By Sneha Ullal
Accessible games and affordable high-quality, big screen mobile phones has transformed gaming from a pastime into a serious hobby. PlayStation India doesn’t see this as a threat but a golden opportunity. Atindriya Bose, Country Head, PlayStation India, divulges PS’s fuss-free marketing gameplan for Indian gamers, and what one can expect from the much-anticipated PS4, which launches in India this week
Q] Considering the niche category you operate in, how does marketing PlayStation in India function?
Marketing PlayStation is perhaps easier than any other electronic item, because our communication with the audience is never one-way. We have so many ‘protagonists’ who are ready to talk about our brand and games — we just have to offer the right topics, the right gaming experience and the ideal environment. In India, it’s important to create a portfolio where a free game is included. Also we promote certain games to potential consumers as their ‘first game’ — it should be interesting and easy-to-win, otherwise they won’t be interested in the console or even share their experiences.
With the launch of the popular racing game Gran Turismo 6 (GT6), for instance, we knew that die-hard fans would talk about the game. But we wanted to initiate the conversation a little earlier. So in October, before Diwali, we ran the previous racing title GT5 in 20 to 40 large-format retail stores. We also ran a GT contest, as a reminder of this franchise. As a result, we got 21,000 people who played or tried out the game, and around 15,000 participate in the contest.
We did an interesting activity with Mercedes to promote the GT6 further. So after the contest, we had a GT-branded Mercedes car drive around Delhi and Mumbai, which fans got to know about through local radio advertising and our Facebook page. We ran a ‘spot the GT car’; contest, where fans could win a chance to be driven around in it for a day. We wanted to target the youth, so we ensured the car was parked in popular hot-spots frequented by them. So many fans took pictures of the car and shared them on their social media pages, so our online presence strengthened multi-fold as a result.
Q] How do you define your target audience? Your marketing seems to be veering towards the youth; but what about the slightly older generation?
Our audience is actually divided into three diverse groups. The junior-most group, which are teens and tweens for whom PlayStation tops their most wanted gadget list, are the main focus of our dual marketing strategy. In India, unlike in other countries, we have a very strong gatekeeper in the form of their parents. Most of them haven’t really grown to or experienced PS gaming, since it’s relatively young in India (it only came in, in 2006-07). It makes them feel that it’s too big an investment as a ‘child’s toy’. So while we successfully moved from being a ‘waste of time’ to ‘pastime’ between 2007 and 2012, we now need to focus on moving from being ‘just a game’ to a ‘hobby that can be well-nurtured’. So our communication with these kids reinforces that we offer great games and the experience is fantastic, while we tell the parents how PS gaming can bring the family together. It’s not about one person playing the game anymore; you can have duels, and thanks to the visual experience, the whole family can get involved too.
The second group consists of college kids, who are the most important and also the most immune to ATL. These kids have vouched themselves as ‘the players’. In terms of information dissemination, if it is coming from any brand, it is suspect information. Instead, they believe in information they can gather online or from their peers. Online marketing helps, especially when you’re providing open forums like Facebook where they can discuss everything freely. We don’t tell them to buy products, instead we let them discuss and debate who their favourite game characters, for instance. The third group are the early earners aged between 24 to 30 years with a higher level of disposable income. So to them, the console is valuable and they buy games regularly if it’s a hobby. Our engagement with this group is deeper, because they started late as they missed out on this when they were younger.
Q] In India, there are an increasing number of people who prefer playing games on their mobile phone. Are they a potential audience for you as well, especially considering the price points of your products?
The PSP handheld starts at Rs 6,990, while its games are priced between Rs 700 and Rs 900. So this is still acceptable pricing as a ‘toy’. But yes, there is pressure from alternate products, especially Android phone games. But because of that, more people are into gaming and are getting a fairly high-quality experience out of their alternate devices. The next step for us is to get this crowd excited about console gaming, by highlighting facts like big-screen excitement, better immersive experience and more varied and intricate challenges as opposed to repetitive actions in most mobile games.
Q] How big is the gaming industry in India right now, as opposed to the international scene?
Internationally, the gaming industry is bigger than the Hollywood film industry. For instance, the production and development costs of Grand Theft Auto 5 amounted to approximately $150 million. So console gaming is serious business. Internationally, the consumer is actually starting to break his time into both immersive console gaming and mobile ‘snack-able’ gaming. In India, however, it’s gradual and the penetration level is still low. But the potential is huge.
Studies say that the console gaming industry in the country is about Rs 750 crores, out of which Rs 400 to 450 crores is hardware, while Rs 250 to 300 crores is software. Around 55 to 60 million consumers claim they game regularly using these devices, out of which 40 to 45 million are serious gamers.
Q] What is your annual revenue like? What percentage is reserved for marketing and advertising?
Till last year, we registered 20 to 25% CAGR. This year was flat, because we’ve taken off the PS2, and whatever the revenue will come in this year will be on the basis of how much we can push the PS4. So we are dependent on this last quarter to deliver the growth. In terms of marketing, we generally operate with around Rs 25 crores and our trade marketing fund constitutes around 1 % of the budget.
Q] What is your distribution plan like? What challenges do you currently face in that respect?
PlayStation products retail in 250 Sony stores countrywide, and a number of multi-brand chain stores like Croma. We’re also present in about 200 high-end and low-end gaming-specific stores, which play an important role in driving the category.
Unfortunately, most consumer electronic stores, including a few multi-brand and small-town stores, are not very adept in selling gaming products, and consumers do not want to invest in the software. So, content distribution is a bigger challenge for us than that of hardware. And if the software and the environment are absent, then the products lose their meaning really. However, our online sales are growing well, thanks to a steady relationship with shopping portals like Flipkart and Games4U.
Q] What can fans expect from the new PS4? What kind of marketingand advertising are you planning after its launch this week?
The PS4 is visually better, with bigger and better games and challenges, than the PS3. It’s definitely designed for experienced gamers, who are technologically savvy. The social connectivity feature is much improved from the PS3. For instance, while you’re playing a game, you can share your last session or timeframe with friends on Facebook, with a direct Share button — a function that was long-winded in the last version. Multi-player, streaming, Internet connectivity and multi-tasking functions have also vastly improved.
Because of the sheer pre-booking numbers we’ve gotten so far, we really don’t need to plan a TVC. That said, as we usually do and since we also want to entice first-timers/mobile gamers, we will set-up experience zones in malls for PS4 and also PS3, PSP and PS Vita. Online promotions and interactions (especially on Facebook) will continue to be fairly straightforward, since we have a captive, vocal audience of 4.5 million.
Feedback: sneha.ullal@exchange4media.com
