In Stores, Wii Wins - In-Store Marketing Institute

By Seth Harris

A greater product supply and a Sunday launch helped Nintendo of America top rival Sony Corp. in gaining retail support for their competing video game systems.

While the Friday, Nov. 17 launch of the Sony Playstation 3 console gained more media attention and longer pre-opening lines outside stores, the relative scarcity of available systems (stores had as few as 15 initial units to sell) and mid-week rollout (most key chains distribute circulars on Sunday) resulted in relatively little fanfare in stores and chain circulars.

Market research company American Technology estimated that Sony shipped between 125,000 and 175,000 consoles to retailers before the launch, falling well short of its 400,000-unit target (although above the 100,000 Xbox 360s Microsoft Corp. first made available in fall 2005). That fact, and the Friday launch date, kept Playstation 3 from getting strong attention in pre-launch circulars and made the product virtually non-existent in store circulars just two days later.

In contrast, Wii did not create the same violent first-day frenzy that Playstation 3 did. But Nintendo shipped between 425,000 and 475,000 units, according to American Technology, and its Sunday premiere earned it cover placement and/or other dominant feature space in circulars.

Both consoles sold out of initial shipments on the first day. And most stores were outfitted with in-line displays for both systems. Again, however, Wii seemed to receive more secondary support via endcap and freestanding units than did Playstation 3.

Playstation 3
Sony's in-store program featured 15,000 kiosks produced by Chicago-based Rapid Displays that were installed in retailers by Thanksgiving. (See Related Articles and images at right.) Retailers showcasing the console included Target, Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us, Best Buy and Circuit City.

The overall integrated marketing campaign centered on a "Play Beyond" theme and included national TV spots, print ads, Internet and viral media. The effort began in October with ads on billboards and other signage in major U.S. cities. A "Playstation Experience" mobile tour also began making stops at concert venues and events nationwide.

Retail support included:

• Wal-Mart offered Twentieth Century Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand on Blu-Ray DVD with purchase. (Among the console's numerous features is its ability to double as a DVD player for the new disc format. It's also the least costly Blu-ray player on the market.)
  
• Best Buy hosted midnight events at 18 stores. Other stores opened at 8 a.m. Each location received a minimum of 20 60-gigabyte consoles (which retail for $599.99) and six 20-gigabyte systems ($499.99) The chain's Nov. 12 circular heavily promoted the release.
  
• Circuit City featured the system in its Nov. 12 circular and offered a $15 store gift card with purchase of any two Playstation 3 games.
  
• CompUSA let shoppers reserve a console if they purchased a Sony HDTV of at least 40 inches. The promotion was featured in the retailer's Nov. 12 circular.

Wii
Touting Wii as the "family" entertainment system and noting the price differential ($249.99), Nintendo launched a pre-release campaign in 9,800 stores six weeks before Nov. 19. Retailers providing in-line and endcap space to the "coming soon" product included Wal-Mart, Toys "R" Us and Target.

The overall marketing plan included:

• An advertising campaign depicting two Japanese men who visit people's homes to play up the system's family-friendly premise. The spots ran on Nickelodeon, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Discovery Kids Network.
  
  
• Sampling events at malls, a "Nintendo Fusion Tour" in U.S. cities through Nov. 11 with concerts headlined by Hawthorne Heights and gaming "happy hours" at events for magazines and media.
  
  
• A viral marketing initiative on MySpace.com.

Nintendo prepared for the expected competition by naming GameStop and Toys "R" Us as Wii's official launch partners. Toys "R" Us devoted in-line space pre-launch and featured Wii in circulars leading up to Nov. 19.

The two chains hosted activity-rich midnight launch parties in their respective flagship stores in Los Angeles' Universal City and New York's Times Square. In its Nov. 19 circular, Toys "R" Us put Wii on the cover and offered $30 off the purchase of three Wii games.

Kiosks featuring interactive instructional videos on Wii's features received endcap placement in retailers including Best Buy, Toys "R" Us and Wal-Mart. (See Related Articles.)

Ancillary marketing activity included a co-promotion with Coca-Cola at 7-Eleven offering an aptly named Fanta "Strawbewii banana" Slurpee. A corresponding promotion gave away 711 Wii consoles via instant-win game pieces on fountain cups. Translite signs and other P-O-P supported. The game concluded on launch day.

Nintendo also teamed with Procter & Gamble's Pringles on a sweeps dangling 100 Wii consoles. The promotion will be communicated on seven million Pringles Snack Stack; two million Wii-themed canisters will be available at Wal-Mart in December. The sweeps ends April 16, 2007.

The other guy
Never one to sit idle while competitors seek to steal market share, Microsoft conducted promotions for Xbox 360 to stay in the fray. The release of a high-definition DVD player compatible with the system helped Xbox gain nearly as much circular and in-store support as the two new consoles; Circuit City featured the player in its Nov. 19 circular, offering a free King Kong Deluxe Edition DVD (from Universal Pictures) with purchase of the $199.99 player.

CompUSA spotlighted the system in its holiday campaign, "TechToyland," with dedicated signage and prominent product placement.

Target featured the Xbox 360 on its Nov. 12 circular cover, offering a $10 co-branded gift card with purchase of select video games. Both CompUSA and Circuit City dangled free games with purchase in Nov. 26 circulars.

Elsewhere, Kellogg Co. ran a national promotion that put Xbox 360 games into 80 million boxes of cereal and snack bars in what was reported to be the packaged goods maker's most expensive promotion ever. Among related account-specific activity, ShopRite hosted a sweeps giving away 30 consoles as prizes in November.

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