Gaming and the Marketing Mix - Essay Example

Gaming and the Marketing Mix Introduction Business environment has changed rapidly in recent times owing to which companies felt the need to perform effectively along with proper planning. One such vital area of any business is the marketing department, which is entirely responsible to ensure brand awareness of the products. In the contemporary marketing approach companies has been associating their products with other aspects that can enhance its appeal, amid the customers. In this regard, alignment of advergaming with that of products is one such approach of marketing of the business units (Kirby & Marsden, 2007). In order to get a comprehensive understanding, this particular paper will illustrate how alignment of advergaming with products can be a potential boost for business in the long run. Part 1: Advergaming Advergame is also known as advertising using games, which is one of the most prominent sections of the contemporary gaming sectors. It is a particular method that is being used to integrate the aspect of advertising with that of gaming. Among the various advergames that is being used, General Mills Chex Quest is one of the prominent and widely used games. It has been noted that the game is one of the best that is being offered by General Mills in the series of DOOM engine. The game is known for its attractive features and its simple way of operation. It contains elements such as ascended fan boy, BFG and bloodless carnage (Pedersen, 2009). Furthermore, there is a secret folder during the game play in which the photos of the entire team of the game are being displayed. Apart from that there are other specific features that are associated with the game, which makes it one of the most interesting among the advergames. This particular game is also quite popular for its effectiveness in the domain of advertising for which it has received considerable number of awards and recognition in the past. The companies that are using it for marketing are also experiencing fruitful results (Pedersen, 2009). The company i.e. Ralston Foods has used this particular video game to reinvigorate the brand i.e. Chex cereal. The company offered the game with its cereal products without increasing the cost of the products. Along with the promotions of the products with the game play, the company has also emerged with coupon circulations as well as additional advertisements reaching to more than 40 million customers. This effective operation of the company is largely owing to the promotional boost of the game play, added by the business with its products (Kerasote, 2013). The business that has been targeted in the Unit 1 IP is relevant to health nutrition drink for children, in between the age groups of 5-9 years. Notably, health drinks are quite common now-a-days for children. There are numerous brands that exist in the market place that sells similar sort of products with regard to energy drinks for children within a particular age groups. The advergame of Chex Quest can be used by the company to market the products of health drinks for children. Chex Quest is a particular game that is mainly developed for the children within a specific group. Hence, aligning it with health drinks might ensure fruitful results for the developed business in the competitive market. The merger of the company with that of the advergame will enable it to target larger customer base and enhance the market share. Since, the advergame has the potential to attract the children within a particular age groups, the company will be able to develop an interest amid the children with regard to its nutritional health drinks product. Furthermore, parents who have children who are reluctant with nutritional health drinks can also take the help of the advergame to influence their children to consume the products of the developed business idea. Hence, this will help to widespread the products within its potential target market. Part 2: The Marketing Mix Products. The product that has been selected for the developed business is health or nutritional drinks for the children in between the age groups of 5-9 years. Notably, children in the contemporary scenario need to perform several tasks and avail better education for prospective future for which they need to get appropriate nutrition. Hence, the chosen product can be regarded as appropriate for initiating the business. Furthermore, the use of Chex Quest for marketing the product can be vital as the game is developed especially for the children between the age group of 6-9 years. Price. Pricing is one of the most vital aspects that are associated with the entire process of marketing. Contextually, the primary target for the business will be to sell products in bulk and in a consistent manner to attain sustainability in the competitive market. In this context, the price of the products should be kept genuine and the game i.e. Chex Quest will be offered free with the product without impacting the price level. Furthermore, since the product will be sold online via internet, there will be no need for physical stores for direct sales. Hence, this will also help the company to provide the product at a lower cost and satisfying the needs of the children. Place. The product i.e. health drink for children is targeted specially for the age group of 5-9 years. Therefore, the product will not be targeted for any particular market place as it has the potential to appeal to a wider market. Furthermore, since the product will be offered to the customers through online modes, people especially the parents from different parts of the world can easily access the features of the product and get the delivery in any place they order. In all the three variables mentioned above including price, product and place, a wider appeal for the product is seen to be the topmost priority. Notably, the marketing of the product mainly comprise its integration with the advergame selected. Hence, it can be affirmed that the selected technique of marketing for the product will be able to raise the awareness of the customers and at the same time it will also attract the attention of the customers. Promotion. This is another important aspect that is associated with the technique of marketing. Promoting the products amid the potential customers or the targeted group will ensure increased awareness amid the buyers. Contextually, the set of product that has been chosen to initiate the business is health or nutritional drinks for the children within a particular age group. Since, the product will be sold online internal tools will mainly be utilized to raise awareness about the product. Notably, there are various internet tools that are used for the purpose of promotion in the domain of marketing in any particular sector especially including the online business. One such internet promotion tool is the use of search engines. The business will need to ensure that they can be easily detected by the customers online (European Commission, 2014). In this regard, collaboration must be made with the search engines so that the data relevant to the company can be found at the top of every search. The business will also use of promotional links, which will enable the advertisement of the products to pop up in certain specific websites. Online sales promotion is another important internet tool that can be utilized by the business to promote the products or services (European Commission, 2014). This aspect will include building a proper relation with the customers by the sales person and promote the product to a higher level. This will also include gathering data with regard to the feedback of the customers along with their purchasing pattern. This aspect will not only promote the product, but will also enable identifying the performance of the business. Hence, it is quite apparent that the means of internet enables representatives to explore large numbers of potential buyers (European Commission, 2014). The business shall also create blogs and forums where it can communicate with the customers and gain a better insight about their views regarding the product and services of the company. The company could also be able to depict whether children are enjoying the advergame that is being provided as a free gift to the buyers with the main product. Likewise, the company would be able to determine its future steps towards ensuring maximum development of the product (Management Study Guide, n.d.). Hence, the importance of internet in marketing the products is quite apparent from this particular analysis. Conclusion From the overall analysis of the paper it can be comprehended that in the present day scenario with the transforming nature of conducting operations of business, the approach of marketing has also changed up to a considerable extent altogether. With the advent of technology especially internet companies intends to sell as well as market its product mostly via online, which provide convenient purchasing experience for the customers. In order to enhance the level of marketing operations, business units have integrated their products with numerous advergames. This paper has mainly highlighted about how a business that is operating with the products relevant to nutritional drinks can be integrated with the game of Chex Quest to easily attract the customers. The paper also identified certain specific internet tools with which the developed business can ensure widespread promotion of its product. Hence, it can be concluded that marketing is indeed an important part of the business that directly impacts the overall business performance. References European Commission. (2014). Promotion channels and tools. Retrieved from http://ec.europa.eu/ipg/go_live/promotion/channels_tools/index_en.htm Kerasote, T. (2013). Pukkas promise: the quest for longer-lived dogs. US: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kirby, J., & Marsden, P. (2007). Connected marketing. UK: Routledge. Management Study Guide. (n.d.). Online sales promotions and advertising methods. Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/online-sales-promotion-and-advertising-methods.htm Pedersen, R. (2009). Game design foundations. US: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Read More