Nintendo Wii for Women in the UAE - Essay Example

? Nintendo Wii for Women in the UAE 5 January Executive summary Nintendo's American market is already saturated. Nintendo Wii should find a new market and this paper presents a marketing plan for introducing Nintendo Wii to women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Wii will specifically be best for women who are obese or have diabetes or have high risks for obesity and related chronic illnesses. The product's packaging and marketing strategy should be customised to reflect Emirati values and attire. The language should also be available in Arabic and Urdu. Distribution will be done through direct selling and kiosks. Products will also be sold in malls and toy centers. It will be priced competitively with different payment terms. The promotion is positioned to be clean and lean fun: “C-Lean Fun!” The targeted values are health and beauty, with an understanding for the conservative side of the Emiratis. The “clean” adjective also appeals to the “clean” or conservative fun that playing indoors can offer to women. Fun also means “we” are having fun, or women are having fun with their loved ones, since Wii can be played with other family members and friends. These are integrated measures to sell a cross-cultural product to Emirati women and other women in the UAE. Wii is “We,” a fun way indeed of being healthier and still being a part of one's family and society. INTRODUCTION Nintendo Wii and DS are the company's blockbuster products in the beginning of the twenty-first century. In 2006, Nintendo's revenues are $5 billion, but a year after that, it jumped to $9 billion, a rise of 80% (Businessweek 2009). From 2006 to 2009, revenues have risen from $5 billion to $18 billion, which means that sales increased by 260% (Businessweek 2009). For the past two years, however, sales are dipping as Wii, DS, and Dsi are approaching market saturation in the United States (Dobra 2009). In 2011, Nintendo sold 4.5 million Wii units, which is a far cry from its 2007 sales of 7 million-strong units, and which translates to a drop of 35% (Reisinger 2012). This is not surprising also because of the short product lifecycle of video games consoles and gaming software, where new products, hardware and software alike, are produced every two to three years, sometimes even less (Datamonitor 2009). This paper believes that Nintendo Wii should find a new market, especially in a foreign market where it is not doing well yet. This paper presents a marketing plan for introducing Nintendo Wii to women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The situation analyses will provide the information on why Emirati and non-national women are attractive new market segments for Nintendo Wii. SITUATION ANALYSIS This section will analyse the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to Nintendo Wii. SWOT Analysis Strengths It is believed that Nintendo President and Director Satoru Iwata is a company strength because he has turned the company around with his support for innovations like Wii and DS (Schilling 2009). He is also a hardware innovator, which makes R&D in Nintendo a core competency also of Nintendo. Another company strength is its wide array of creative products. The company has led the video games industry since 2007, because of its intuitive and socially attractive games. Since 2007, Nintendo has regained its top 1 market status because of “rethinking video gaming, making it more social, more intuitive, and physically engaging” (Deshpande and Chua 2008, p.22). Nintendo Wii has become a blockbuster product, because of its ability to physically engage players, embedding them into the gaming experience in intuitive ways. Nintendo has a strong multinational video gaming brand since its Mario Brothers times. With its phenomenal Wii and DS consoles, quality and creative gaming experience is already equated with Nintendo. This brand equity can easily spill over to other markets. Weaknesses Nintendo’s weakness is inventory shortage for its leading products Wii video game console and DS handheld devices since 2008 (Deshpande & Chua 2008, p.22). This resulted to “retailer bundling” (Datamonitor 2009, p.6). Bundling pushes Nintendo Wii to have a higher price (Datamonitor 2009, p.6). Nintendo is also not an “exciting” marketer unlike Microsoft and Sony. Its DS and Wii products are surprise hit products with little marketing strategy. Still, its product does have a multicultural appeal, because it does not have any predominant Western or Japanese values embodied in its products. Instead, it has mass market appeal. Opportunities There are opportunities to launch related and software products that can tap the mass market again. Nintendo offers Wii Fit home fitness game and Wii Sports, which offer more physical movements and interactivity that appeal greatly to women, children, and elderly markets (Hall 2007). Market expansion across other cultures is also an opportunity, especially since the US market is already increasingly saturated with video games consoles. Threats Competition has become increasingly intense as XBox and PS3 developed wand-like gadgets too (Hall 2007). Microsoft’s XBox offered a camera system that enables users to bring body movements and voice commands into their gaming experience (Edwards 2009). Sony, on the contrary, differentiates itself as the total entertainment experience, with its Blu-ray producrs (Hall 2009). Threat of substitutes is also moderately high. The substitutes are the actual games themselves which are popularised by