:
Paid mobile games contain a broader
set of features. The price was fixed to create very low price resistance for
customers.
Games are accessible via instant
download on their mobile platforms. Paid games are monetized via clickable ad
sponsorships embedded within the games.
Organizations that want to reach
youth:
There are customers who purchases
custom mobile game development services. Their intent is to promote their brand
and products to the demographic that overlaps with mobile game users.
Target
Market Segment Strategy:
Strategies focus on developing an
initial set of libraries containing game attributes that can be combined to
create new games. After launching the game, we will stay in regular contact
with our customers via numerous online methods, including social media and
email marketing. After creating these libraries and games, we will be able to
market fast-turnaround consulting services to organizations who would like
their own promotional games.
Target
Mobile Game Users:
Our mobile games have a timely
connection to current news events. Due to which we release new games basing on
previous and present news. For example, we created a cow boy character in back
to the saddle game. And we create the new versions considering the latest
political scandals, celebrity comments. The mobile game users enjoy interacting
with games that give them a sense of power and excitement, allowing them in
some way to live vicariously through the game. Most of our games are help in increasing
the user's concentration levels.
Needs
and Requirements:
Mobile games users always get tired
quickly and are constantly looking for new games to play. We target the news
media so they discuss games related to the stories they are covering. Our target
stories are taken from all around the World.
Generally teens get money from their
parents to purchase games, which can be from low paying jobs or allowances.
Teens also have limited financial capacity yet choose to spend part of their
disposable income on game as one of their sources of entertainment. Most of the
mobile users have limited financial capacity. Customers always talk to each
other about which games they enjoy, including strategies for playing and
winning. They also participate in online forums and discussion group to gather
tips and other information to help them play or to find new challenges. Most of
the customers enjoy being listed as the "high score" when there is a
public setting available for players. We intend to offer this public setting by
allowing the customer to upload their score to our web site for each game. The
highest scores will be posted, giving the player worldwide "bragging
rights". As a result, the word of mouth potential for timely games is
explosive.
We emphasize more on focusing on
creativity along with spectacular service and speed of development for our
consulting clients. It is important for us to get to market quickly in order to
capitalize on the news event that is associated with game. The longer the delay
between game conception and game release, the less the penetration of that
game.
Distribution
Channels:
Approaching senior marketing
executives is typically done through a variety of means. Our finances and
resources are limited, so we need to manage them effectively.
We focus on two aspects:
Advertising
Networking
The advertising will primarily be
online via search engine ads so we see the results within days instead of not
knowing whether a print ad has effect. We have identified 4 trade shows and 3
conferences that these executives typically attend over the course of a year.
Part of our marketing plan is to attend these events to network with these
potential buyers. We also will submit response to calls for papers to be
speakers at some of the events when possible.
Blackberry applications are
controlled by Blackberry through Blackberry App world. Their users tend to be
older and more focused on business uses for their mobile devices. Because of
this, we will not focus our initial efforts on Blackberry. However, we do have
the expertise to build Blackberry applications and will create custom games for
this device for consulting clients who would like them.
iphone games are distributed through
the Appstore which is currently controlled by Apple. One of the obstacles we
have to overcome is the speed with which apple approves applications for
downloading, which will be important for us since our games have a time
sensitive nature to them as they will be popular as long as a new story is in
circulation.
Google's Android offers an open
source model so they will likely surpass the iphone in the number of
applications available soon. This also eliminates the need for review and
allows us to post new applications quickly. As more applications come out for
this device, it will gain market share. We want to be positioned so that we
provide excellent games for the community.
Competitive
Forces:
There are many mobile game
developers. Most games are developed by one person who does not have the
marketing savvy to integrate advertising sponsorships into their games as we
have outlined in this marketing plan. Our unique twists on the type of the
games is also an advantage because we will not have to spend as much time and
energy thinking of the game themes. The news of the day will provide that
folders so our efforts can be concentrated on developing that real-life story
into a game.
