Advantages and disadvantages

Japanese approach of Product development has as advantages and disadvantages. Managers should very accurate and carefully research object and subject of implementation. Of course Japanese example of implementation this strategy is attractive for followers, but it’s very risky and tricky business.

First of all to launch new brand in new(for you) segment or market, you should know reputation of your products in close segments, reputation of similar products of your rivals, customers preferences and purchasing behavior in targeted market.

If the company will not consider all these factors, they likely fail the competition against exist players. Customers will not recognize brand, they will not be loyal. Also, company will lose millions of investments on research and development, but it will never return.

Advantages are will be significant if company carefully prepared the plan of implementation this strategy. The strategy promises are increasing total market share of company, increasing brand loyalty of your country products and sustainable profit growth driven by new brand.

“Collaborations”

“Collaborations” is unique marketing tool from Japan. It came from mobile game industry and used only in Japan. “Developers over here call it “collaborations” (using the English word), and it essentially means that two companies partner up to inject new life into games.”²

I focused on this marketing tool because it’s uses among two companies to help each other increase market share. It’s interesting phenomenon because you can find it only in Japanese mobile game industry.

By the concept of “Collaboration” some significant content from game “A” (usually recognizable characters) transferred into game “B” and vice versa, for a limited period of time. Sometimes both games belong to one company but not often.

The key points of the concept are: it used for limited period of time and take place within two games from different developers.

The most recent example of cross-company collaboration is Princess Punt Sweets and Battle Cats (both from different companies) as a result during time of implementation this strategy you can meet characters from Princess Punt Sweets in Battle Cats and vice versa.

Another example of collaborations is about two games from one company. Konami has linked two of their top social games, namely “Metal Gear Solid Social Ops” and Dragon Collection, a few months ago. For a few days players were able to get exclusive cards from both games with theme of another game.

Good example of cross device collaboration game to game was provided by Sega. A few weeks ago, some characters from 7th Dragon 2020, an RPG for the Sony PSP, were in Sega’s game coin pusher/RPG hybrid Dragon Coins for smartphones.

Sometimes it’s not only game to game collaboration. Collaborations can be also between game and anime or mango. In that case game developer use anime character in game, and from time to time in anime we can see characters from mobile games.

Drecom (also game developer) used in their game Dragon Dreizehn main characters from well known anime Yuyushiki. Players of Dragon Dreizehn had pleasure to get unique cards with anime characters.

Advantages and disadvantages of “Collaborations”

This strategy includes both advantages and disadvantages. From one hand, “Collaborations” attract new consumers to your game through rival’s game. It encourage gamers to play simultaneously two games, and increase market share of two companies.

From another hand it is risk to lose your players when time period of “Collaborations” will done if game of your competitor will be more interesting or has significant advantage in compare with yours.

To conclude “Collaboration” I want to note, that this strategy may work just after careful preparation and choosing partner for collaboration.

List of references

1) http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/product-development.html ^{(first quotation mark)}

2) http://www.serkantoto.com/2013/05/02/marketing-user-acquisition-japanese-mobile-games-collaborations/ ^{(second quotation mark)}

3) http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus

4) http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acura

5) http://smallbusiness.chron.com/four-product-expansion-strategies-13367.html

6) http://lifeinmotion.wordpress.com/2006/12/23/%E2%80%9Ctoyota-developing-strategies-for-growth%E2%80%9D/

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 969