Candy Crush Report PDF

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Candy Crush Report...

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Research on the mobile gaming apps Slogan: “The Sweetest game around!” USP: Candy Crush keeps players hooked through its goal-oriented level structure. Candy Crush Saga is constantly creating and launching new, higher levels of the game to entice players to keep playing. On average, a new level is released every two weeks – and, of course, the release is promoted via social media. Target Market: Young population of age group 12 to 25 Competitors: Best Fiends, Fruit Ninja Free, Temple Run SWOT: Weakness Strengths Intense competition from other games means limited and High awareness – More than 50 Million monthly users short-lived brand loyalty Free game with moderately priced in-app purchases It's difficult to maintain the game new & fresh and keep Profitable transaction model people coming back High micro transaction rate Effective utilization of social media Users have given it a high rating Has been recognized as one of the finest games with several awards Large install base

Opportunities Find new ways to generate revenue other than micro transactions Expand into merchandising, such as a board game, school supplies, or real Candy Crush Saga candy Create a version for smart televisions Make a TV show for kids with cross-promotion for the game (code for free level, based on the episode) Huge potential for in-app advertising Rapid technological development Increasing internet penetration and number of smartphone users

Threat Intense competition Product life cycle time is less Expansion of Facebook into social gaming Information leaks- competitors are able to access your launch dates for product and create counter strategies like releasing a new product The mobile app industry is very fragile Changes in consumer tastes – continuous improvement is needed – Else it will become obsolete soon Availability of substitute products A lot of competition

Candy Crush is one of the biggest mass market consumer games. According to King's Chief Creative Officer, A big key to the game's popularity is its highly addictive nature. Candy Crush is addictive because it's equal parts pain and fun and fits consumers' short attention span. In figure 1, candy crush is the third fastest mobile game Market share Candy Crush Saga is still free to play. There is a loophole to paying for players willing to ask friends for help. 'Candy Crush' Activision Blizzard recently announced it would acquire King Digital, the makers of ubiquitous mobile games like Candy Crush Saga, for a staggering $5.9 billion. Candy Crush Saga has used the heck out of social media to propel it – and keep it – at the top of its game since its 2012 debut. Cost Candy Crush is free to download and free to play, which takes all risk out of the "purchase" process. While many players never pay at all for the product, King earns massive revenue from players willing to pay small amounts to resume play more quickly or clear a difficult level. Candy Crush Saga links directly to a player’s Paypal account, which makes in-app purchases literally effortless once the initial account link is established. Candy Crush Saga’s mobile app can also be linked to a player’s Facebook account, making it possible to join in with a wider network of enthusiastic and competitive players. Marketing strategies Casual social puzzle game (Product) Candy Crush Saga links directly to a player’s Paypal account, which makes in-app purchases literally effortless once the initial account link is established. Candy Crush Saga’s mobile app can also be linked to a player’s Facebook account, making it possible to join in with a wider network of enthusiastic and competitive players. (Price) When we launch our games, we use multiple marketing channels available to us which can include TV, PR, performance marketing and cross promotion. We often run events in our games that allow players to compete against each other, collaborate or to achieve a certain goal in a limited amount of time. We market some of these events so that players can choose themselves if they want to engage with these features or not. (Promotion) The website, smartphones, Facebook (Placement) King abandoned all advertising within its games in June 2013, and all revenue is earned entirely through micro transactions

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UK-based developer King has partnered with Twitter on a wider multimedia campaign to support the new mobile game’s release. Candy Crush Saga is a household name. And its developer, King, is a household name in the video games industry. King is one of the highest-grossing mobile game developers in the world. King reported $1.88 billion in revenue in 2013. Industry experts speculate that King generates $633,000 every day, and will produce $230 million this year, on Candy Crush Saga alone. “Candy Crush also brought in the most revenue of games in the App Store for the month while coming in second in Google Play. The top charts within the App Store and Google Play themselves have listed Candy Crush at or near the top for almost all of 2013.” -Dan Rowinski, readwrite.com Candy crush is the first game by downloaded in 2010 Currently, candy crush has dropped.

Porters’ five forces affecting King Industry rivals: EA, Zynga Potential Entrants: Any mobile gaming company or existing traditional gaming company, that wants to expand into the social market. Substitutes: Other smartphone activities such as browsing the web, listening to music, texting with friends, and posting on Facebook and Twitter. Buyers: Any social media and internet user, between ages 8-80 Suppliers: Investors, programmers, and designers Mobile gaming is expected to be worth $46.1b in 2017, enabling it to take the number one spot with a massive 42% of the overall market. This represents a 19.3% year-on-year growth, according to data from Newzoo. Newzoo is positive about the future of mobile gaming too, and forecasts that in 2020, smartphone and tablet gaming will represent half the overall market, and take $64.9b in revenue. It sees mobile eroding both PC and console market share over the next few years to achieve this. APAC continues to dominate worldwide, accounting for 47% of the market. China alone accounts for one-quarter of all global game revenues. Newzoo expects the global market to grow at a CAGR of +6.6% toward 2019, eventually reaching $118.6 billion with mobile gaming at $52.5 billion. This shows a 53% growth in the mobile app world. Mobile games are ruling the app stores, and are responsible for 80% of the revenue from the Apple App Store, and 91% from Google Play. (Source: http://www.businessofapps.com/games-rule-the-mobile-app-worldas-revenue-rockets-53-over-the-last-year/) Smartphones: Android: King holds the 5th spot for free apps, and is the 1st and 2ndmost downloaded game app. Preceded only by Facebook, Pandora, and Instagram. King says: “This is a rare and exciting opportunity. Our challenge as a team is to create a Call of Duty experience on mobile that will strive to transform the best console experience fans know and love, while also breaking new ground for mobile and