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Target
Mobile Game Users:
Our mobile games have a timely
connection to current news events. Due to which we release new games basing on
previous and present news. For example, we created a cow boy character in back
to the saddle game. And we create the new versions considering the latest
political scandals, celebrity comments. The mobile game users enjoy interacting
with games that give them a sense of power and excitement, allowing them in
some way to live vicariously through the game. Most of our games are help in
increasing the user's concentration levels.
Needs
and Requirements:
Mobile games users always get tired
quickly and are constantly looking for new games to play. We target the news
media so they discuss games related to the stories they are covering. Our
target stories are taken from all around the World.
Generally teens get money from their
parents to purchase games, which can be from low paying jobs or allowances.
Teens also have limited financial capacity yet choose to spend part of their
disposable income on game as one of their sources of entertainment. Most of the
mobile users have limited financial capacity. Customers always talk to each
other about which games they enjoy, including strategies for playing and
winning. They also participate in online forums and discussion group to gather
tips and other information to help them play or to find new challenges. Most of
the customers enjoy being listed as the "high score" when there is a
public setting available for players. We intend to offer this public setting by
allowing the customer to upload their score to our web site for each game. The
highest scores will be posted, giving the player worldwide "bragging rights".
As a result, the word of mouth potential for timely games is explosive.
We emphasize more on focusing on
creativity along with spectacular service and speed of development for our
consulting clients. It is important for us to get to market quickly in order to
capitalize on the news event that is associated with game. The longer the delay
between game conception and game release, the less the penetration of that
game.
Distribution
Channels:
Approaching senior marketing
executives is typically done through a variety of means. Our finances and
resources are limited, so we need to manage them effectively.
We focus on two aspects:
Advertising
Networking
The advertising will primarily be
online via search engine ads so we see the results within days instead of not
knowing whether a print ad has effect. We have identified 4 trade shows and 3
conferences that these executives typically attend over the course of a year.
Part of our marketing plan is to attend these events to network with these
potential buyers. We also will submit response to calls for papers to be
speakers at some of the events when possible.
Blackberry applications are
controlled by Blackberry through Blackberry App world. Their users tend to be
older and more focused on business uses for their mobile devices. Because of
this, we will not focus our initial efforts on Blackberry. However, we do have
the expertise to build Blackberry applications and will create custom games for
this device for consulting clients who would like them.
iphone games are distributed through
the Appstore which is currently controlled by Apple. One of the obstacles we
have to overcome is the speed with which apple approves applications for
downloading, which will be important for us since our games have a time sensitive
nature to them as they will be popular as long as a new story is in
circulation.
Google's Android offers an open
source model so they will likely surpass the iphone in the number of
applications available soon. This also eliminates the need for review and
allows us to post new applications quickly. As more applications come out for
this device, it will gain market share. We want to be positioned so that we
provide excellent games for the community.
Competitive
Forces:
There are many mobile game
developers. Most games are developed by one person who does not have the
marketing savvy to integrate advertising sponsorships into their games as we
have outlined in this marketing plan. Our unique twists on the type of the
games is also an advantage because we will not have to spend as much time and
energy thinking of the game themes. The news of the day will provide that
folders so our efforts can be concentrated on developing that real-life story
into a game.
There are many software developers
targeting organizations to build custom games. Some are developing games
overseas at lower cost. Even some larger domestic companies outsource portions
of their game development. In order to keep up with pricing pressures, we have
established ties with one overseas organization to help us with game
development as we release new games and create the component libraries.
Communications:
We leverage word of mouth and social
media for the vast majority of our marketing using platforms such as Twitter,
Facebook, and Orkut. These platforms are widely used by the customers in our
demographic market. We will make announcements via regular tweets and updates
to our fan page on Facebook. We also use email marketing list which is
comprised of people who have expressed interest in knowing when we release new
games. We have segmented our email list so that we can send appropriate emails
to media and different ones to actual gamers, our customers. We also develop an
online ad campaign with landing pages containing lead generation forms that visitors
can fill out to get whitepapers on using mobile gaming to attract customers. We
also network at major trade shows and conferences, including obtaining
engagements where we can discuss case studies to expose our concepts and
strategies to the right level of buyer.