more sports centers in urban areas. Gyms also offer an alternative exercise avenue for those who want physical activity. PEST Analysis This section refers to the political, economic, social and technological environments of the UAE that will affect Wii's marketing strategy. Political environment The political environment of the UAE is more stable compared to other Middle Eastern nations, such as Egypt, Syria, and Bahrain. The government is focused on economic diversification, so that it can free itself from its oil sector dependence and provide more economic stability for its citizens. Providing more jobs and livelihoods can be a deterrent to coup d'etat and other related violent political activities. The country's Free Trade Zones also offer 100% foreign ownership and zero taxes, which intend to lure in more foreign investors and local entrepreneurship (CIA 2011). Economic environment The UAE has a free-market based economy with a high per capita income and a significant annual trade surplus. Its economic diversification efforts have been successful so far as it reduced its oil and gas revenues to 25% (CIA 2011). The government has improved spending on job creation and infrastructure development and is creating new utilities through greater private sector involvement (CIA 2011). The UAE's strategic plan centers on diversification and generating more opportunities for nationals through greater education and private sector employment (CIA 2011). Social environment The increase in wealth of the UAE has led to negative consequences, such as changes in dietary and lifestyle behaviours that increase obesity and chronic disease prevalence. A growing concern for health has been a trend then in the UAE (Ali, Baynouna, and Bernsen 2010). This is specifically true for women who has recently experienced mounting problems of obesity and related chronic diseases, such as Type II Diabetes. A nationwide study showed that almost 25% of Emirati adults have Type II Diabetes and “75% of UAE residents are either overweight or obese” (Malik et al. 2005 cited in Ali et al. 2010, p.219). Population groups that are at higher risk for Type II Diabetes are persons with greater “fasting or postload glucose concentrations, those with abdominal obesity, as well as women with history of gestational diabetes” (Ali et al. 2010, p.219). Technological environment Many Emiratis have access to technology. By 2009, there were 3.449 million Internet users, while around 11 million have cellular phones (CIA 2011). The UAE has a modern fiber-optic integrated services and digital network due to increasing number of mobile-cellular telephone users (CIA 2011). The key technology centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai. MARKET SEGMENTATION The main target markets are Emirati women, although other women are included. The Emiratis continue to have a conservative culture that keep women inside their homes, which hamper women's education, employment, and even exercise opportunities (Ali et al. 2010, p.219). The increasing Westernisation of lifestyle and eating habits also introduced high fat and sweet food products that have increased obesity and diabetes prevalence among women. Since women are mostly kept in homes and many of them follow traditions of not going outside without male companions, specifically the husband, father, or brother, Emirati women's physical abilities are also curtailed. Some of them have also entered the workforce, mostly through public organisations, so they have less time to prepare healthy food. They are more prone to consume high-fat and sweet foods that are bought from Western fast food chains, thereby increasing their risks for obesity and diabetes (Ali et al. 2010, p.219). Women who are working have higher purchasing power. Many women are educated and know how to use many telecommunication gadgets. These women have cellular phones and some have home-access to the Internet. They are religious and composed of conservative, moderates, and liberal thinking-women. Nevertheless, the Emirati women have a strong cultural identity. They are proud of their culture and language. They may want to exercise more liberal rights, but they are still concerned of preserving their Arabic culture. Their culture is high-context or places high value on social connections, especially family and kin. They are located in urban and rural communities. Some of them are working outside their homes or are entrepreneurs inside their homes or communities. Some of them are already afflicted with chronic diseases, while others are at risk for obesity and diabetes, because of their food intake and sedentary lifestyles. Also, since the UAE is open to foreign products, they will be open to new foreign products too (Tellis, Yin, and Bell 2009). They will be less reluctant in trying new products, especially physically active ones. MARKETING STRATEGY Product The product is Nintendo Wii. It is criticised for its poor graphics compared to other competitors such as Sony and Microsoft. It, however, revolutionised the gaming industry by introducing the wand-like gadget or movable remote control for physical movement. During its launch, it amazingly captivated the mass market which the video game industry has neglected for a long time. Traditional game players in the US, after all, were male teenagers and young to middle-age men. Nintendo Wii successfully attracted young and old alike, as well as women, because it is easy to use, interactive, and intuitive. Wii should be customised to local tastes and languages, including its