Today, I reviewed insider comments from the product launches of two gaming systems. Separately, both stories were interesting but a comparison was insightful.
In the April 2007 issue of Fast Company magazine, a portion of the Microsoft Xbox 360 story was published. In Less Hulk, More Bruce Lee, Don Hall, the former Xbox global brand director, recalls the back-to-back-to-back presentations of three independent brand designers. The three contenders for launch services were from Landor, Turner Duckworth, and JDK Design (Jager, Di Paola, Kemp Design). Of the three contenders, JDK was the underdog.
The presentation from Michael Jager, JDK's creative director, included a description of the "pure aggressive power" of the Xbox but then suggested that it could become "an invitation to an experience." Jager continued:
"Our approach was to transition Xbox from this hulk of escaping power into this quiet power that is lurking, something still incredibly dangerous but with more of an elegance and grace," he recalls. "The analogy we used was Bruce Lee."
Hall remembers:
"As soon as Michael and his team walked out, I looked around the room and knew it was just a formality to sit through the other presentations." Indeed, Jager's illustrative shorthand became a mantra for the 360 team as it created the look and feel of the new system. "Whenever we evaluated our work in terms of guiding our decisions for Xbox 360," Hall says, "it was like, 'This is too Hulk' or 'We need more Bruce Lee.'"
The article revealed:
"As JDK worked with the Xbox 360 team, they continued to build on the Bruce Lee idea. The final reverse-parenthesis design [ ) ( ] of the console is itself Jager's symbologic conjuring of the martial-arts master, representing the inhalation of breath before a strike. JDK helped design a font specifically for every aspect of the new system."
The Xbox 360 console was launched 23 March 2006. The Fast Company article states that Microsoft sold more than 10 million consoles before the end of 2006.
Part of the Nintendo Wii story was presented at a 21 February 2007 teleconference hosted by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association, WOMMA. A year ago, the Wii was considered the "third in a two-horse race." The Wii was launched as a brand using an organic word of mouth (WOM) approach. Key points from the February presentation included:
- "Fundamental to success is a product that's at once innovative and accessible
- Brands should move beyond word of mouth marketing and toward "word of experience" marketing, giving consumers the chance to not only talk about products, but also to use them
- The best kind of word of mouth is the kind that seizes upon consumer enthusiasm to create unimagined campaigns and unanticipated opportunities"
Wii was introduced 19 November 2006 and sales were 1.1 million through the end of 2006. Who is experiencing Wii? The range is astounding. Today, a Google search using the words "Senior" and "Citizens" and "Wii" return over 400,000 results. Retirement home residents enjoy games such as Wii bowling. Grandparents are teaching grandkids how to play. Non-gamers are willing to give the Wii system a try.
During the WOM teleconference, Perrin Kaplan, VP, Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Nintendo of America and Stephen Jones, EVP, GolinHarris reported:
"Nintendo used a combination of word of mouth marketing techniques -- including buzz marketing, social networking, consumer-generated media, and brand ambassadors -- to take its brand from last place to first, ahead of its largest competitors."
Both teams relied on outside experts to develop part of their product launch plans. They used different approaches because their situations were different. Both teams produced good results.
The Nintendo team cited inspiration from Clayton M. Christensen, author of The Innovator's Dilemma. They knew that they had a great product and they facilitated multiple ways to get potential customers to use their product.
In contrast, the Fast Company article highlights the tactics (imagery, language, design cues, ...) used to make the Xbox more desirable.
What is one way to evaluate your product launch mastery skills? Determine which of the following skill levels best describes you.
- Good: Knowing about these two techniques
- Better: Knowing when to apply these techniques to a particular situation
- Best: Everything in "better" plus successful implementation