Each game will contain a link to our
web site where users can find out about more games and subscribe to our email
list and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. To help promote games via word of
mouth, each game has the option to notify a friend. So, a user can send a text
message to a friend instantly to share their excitement or recommendation about
the game.
Budget:
Marketing expenses are mostly for
staff required to do the marketing activities listed. The vast majority of the
software tools needed to implement the activities, such as analytics and
landing page creation, are available for free. The exceptions to this are for
specific tools like email marketing and forums. We do not expect an increase in
marketing staff requirements during year 1 because one person can actually do a
lot of these activities. Once they have put marketing plan processes into
place, the marketing activities upkeep becomes easier and can handle by junior
staff. Below is breakdown of marketing expenses by month for year 1.
Keys
to Success:
Many companies leveraged the power of
mobile games to reach their market, however we will show case studies which is
the primary key to success. This can be tracked using metrics such as the
number of times a gamer clicked on an ad embed into a game, the number of times
a custom game was downloaded or an increase in sales of the product being
promoted. Success can also be tracked by industry buzz.
For example, fast food chain burger
king created a Facebook application that allowed users to earn points for
"unfriending" one of their friends. This application would show the
image of the friend burning. Upon burning 10 friends, the user would be
entitled to a free burger. This application spread very quickly and quite a few
Facebook users enjoyed participating.
This campaign did two things:
generated traffic into restaurants and generated a tremendous amount of media
buzz. It cost significantly less than a paid advertising campaign involving
television time purchases.
Our posting to social media sites
will include a trackable link so we know how many people click on each post.
Using online tools like link redirectors. We can also see how many readers
repost or forward such links. We will also include trackable links within our
email marketing messages. People who want more information about the game will
be directed to landing pages, which are web pages that contain more information
about the game, which includes details about the game and the links to download
the game. These landing pages will be optimized for search engines so that when
internet user search on various keywords, our pages will rank highly in their
search results.
The usage of online analytics tools
helps to enable to see how many people click on various links in our media
campaigns to go to the landing pages and how many clicks to download each game.
On the other hand, online clicks cannot track users who use their mobile phones
to download the apps directly, which may comprise the bulk of our downloads.
For those, tracking of downloads is provided by the platform such as Appstore.
We estimate that one of every ten
people who visit the landing page or see a tweet or Facebook post will download
a game. The average sale price estimated based on paid downloads as well as sales
of advertising sponsorships and custom game development.
Sales
Forecast:
Sales forecast is a difficult area of
management.
We have three sources for sales:
Custom games development: This will
be consulting projects to develop promotional games.
Game downloads: This includes free
and paid downloads. The free downloads are monetized from embedded advertising
sponsorships.
Embedded advertising sponsorships:
ads embedded in both free and paid games.
Sales
Monitoring:
Sales must be constantly monitored to
ensure that targets are being reached and revenue is being generated. The best
way to do this is by comparing sales against pre-determined targets which we
have. The revenue generated from sale should also be tracked against the
company's budget.
 Sale achieved should be
reported on a regular basis so monitoring can take place. It is sometimes not
always obvious when a deal has been closed, so a reporting template to record
sales may be helpful in this process. This template can also capture prospects
that are being worked on so there is overall view of the sales pipeline.
In monitoring Process, it is good to
understand why a sale has been successful, and why a sale was not made. This
can help us readjust our approach or learn about competitors so that the sale
can be won the next time.
Progress
Monitoring:
We created a variety of key metrics
that will measure on a regular basis, to make sure we are on the track. These
require many adjustments and fine tuning as we progress.
INDIVIDUAL
CRITICAL REFLECTION ON LEARNING OUTCOMES
The Tag Games Company sets forth a
clear mission statement that is outlined with three major principals in mind
that outline the company's values and motivates its employees. Their mission
statement is divided into two parts:
Product mission
Economic mission
Social mission
Further defines the company's outlook
on how they should impact the world. By using clear energizing goals and
communicative goals, the mission statement of Tag Games provides a motivating
ideal that its employees can strive for. The Tag Games Company has a mission
statement that motivates its employees to want to produce a good product.
