Marketing Strategy for World of Warcraft - Case Study Example

Executive Summary The manner in which the gaming industry has transformed and the movement witnessed from the traditional consoles towards online games has multiplied the importance of marketing it effectively. World of warcraft has looked towards ensuring that they are able to market their website and provide the customer with and experience that one is looking for. To ensure it World of Warcraft has ensured that they have designed their website in such a manner that it helps to attract maximum people and provide them an experience which is soothing. World of Warcraft has ensured that they keep their website simple but at the same time provide complete information. The website has been developed in such a way that it helps the people who wants to join the army by actually visualizing the scenario they might face in the army. This has ensured that they are able to target the correct customer base from the age of 12 to 40 years. The company has laid importance on having wikis, blogs and social networking sites linked to their website so that customers are able to read the experience of others and decide their course of action. Along with it World of Warcraft has ensured that every minute aspect related to colour and branding is looked after. This has helped to improve the brand name and has helped World of Warcraft to market itself better. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Purpose of the report 3 Online Gaming Industry 4 Target Market 4 Marketing Strategy 6 Website Development Strategy 7 Objective of Website 8 Home Page Layout 9 Information Assessed from Website 10 Branding 11 Color Palette 11 Conclusion 12 Recommendations 12 References 13 Introduction The growth in the gaming industry has provided ample opportunities to the different organization to market the games. The growth has been phenomenal for the online gaming industry as people are moving from the traditional consoles to online games due to the simplicity and the fun associated with those. This has made World of Warcraft use this opportunity and market itself in such a way that it is able to differentiate itself from its competitors. World of Warcraft has ensured that the game has been designed in a manner where it multiplies the fun and helps people who want to join the army by making them visualize and feel the scenario they might encounter in the real world. World of Warcraft has looked into different aspect of the website and marketing strategy which has helped them to market themselves Purpose of the Report To identify the marketing strategy for World of Warcraft which will help to increase the customer base and create more awareness about the game To identify the target market for World of Warcraft and the strategy adopted by them to tap those To identify the different aspect of the website design that World of Warcraft has looked into like branding, colour palette, wikis, blogs and other social networking sites To identify the manner in which World of Warcraft will be able to grow and look into the different aspect of business Online Gaming Industry The growth witnessed by the gaming industry including both the consoles and the online games has been great. The growth has been more for the online gaming industry which has grown from a size of $18 billion to $64 billion (Online Games, 2011). The prime reason for the growth has been the development in technology which has enabled the fun and experience associated with games to multiply. The shift in consumer from consoles to online games provides an opportunity for World of Warcraft to bank on. The organization by designing the games and ensuring that a free trial version is available on their sites can attract a lot of people. The magnitude of importance of their games can multiply by highlighting the benefits and providing access to different blogs, wikis and social networking sites like Twitter, Face Book and so on so that the customer is able to read past experiences and decide the course of action that one wants to follow. Target Customer World of Warcraft has been able to ensure that their strategies are directed in a manner that helps them to target the correct customer base. The company has defined a target base of customer in the age bracket 12 to 40 years of age. The game can be played by all age groups but the company designs and provides the different options of the games based on the above mentioned target customers. The target customer for World of Warcraft can further be segregated into two. One is their core group which constitutes from people in the age brcked 12 to 24 years and the other constitutes in the age 24 years and above. The reason for dividing the target into two age groups has helped World of Warcraft to ensure effective marketing strategy. Since their game has some relation to the army and helps people who want to join the defence forces and dividing into two groups has helped World of Warcraft to ensure that they are able to motivate the core group in joining the army. Since, they are able to visualize the actual scenario and also understand the manner in which it will have an effect of their future and multiply their experience their target customer base has been sound (Peterson, 2006). This helps to ascertain the target base as shown below Targeted Segment Age Group Class of Customer Rural 12 - 40 years Premium Middle Class Lower Middle Class Semi-Urban 12 - 40 years Middle Class Lower Middle Class The above segmentation has ensured that World of Warcraft is able to develop a marketing strategy based on it so that efficiency is achieved in their operations. Marketing Strategy World of Warcraft needs to ensure that they market their website effectively so that they are able to grow their customer base. The company needs to ensure that they look towards improving the penetration level by making more people look towards playing the game. World of Warcraft needs to bring forward the advantage and the experiences that customers will have when they play the same by using different blogs, wikis and social networking sites. World of Warcraft can look towards the following marketing strategy World of Warcraft needs to use the method of direct selling where the company directly approaches the prospective candidates and develop interest in the game. World of Warcraft needs to ensure that they bring forwards the benefits associated with the game and make more people purchase the game (Ferrell & Hartline, 2005) World of Warcraft needs to use different blogs and social networking sites to ensure awareness about the games. Also providing free trial version will ensure that once the customer who comes in contact with the games looks towards procuring it. World of Warcraft needs to ensure simplicity and ensure maximum experience for the players by ensuring that the website is fully developed and has all the ingredients which will make it successful. Along with it the organization needs to ensure a strategy where all the different aspect of branding and product development is looked into (Ferrell & Hartline, 2005) Website Development Strategy World of Warcraft needs to ensure that the marketing strategy adopted by them is effective which will require that the organization looks into developing the website in a manner that will help to attract maximum attention. World of Warcraft needs to ensure that the website is simple but provides all valuable information that the customer is looking for. World of Warcraft needs to ensure that while developing websites different data is collected through primary and secondary sources. Also ensuring regular up-gradation and improving the content of the website will be vital. World of Warcraft needs to realize the importance of blogs and social networking sites and incorporate it in their website. This will help the new comers to understand the experience of others and