Inventing a Board Game - Assignment Example

Entrepreneurship Board Game “Know your Opponent” Affiliation: Table of Contents 2 Exclusive summary 2 Product Description 4 Benefits of the Product 5 Competitive Analysis 5 Marketing Strategy 6 Development Strategy 7 Launch strategy 8 References 10 Exclusive summary The project therein is an innovational idea of a board game. The name of the board game is referred as “Know your Opponent.” This game will drive its scheme along Pictionary line meaning that it is a word generator session that emanates natural from players mind. This game will involve two individuals who will challenge each other given two distinct markets or services represented on playing cards and come up with a top innovative strategy to use in the market. The game will be timed, and contestants will have drawn points or descriptions on an erasable board to fulfill challenging scheme. Such brainstorming combines fun, brainpower, thought process and creativity all in one. The target groups of this game board are industrialist, marketers, and start-up enterprises aimed at stimulating marketing ideas necessary for edging modern business competitive environment. I must emphasize though, the uniqueness of this new game model because playing a game like this promotes and brings on board the whole entrepreneurial idea. There are several board games in the market but as far as the core innovation is based, the Know your Opponent game will revolutionize and alter existing game instructions. Of all tons of board games in the market, none can be compared to this innovation and its entrepreneurial concepts. Our approach has taken the core idea of a stratagem board game and building on that a slightly fresh track will eventually lead to transformational board game improvement. To facilitate the success on this project I work with a team of four personnel: the financial officer, the design office, purchase and supply and marketing panel. The finance officer ensures that all budgetary allocation and inventories are up to date whereas the design office formulates the board game prototype and clear specifications; the purchase and supply office ensures that all specifications to manufacturer are met and ensure timely delivery. Lastly, is the marketing team works tirelessly to ensure our products are visible and sells in the market. In terms of financing board game, together with my savings I intend to approach a bank manager for a loan to aid in the launch. According to estimations, a sum of $25,000 will be enough to see off the project and sustain its entry to the market for some days. The board game market is totally constricted, however depending on how successive the games sales and customer feedback outcomes, we look forward in developing new products. Building trust will put as at high par at meeting the customers’ needs and wants in the future through development of new and desirable game products. Finally, the marketing strategy will focus advertising this game as a fun, enjoyable game rather than approaching it in an educational way. Packaging, promotion, and product development will cover the strategy required to accomplish Product Description The conceptualized product here is an enterprise-based board game. Board games have existed for some time now, and they often involve the placement of counters on an already marked board or panel. Most people understand these games as probability or chance based for they include tactics such as dice rolling or strategy or sometimes a combination of the two (Dubowski, 2004). The objective of every player participating on a board game is outcome as winner in the end. My idealized game development is an entrepreneurship board game called “Know your Opponent.” This game will involve two players on a board with each generating a strategy to emerge a victor. The target of the two players is to win customer satisfaction. Therefore each participant places counters on pre-marked spaces with the believe customer will derive a great deal satisfaction. The pre-marked spaces represent various marketing strategies such as advertisement, product differentiation, sales reduction, mergers, and acquisition. The case study will use two mobile phone manufacturing companies A and B. using the techniques and strategies mentioned the two companies are supposed to compete for customers. The customer in this game is a small mechanical robot whose movement will be directly controlled by the competitors’ actions during the contestation. To win this game, an individual must attain the highest number of points in terms of robot movement while playing. The robot movement to either company A or B is the scheme used to decide the winner. The more times a robot visits the company, the more the chances are that the company will outcome as a winner. One will ask then, how is this game different from the rest available? The answer is simple. Traditionally, most board games do not target entrepreneurs and individuals who wish to learn on sales and marketing proficiency. This is a disruptive innovation type aimed at troubleshooting to overcome barriers to marketing skills. The fight for customers in the corporate world has gone overboard, sometimes so heated that companies turn their focus away from the business to personal attacks. This idea came from such wars of advertisement witnessed in television networks and online sites. Here companies struggle to convince customers to buy their products; as opposed to its competitors. Bringing these antagonists into game of negotiating ideas will enable a company A or B spills out better why they deserve more customers. Benefits of the Product Know