The Tag Games mission statement is
divided into three subsections that make it simpler to see what the overall
goal is. The subsections are product, economic and social missions. Each area
addresses energizing goals as well as communicative goals to provide a clear
and motivating mission statement. Energizing goals state the intent of the
company and what goals the organization would like to achieve.
Under the product mission, it is
stated that their goal is "to make, distribute and sell the finest thought
provoking games". This is the primary mission of Tag Games because they
are in the business of selling games. It is also the first subsection in their
mission statement, they are saying that this is who we are and this is what we
do. Tag Games is a games company, so the first line makes sense because it
simply states what the primary goal of the company is to make games. Along with
this line, there are more lines about serving the society and using the morals.
These statements add a sort of validity to the business of making Games.
These statements add a sort of
validity to the business of creating games. Employees reading this might feel like
they are doing the world a service by working for Tag Games. These sorts of
statements are designed to make the employees feel like they are making a
better product, better for the people who play the game and better for the rest
of the world too. A portion of people that work for Tag Games as well as a
portion of their customer's base will place great importance on the company's
outlook on the style and creativity of the games. The goals in the first
paragraph are clear organizational goals and will make some of the employees
that work there feels good about working there.
The next portion of their mission
statement goes into their economic mission. The economic mission states that
part of their mission is to expand opportunities for development and growth for
their employees. This is a sort of communicative goal. By making expansion a
part of their economic mission for the purpose of providing opportunity, it
becomes in the interest of all employees to work hard for expansion. By adding
this section into their mission statement, Tag Games is communicating to every
employee that it is their duty to help expand the business to create even more
opportunity for current and future employees. Every employ gains from the
economic mission includes increasing revenue for investors and making profit.
Most companies will include profit making for investors and increasing revenue
because stating this in the mission statement can attract investors.
The final area that is included in
their mission statement is the social mission that Tag Games has outlined for
its organization. They state that because business plays a vital role in
society that they should initiate ways to improve conditions locally,
nationally and internationally. This paragraph basically outlines how to be a
good citizen or neighbor within the community. A certain portion of the
employee population will feel inspired by this portion of the mission statement
and get increased job satisfaction from working at Tag Games. Working in the
community and coexisting with neighbors is good for the company as well as
being good for the employees.
When the whole picture is put
together, the values that Tag Games is trying to push in their mission
statement is clear. Respect for nature, helping one another and being good
neighbors to each other sums up the Tag Games mission statement. Their mission
statement is very idyllic, but it is a good idea that many people would take to
heart. The mission statement of Tag Games sets the tone for all employees and
creates a positive impression of their company. The employees of Tag Games are
probably very motivated to work for a company that has so much social
conscientiousness and basic love for fellow man. It is definitely a "feel
good" kind of mission statement.
I always felt that marketing play a
major role in promoting a product. However I never had a clear picture of
importance of growth of the company and values.
Tag Games, successful employment
relations has seen the company become a leader within the gaming and development
industry. Marketing and employment relations are equally important aspects to
the successful operation of all businesses, through correct marketing
businesses can expect to grow and expand, both in size and profitability. Tag
games have employed a range of strategies to accomplish its aims and become a
more competitive player within the aviation industry. With the development of
new game, individual strategies will need to be used to help the business
succeed.
Role
of marketing in the growth of the company
The role of marketing is to connect
the business with its target market. Marketing is the major link between the
business and its customers. As the market changes and becomes more competitive,
the business needs to know and understand its target market so it can provide
better service to its customers. Successful marketing will identify customer's
needs, and then, plan price, promote and distribute the products and service
that will satisfy these needs. This way the business goals of increased profit and
greater share of the market can be achieved. But continually researching
customers and monitoring the business environment, marketing provides the
information the business needs in order to change direction on adjust its
tactics by providing new product or changing existing products. The objectives
and strategies of the marketing plan are used to determine the plans of the
other functions such as operations, employment relations, and accounting and
finance. Management has recognized the role of marketing in business success
and so continually researches its market and modifies its marketing strategies
to meet customer needs and wants.