packaging, distribution, pricing, and marketing strategies and tactics (Gregory 2002, p.14). The product's female and male model characters, however, should be more Middle Eastern in clothing. The veil should be available too as an accessory in the Mii part of the game. The language should include Arabic and Urdu options too, so that it can attract non-English speakers. Thus, the software and packaging should be tweaked to enhance the Arabic essence of the game. This will greatly attract Emiratis, especially the target markets. Price At present, Wii is sold at around $199.99 because of the recent price cut of $50 to $80 last year. This price should attract more women, including students, employees, and homemakers. It can even be offered in installment payments for higher total payment, such as $19.99 every month for a total of $240 sales price. This price arrangement can work for rural areas where risks of diabetes and obesity are also high. Place Direct selling and kiosks at women-frequented places are the main channels of distribution. Direct selling will employ female sales agents who will be trained to sell to female household members. Direct selling is important, because it will not only help women sell to women more effectively, it can reach even those who are quite secluded in their homes and who need exercise the most. The main emphasis of the selling tactic is having a fun activity inside the home, so that health and beauty can be improved. More circulating blood can result to better skin glow and lower weight. Wii will also be sold in malls and other toy and sports centers. The sales spiels should be in different languages, including Arabic and Urdu. Promotions The promotion is positioned to be clean and lean fun: “Wii!!! C-Lean Fun!” The targeted values are health and beauty, with an understanding for the conservative side of the Emiratis. Women ads in the UAE are particularly more conservative compared to American ads, specifically their attire, facial expression, and gestures (Al-Olayan, and Karande 2000). The “clean” adjective also appeals to the “clean” or conservative fun that playing indoors can offer to women. They no longer have to go out to have exercise or to socialise with other friends. They can stay within their houses and enjoy the company of their family and friends. “Lean” is also an important aspect of the marketing strategy. This emphasises the healthy lifestyle advocated by Wii. The predominant message is: “Wii is healthy. Wii is for your health.” “Fun” is also a main attractor. Women can and should have fun in their lives without violating their conservative values. This is why “clean” fun is emphasised. Women have the right to be happy too, and they can do this through playing Wii within their homes. They are having fun and developing their health at the same time. In addition, fun should have a social aspect. Emiratis have a high-context culture and they will enjoy products that enhance social interactions. Wii should be featured as done together with family and friends. The emotional aspect of marketing should also focus on Wii as “we” or the “family.” Magazine and newspaper ads should be used to promote Wii. These are magazines and newspapers that women often read. The same ads should be present in online sites and social networking sites that women often access. These adds will emphasise women who are working out inside their homes using Wii. It will be better to have a testimonial of an Emirati woman who has lost 50 pounds or more because of using Wii sports and following a realistic diet plan. This will greatly enhance the appeal to women who want to be healthier or stay healthy or want to lose weight. The ad can contain a social aspect too, where the woman loses weight while having fun with her children or even husband. Wii becomes “we,” a family activity that emotionally triggers the Emiratis love for their family and social groups. TV ads should also be used. Daytime TV shows that women often watch will be the primary ad spots. As mentioned, there should be emphasis on the fun and exercise effect of Wii. These ads can interview and show women having fun exercising. After being a Wii user for several months, they are healthier and have more self-esteem. Different women will be interviewed, such as formerly obese ones and women with diabetes, who are maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle because of Wii. Other women who are merely avoiding to be overweight, especially busy moms and students, will also be featured. These ads will effectively position Wii as a health management tool, a fun interactive tool that is good for the soul and the body. It is a tool where happiness and health can be combined. Indeed, another helpful positioning is this: “For your fun and health, Wii care.” CONCLUSION Wii will be sold to Emirati women and other women in the UAE. They are the new market who need greater physical activity and still preserve conservative cultural values. Wii will be packaged for Emirati speakers. It will be sold through direct selling, malls, and sports centers. It will be priced competitively with different payment terms. Promotions will focus on the “C-Lean fun” it will offer. It is positioned as: “For your fun and health, Wii care.” These efforts should distill an image of Wii as the next fun exercise machine for keeps that Emirati women can enjoy alone or with their family and friends. Wii is We, a fun way indeed of being healthier and still being a part of one's family and society. 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