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redefining the genre. Our approach and ambition is to be fresh, social, and highly accessible, while providing a very authentic game experience. King says it’s collaborating with Activision on the new Call of Duty game, and has the freedom to think creatively, test extensively, and to use its expertise to, “create surprising results.” Timescales  V1.0 app takes about 4-6 months to build an app, usually.  Quality takes time. Apps vary from two-week throwaways to years-long masterpieces.  Apps that target many features require more time to build than apps with a narrow scope.  Budget will determine timeline. Yet a large budget carries its own dangers.  A team of cross-discipline experts results in a tighter build time.  The right skills, mentality, and process translate into a more efficient timeline. Pokémon Go The game uses augmented reality, combining GPS tracking with mobile cameras to place these creatures in the real world, by overlaying them in the environment on the cell phone screen. Digital marketing for local business has always been somewhat limited, but Pokémon GO opens up a huge opportunity A game that has quickly captured everyone’s attention and given them a reason to go out into the world, walk around, and catch Pokémon. The game uses GPS to mark your location, and move your in-game avatar, while your smartphone camera is used to show Pokémon in the real world. For the most part, it works, provided the game hasn’t crashed or frozen. Potions Potions can help heal Pokémon so they recover from battles, with more powerful potions restoring more health. Trainers can find these items out in the world or purchase these items using PokeCoins, the in-game currency. PokeCoins are earned through battling, but can be bought with real money through in-app purchases. Creative Pokémon GO promotions are getting huge traction on social media, both within their local area and worldwide. This means every promotion you do has a second life online that will be pushed to even broader audiences than the initial foot traffic alone. Always include the hashtag #PokemonGO when tweeting around the topic, and make sure there are updates on your Facebook page. These will help players share the news that there are special opportunities for a given business within their networks, and draw greater numbers to your location. Consumer Statistics of Mobile Apps in the Global Market The increasing number of smartphone users in the global market has led to a tremendous increase in the number of apps that consumers use on their phones. The Apple App store boasts close to 2 million of these apps while Google play has over 2.2 million Apps. This number is expected to increase in the future. The two leading operating systems (OSs) in mobile, iOS and Android, continued to show divergence. Apple’s iOS saw decreased market share as smartphone sales slowed in mature markets, while the strongest growth in emerging markets was in lowend Android smartphones. Game revenues continue to be strong on iOS, despite the lower market share. Android users are far more numerous but don’t seem to spend as much. Additionally, the fragmentation of the Android market continues to hamper app developers. According to statistics, the usage of mobile apps has been on the rise and2017 will continue to see an increase in the development of mobile apps in the global market. Some of the trends to watch out for in 2017 are the VR and AR chats, the dominance of the IoT, a more satisfying user experience, enhanced security and privacy of mobile apps, enhancement of LBS, and chatbots. These application trends will see mobile apps continue to generate a lot of revenue and profits all over the world.

Pokémon GO may be luring new spenders to the mobile gaming market. Among those who made an in-app purchase with Pokémon GO, 53 percent made one or fewer mobile game purchases within past six months. However 16 percent of paying Pokémon trainers purchased over nine mobile games within the same period. Fresh data captured from Slice Intelligence found that in-game Pokémon GO purchases surpassed the rest of the mobile gaming market on July 10th and accounted for nearly 47 percent of the revenue for entire mobile gaming market on the same day. Diversification is where a business markets new product which differs from its usual offering to new