Setting
Marketing Objectives
The next step in the marketing
planning process is setting the marketing objectives. The objectives
establishes in the business plan will be the guide for the marketing
objectives. Tag Games main objective is to make a profit, both in the current
and long terms. The overall goal is to provide a satisfactory return to
investors and to generate enough profit in reserve to fund growth and the
development of the new games. Tag Games main objective is to sell its games at
affordable prices that will ensure enough demand to sustain its profit
objectives. However there are other objectives, Such as increase sales,
increase customer service, decrease operating costs, increase market share.
Planning
Planning is essential for successful
marketing. In order to carry out the marketing program, a business needs a plan
that will help it to achieve its objectives. For each business marketing plan
is going to be different depending on the size and nature of the business. The
marketing plan involves 5 stages these includes:
Marketing
mix
As the gaming industry has become
more competitive, the competitors have focused on product planning. Tag Games
designs products to be attractive and hold customers from a particular market
segment and to do so profitably. This means using its detailed understanding of
the needs and requirements of its different market segments. Such understanding
is acquired through market research.
In gaming industry customer always
get bored after completing the levels in the game. They always want something
new which is not present in the market. To achieve this Tag Games always comes
with creative ideas to develop new games.
Price is an important element in any
marketing plan. Strategies for promotion the new game.
Image of Tag Games in the society.
Advertising
Sales promotion
Strategies
of Marketing
A business can use a number of
different strategies to reach the same objective, and a combination of
different strategies can be used. Whichever strategies are used they must meet
a number of basic points.
Meet the objectives of the business
and marketing plans
Satisfy the needs of the target markets
Work together in achieving marketing
objectives.
Tag Games uses market segmentation to
better meet the needs of all its customers, to compete more effectively, and to
attain financial goals more readily. Tag Games is launching new game called
"Back on the saddle" which is targeting on youth and teenagers.
Positioning is the image that Tag Games projects in relation to its
competitors. Tag Games brings attention to its games by using a variety of
positioning strategies.
Situational
Analysis
The situational analysis looks at the
market n terms of size and growth, needs of the target market and trends in
buyer behavior. The performance of the products or service in terms of sales,
profit margins and stage in the product lifecycle are examined. Major competitors
are identified and analyzed in terms of marketing and stage in the product
lifecycle is examined. Major competitors are identified and analyzed in terms
of marketing strategies. A major part of such as market share, loyal customers,
level of customer satisfaction and product quality.
Marketing
Plan Implementation
Process of implementing Tag Games
marketing plan into action. The marketing department of TagGames continually
monitors, controls and adjusts its marketing activities using the following tools;
Comparing actual and planned results
using a number of tools.
Revising market strategies and taking
corrective action where appropriate.
Developing a financial forecast of
revenue using models, past sales data, executive judgment and surveys of customer
trends. It then estimates costs such as market research cost, promotion costs.
Tag Games marketing plan and
strategies are effective because of the following:
Focus on market research.
Identify and satisfy customer needs.
Encourage new product development.
Comprehensive marketing plan and
strategies.
Apart from these, working on various
projects has given me varied experience on the basis of which I have decided
that marketing is where I would like to base my future. A career in marketing
would give me an opportunity to work across boundaries of industry definitions
with a number of industries ranging from consumer goods to innovative
communication and high tech markets. The project helped me gain exposure,
insight, knowledge and hands-on experience with time environment. The Project
also helped me in understanding consumer buying behavior entails marketing,
relationships, and consumer behavior. Consumer behavior comprises all the
consumer decisions and activities connected with the choosing, buying, using
and disposing of goods and services. I learned that marketers must pay very
close attention to consumer behavior that occurs before the purchase and after
the particular product has been used. Studying consumer habits is one of the
steps in marketing search and analysis. In addition to other basic principles
of consumer buying habits, marketers also need to study the decision and
actions of real people.
If companies does not have the
correct or necessary information about the competitors and market, bad business
decisions occur, leading to companies not making marketing decisions without
knowing specific details about their customers.
I have understood and learned the
planning and implementing marketing promotions to capture the market, within
given budget constraints. And various methods of approaching companies
marketing head for contracts or business deals.
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