decide their course of action (Ranchod, 2004). World of Warcraft corporate strategy is to be built on a solid base and the adaptability to mould itself with the changing times and being innovative at the same time will contribute towards the success of the organization. World of Warcraft needs to have a vision for the future and not compromise on their quality. The strategy which the company should follow should have a mix of inward and outward development on all fronts. The company on the outward front had marketers who were able to gauge the requirements of the customer and also market the product. Also the establishment of chain across different regions took care of the fact that if sales fell at a certain location it would be taken care through other stores. Also, the desire of the company to hire regular talents who had some experience kept them abreast with the changing technology. Objective of Website World of Warcraft needs to ensure that while developing the website different aspect of the gaming industry is looked into. They need to ensure that the site is not bulky as well as interesting and arouses interest of the on lookers. World of Warcraft needs to ensure that the website contains the following (Cravens, David, Nigel & Piercy, 2009) Ensure a website which is simple and user friendly so that the customer understands the games easily and derives satisfaction out of it Provide information which is important and relevant thereby ensuring that the website is not cluttered Ensure that the customer is able to browse through the different options with few clicks thereby ensuring effective communication Having a trial version of the game available on the website so that the customer can play the game and arouse the required interest that will motivate him to purchase the game An environmental factor which will have a toll on World of Warcraft is the rapidly changing technology which will make their products being imitated easily and the competitors coming up with the same resulting in a price war finally leading towards sacrificing the quality. Opening of stores worldwide will also reduce the concentration on the customer needs thereby resulting in the competitors taking a hind sight lead The rapidly increasing competition and changing in technology calls for the company to stick to their corporate strategies and change slowly so that the competitors are not allowed to creep in front. Also, different legislation and binding government norms will have an impact on World of Warcraft strategy. The company needs to recognize those threats and need to be on their feet to tackle those especially in the changing times. Home Page Layout World of Warcraft needs to ensure that the website is simple and provides relevant information to the customer they are seeking for. World of Warcraft needs to look into the fact that it increases leverage and ensures simplicity. This is witnessed in the home page layout as shown below The above site shows simplicity and enables the user to browse through the different options which enables him to play the game. On a click further information regarding the game is available as shown below The above snapshot shows that World of Warcraft has looked into the minute of aspect and considered the valuable points that should be covered in the website. This will increase the pleasure for the customers and will help to enhance the experience as having a top quality game matched with simplicity will induce the players to further play the game and will act as a key factor towards the marketing of the game. Information Assessed from Website Website provides a lot of information to the prospective buyer based on which the decision of the buyer gets influenced. This makes it important that World of Warcraft looks towards providing the valuable information to the customer so that the interface improves. World of Warcraft needs to look towards providing the following (Hooley, Saunders & Piercy, 2004) In Context Analysis: is a vital tool which will help the customer to find the popularity of the game and the manner which has influenced the buying habits of the customer. This will guide them and help to decide on their individual buying decision. Blogs: will help the customer to find out the customer experiences and the satisfaction derived after playing the game. This will also help to identify the quality of game and make the customer understand about the popularity of the game Wikis: will help to understand the manner in which the game has revolutionized and grown. This will help the buyer to understand the different aspect which the company has worked over the years which has improved the game and ensure higher satisfaction level. Branding World of Warcraft needs to ensure that they brand their game and market it in such a way that it helps to attract maximum viewership. World of Warcraft has to look towards tying up with other companies and ensuring that their brand is promoted. This will help to arouse interest and will define the path that will help World of Warcraft to succeed in the online gaming industry. Colour Palette World of Warcraft needs to ensure that the colour they choose for their websites goes on well with the requirements of the game. The organization has to look into the fact that the colour is soothing and multiplies the experience as colour has a much larger role in the success of the gaming industry. World of Warcraft can look towards using the following to improve the colour The above will help World of Warcraft to determine the colour mix which will help the company to ensure maximum satisfaction. This will ensure that the customer is more keen towards purchasing the product and highlighting it will help to create multiple effects in the mind of the customer. Recommendations Based on the above World of Warcraft should concentrate more on their core activity i.e. developing their website in a manner that helps to attract maximum viewership. World of Warcraft needs to ensure that they maintain simplicity should work on the same business model and sell products directly to the customer so that there is maximum efficiency in operations. Following the above will help World of Warcraft to create a positive brand image as it will be able to maintain simplicity and at the same time grow by integrating new developments. This will help World of Warcraft to bring a change in its brand image and will help them to improve the corporate image. This change will also help World of Warcraft to ensure consumer confidence which will help World of Warcraft to ensure that they have a base of loyal customers. Conclusion World of Warcraft thus needs to look towards developing their website and ensuring simplicity so that they are able to attract maximum customer. They have to provide all the relevant information the customer is seeking for and ensure that the satisfaction level and experience for the customer multiplies. World of Warcraft needs to look towards using the recent development like blogs and social networking sites to market itself and create more brand awareness so that they are able to attract maximum talent. References Cravens, David W. & Nigel F. Piercy 2009, Strategic Marketing, 9th edition Boston: McGraw-Hill Ferrell, O.C. & M.D. Hartline 2005, Marketing Strategy, Mason, Ohio: Thompson Hooley, G.J, J.A. Saunders & N.F. Piercy, 2004, Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning, Harlow: Prentice Hall Online games. 2011. Online Games in Guerrilla Marketing. Retrieved on September 15, 2011 from http://www.guerrillaonline.com/cs/Online-games-in-Guerrilla-marketing-42.htm Peterson, 2006, Strategic Marketing Problems: Cases and Comments, International Edition, 11th edition. Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey Ranchod, A. 2004, Marketing Strategies: A Twenty-First Century Approach, Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Prentice Hall Read More