“Switching” Up Marketing
Nintendo is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and the company has been at the forefront of the video game market since the 80’s. Their mascot, Mario, rivals characters such as Mickey Mouse in terms of recognition and popularity among children. Nintendo specializes in consoles and games aimed at families and children, often being more child-friendly than other game companies when it comes to interface features such as online friends and chats. Not to mention their kid-and-family-friendly franchises, such as Super Mario, Kirby, Pokémon, and Animal Crossing. Nintendo’s newest console, the Nintendo Switch, is a hybrid console that can be played both docked to a TV or handheld, all while maintaining the ability to play all games regardless of what mode it is in. The console has been incredibly successful thus far, becoming the top selling console of 2020 (Nunneley, 2021). Nintendo’s marketing for their Switch console is quite varied, ranging from kids even to adults, however for the sake of this paper I am choosing to focus on marketing to families with children.
One of the Nintendo Switch’s biggest selling points to families is its portability. The ability to take games on the go is big for families with kids, as through this they can easily be entertained on road trips or in public spaces if necessary. This portability is also helpful for families with children as it allows use of the console outside of the TV, as opposed to other home consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation that require it. Say that a child wants to play a game, but their parent is trying to watch something on TV. They can simply play the game in handheld mode, freeing up the TV. This portability could even work for parents as well, as many adults like to play video games as well as children, and allowing this freedom of portability can lead to easier accessibility.
Another unique selling point of the Nintendo Switch is that it automatically comes with two controllers. This can be important for families with multiple children, as the ability for children or even parents to be able to play together is an important focus for many families looking for games and a console. The console has many popular multiplayer games as well, such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and more, offering a variety of games to choose from.
To market to this target demographic, focus on family play is important. Kids like to play with and against one another, or to play alongside their parents. This emphasis on family play and multiplayer will help lead to success in this market. Another marketing play can be to focus on popular family-friendly franchises that are exclusive to the Nintendo Switch family of consoles, such as Super Mario and Animal Crossing. The exclusivity of these popular games will drive sales of the consoles just to be able to play them. Families around the world love the Nintendo Switch, and for good reason!
Source:
Nunneley, S. (2021, January 15). NPD: Switch was the best-selling console in December and 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2021, from https://www.vg247.com/2021/01/15/npd-switch-december-2020-ps5/