your Opponent game will be treasured not only because it is a game-changer from traditional-based board games but it also includes part of society that has been neglected- entrepreneurs. The product is essentially profitable in terms of cost-profit analysis for customers because it provides training on carrying out effective sales and marketing strategies. For that reason, the mechanically controlled robot will only respond to appealable sales strategy (Elias and Garfield, 2012). The system is unprejudiced considering that the robot will only respond to the best marketing strategy pursued by contestants. Additionally, this game will further the critical thinking of the players (Dubowski, 2004). The premise of this game will be essential on not only marketing and sales but the real life situation as well. The players will gain knowledge in executing decisions in marketing in their companies. Further, considering the choices that players make in the game, they will better understand the benefits of risk taking and how well to manage and overcome the risks considered. Competitive Analysis The main competitor of this product is a board game known as “Know Opportunity.” While considering the contents and the approach my game employs, the competitor is nowhere close to it. This because “know your Opponent” is an entrepreneurial board game that seeks to build the business skills’ stamina of its players (Elias and Garfield, 2012). Therefore, we will differentiate ourselves from the competition by employing the use of a mechanical robot to make the control players’ actions. This robot will always respond to tactics or strategies developed by contestants. In dealing with board game rivals, the existence of a mechanical robot will be a top-notch weapon to edge out our competitors. Thus, I believe with kind of features and differentiation strategy we can penetrate the market in a more easy way and be able to attract a large clientele to use our product because of its enhanced features. Marketing Strategy We will employ the positioning and differentiation strategy in terms of low prices and enhanced features respectively. Thus, considering the fact that this a new board game, the marketing strategy will not only focus on selling the product but putting more efforts to see that the product is known and accepted while at the same time pursuing the goal of creating customer loyalty. Therefore, the marketing strategy will focus on advertising this game as a fun, enjoyable game rather than approaching it in an educational way. Packaging, promotion, and product development will cover the strategy required to accomplish this (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2004). We will consider selling the game in major retail stores at initial dispensation. One way in which we plan to employ in retail selling is to use a distribution company that we have identified. This will save us time rather than cash due to the fact that distributors’ desire is generally considerable. In addition, we can make advances to retailers and cut deals that deem convenient. In order to see our game off the shelf and speed the call for another order, we will undertake extensive marketing through advertisements and promotions. This will be done by distributing flyers, banners and using social media to gain attention of customers. My team acknowledges that while their exceptions, advertisement as a mode of marketing will not generally be a cost-effective in promoting our board game (Maclean, 2009). Therefore, our focus will be making entry into shopping malls and promoting the game directly to customers. Allowing them to test-drive the board game will explain better why our product is superior to just using adverts or word of mouth. Our target markets are entrepreneurs, sales and marketing representative, start-ups and college grads. This click of professionals is obviously busy throughout and our team is cognizant of the fact. In order to meet them and introduce the product, our major marketing days will be during holidays and weekends when they are available. The summer periods and Christmas are some of the days we endeavor to utilize. They won’t be bored as a waste of leisure time because our game is full of fun and leisure friendly. We also intend to invest on seminars and conferences events to let our market understand our product. In terms of distribution, we intend to take up a carrier to dispatch their board games around the country. Finally in ensuring that our targets are met, enough resources will be directed towards marketing of the product because better sales imply better returns and ultimately a successful business. Safety Concerns Patents and copyrights are some the safety concerns that we have put into consideration in development and marketing our game. Early before putting pen onto paper for this project, I thought it is worthy to claim the copyright on my board game rules. I did this by posting the rules in a registered letter and left it closed so that I can prove later that I had the idea first. Throughout this process, I involved my lawyer who could act as an independent witness. This is a safeguard against violation so that when I decide to claim my copyright no one will contest. While there no any impermeable method of protecting a game idea, the only way to protect myself is through copyright claim of rules I had written earlier (Maclean, 2009). Development Strategy My development strategy team will comprise of five personnel, finance, design, purchase and supply, and marketing officers. Their input encompasses all that is needed to get the project done comprehensively. The finance officer shall ensure that all budgetary allocation and inventories are up to date whereas the design office formulates the board game prototype and clear specifications; the purchase and supply office ensures that all specifications to manufacturer are met and ensure delivery. Lastly, is the marketing team who works tirelessly to ensure that our products are visible and selling in the market. Besides our indoor team, we have plans to initiate several partnership and alliances with various institutions not only as a marketing strategy, but because some of them are our training targets. These alliances will be with corporate, colleges, universities, extensive entrepreneurs, and marketing individuals. Our development team as already formulated a curriculum to accompany the board game. Through such initiatives, our milestone is to see that the “ Know your Opponent “ game curriculum is incorporated in institutions of learning and also part of corporate public relations policies. Before letting the board game into the market, the team will put adequate strategies in place for licensing our product. According to information from the board game publishers, several games are sent to publishers for licensing and subsequent publication but majority of them are rejected. While conscious of the competition and the hardships game developers undergo, my team has worked hard to distinguish our board game from the rest. The fact that our product employs use of mechanical robot as a distinction will edge out our competitors in the game field and convince the licensing board to publish it. Despite our board game being funny and attractive, we have strived to maintain genuine originality making the game prime for the market. I understand that licensing contracts vary form on publisher to the other, and it remains our obligation to negotiate the best deal. In order to land stay on the safe side, we intend to employ services of either a legal officer or a board game consultant or both. That way, they could help us negotiate matters such as loyalties, payment periods, advances, territories among other jargon documents associated with licensing games. Launch strategy Prior to the launch of the board game we anticipate number factors to come into play. Such essentials include design and sourcing of the product, project financing, product sales and marketing and evaluation of the necessary curricula to be used for training in seminars, conferences, and colleges (Maclean, 2009). Additionally, administrative chores such as distribution methods, invoices, and inventories will need to be furnished. In terms of financing board game, together with my savings I intend to approach a bank manager for a loan to aid in the launch. According to estimations, a sum of $25,000 will be enough to see off the project and sustain its entry to the market for some days. I am confident that after the bank weighs the value of this product, it is inevitable that they will offer me a loan. However, considering the skepticism around funding board game projects, if in case the bank denies the request, I will count on the support of friends and well-wishers who have already showed interest in the project. In terms of production of the game board, we understand the complexities associated with manufactures. Some maker-firms may supply just a single particular component while others undertake the whole task and deliver comprehensive finished creation (Maclean, 2009). We have already negotiated with one manufacturer who we believe has the ability meet our expectation. My initial expectation on the number of board games is around a thousand to two thousand depending on how faster the produced products may progress. This however, will depend on the market reaction and feedback. We will ensure that product specifications are clearly spelt out to avoid finish up of flabby products because quality is important and customers value products that give them the maximum utility. Thirdly, in order to offer substantial training, my team has conceptualized a curriculum that is tailored to aid in training the game. Prior to the launch, several simulations will be initiated to ensure that the curriculum is in line with the board game concept. All strategies in the board game will be merged with the curriculum. It is our intention to forge partnership and alliances with various institutions to incorporate our system into their syllabi as this will tremendously evoke not jump of sales but understanding of the game as well. Taking contemplation of the launch strategies as noted here will have further our market entry success. Therefore, we believe by offering substantial training and guidance concerning the use of the product and any safety measures that are required, we can attract a good number of clientele to our products hence enabling us to cut down on our marketing costs. References Dubowski, C. E. (2004). Board games. New York: HarperEntertainment. Elias, G. S., & Garfield, R. (2012). Characteristics of games. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Kuratko, D. F., & Hodgetts, R. M. (2001). Entrepreneurship: A contemporary approach. Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers. Maclean, W. (2009). So youve invented a board game. Now what? Amherstlodge.com. Retrieved 15 October 2014, from http://www.amherstlodge.com/games/reference/gameinvented.htm Onkvisit, S., & Shaw, J. (2004). International marketing (1st ed.). New York, NY [u.a.]: Routledge. http://www.amherstlodge.com/games/reference/gameinvented.htm Woods, S. (2012). Eurogames the design, culture and play of modern European board games. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland &Co. Read More