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customers. This can work in two ways such as the business may produce new product in an area that it understands or may enter a completely new, unrelated area such as supermarkets banking. Increased brand awareness and loyalty relates to a business’ overall brand to a product brand within the company. Successful rising brand awareness can increase sales because customers will want a brand when purchasing an item or service, due to loyalty or confidence in similar product or services. Niches do not 'exist' but are 'created' by identifying needs, wants, and requirements that are being addressed poorly or not at all by other firms, and developing and delivering good or services to satisfy them. As a strategy, niche marketing is aimed at being a big fish in a small pond instead of being a small fish in a big pond. Using a catching appearance of the game as a distinguishing selling point that celebrates – and appeals to – a sense of individuality. Branding The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers. Brand personality: Human traits or characteristics associated with a specific brand name. Common characteristics or traits represented include uniqueness, sincerity, intellectualism, competence, excitement and sophistication. The brand personalities give consumers something with which they can relate, effectively increasing brand awareness and popularity. Brand image: Brand image is the current view of the customers about a brand. It can be defined as a unique bundle of associations within the minds of target customers. It signifies what the brand presently stands for. It is a set of beliefs held about a specific brand. A successful USP promises a clearly articulated benefit to consumers, offers them something that competitive products can’t or don’t offer, and is compelling enough to attract new customers. Websites used to be all about the glitz and glamour, but mobile game developers are finally figuring out a great user experience sells more games. Consider Supercell’s website for Clash of Clans. The number one trend I’m seeing in mobile game marketing is a turn towards long term marketing tactics and techniques that seek to build an audience and attract players, and away from short term tactics such as paid advertising. The mobile game segment was the largest at $41 billion (up 18 percent), followed by $26 billion for retail games and $19 billion for free-to-play online games. New categories such as virtual reality, esports, and gaming video content were small in size, but they are growing fast and holding promise for 2017, SuperData said. Cost If mobile games publishers cannot afford a TV campaign, they could use outcome-based advertising, such as app-install ads. They would only need to pay for actual downloads of a game or could even choose to pay for apps that are both downloaded and opened several times. However this can be expensive. Games with complex graphics: Developing a complex, visually rich mobile game is a time-consuming and expensive process. Thus, a game like Real Racing 2 apparently costs $ 2 million. Social: These apps are usually built with social networks’ development kits (like Facebook SDK), although postdevelopment Facebook API’s integration is also possible. A social game application like Farmville costs $ 100-300 thousand. Cross-platform: The games can be played through social networks, mobile apps and web browsers. IT companies release applications for multiple screens in order to reach out to their target audience and expand market presence. Crossplatform custom application development requires great expertize in coding and software integration. Therefore, a comprehensive gaming solution may cost up to $ 300 thousand; Pokémon Go is highest game downloaded in 2016. The infrastructure stage cost a lot to produce the game. In terms of infrastructure, a social app incorporates payment tools and stats display mechanisms (to encourage users play & spend more).

IN-APP PURCHASES An app that utilizes in-app purchases offers a free version of the app that includes additional, optional, paid features. These are commonly seen in gaming apps where users are encouraged to purchase new levels, gear, and items. These types of purchases encourage repeat purchases because they are consumable, such as buying extra lives in Candy Crush Saga. Free apps that have a paid component to provide access to an additional feature or set of features are referred to as “freemium."  “Freemium” apps are free to download and offer paid access to additional features.  In-app purchases are a way to offer optional, paid features within an app.  Subscriptions provide paid content or features over a set amount of time.  In-app advertising generates revenue from user click-throughs and impressions.  Grow a large, active user base to improve your chances of generating significant revenue.  Successful monetization strategies look and feel like a normal part of the app experience Marketing Finally, If you’re spending tens of thousands of £s having a game developed, then you really should spend some of that making sure the right people know about it. Very Large Game – £250k+ Rumoured to have cost around £1.5 Million to build. Small Game – £20k to £60k Many healthily budgeted advergames and small indie game projects would sit within this price bracket. If you want to build a game and you intend it to charge money for it, you will need to spend a reasonable amount on the development to ensure the game has enough perceived value to the player. "This data shows the increasing strength of the games market and confident consumer growth in our industry. We're pleased to see the market soar to nearly £4.2bn for the first time, which is a result of the constant creative and technological innovation in the UK industry, which makes our consumer market extremely strong," said Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie. SWOT on the mobile gaming industry Weakness Strengths False advertisement, Avoid bad customer service, it will ice Becoming more favoured over on the PC and other hurt Mobile game application’s reputation and causes consoles. Asset leverage allows Mobile game application to use their customers to flee to competitors, who are more respondent. Security issues: location best operational assets to expand their business and Developers need time to relearn as new operating improve their market share. Collaboration of a niche and mass business. - Adverts brand awareness. Threats Downfall in the economy. The value of the money is decreasing, Brixton Fierce competition New services help Mobile game application to better Consumers can change their tastes very quickly. Mobile meet their customer’s needs. These services can expand Mobile game application’s business and diversify game application depends on knowing which goods and their customer base. services consumers want. PEST on the mobile gaming industry Political: subject to all governments’ rules and regulations, for example: it is a criminal offence to sell More women play mobile games than video games with a “12” rating to those younger than men – 66% of men play, while the that age. same figure among women is 70%. In terms of the time spent gaming, Economic: consumer expenditure and disposable females beat males at all times of the income, global recession, investment from private day – an average gaming session for enterprise and foreign companies, unemployment figures women lasts 25% longer than for men. rise, consumer expenditure and disposable income. Opportunities Growing market: high demand

Social: change in lifestyle, video game violence, negative health implications strong emphasis in UK on maximising leisure time Technology: innovations quick innovative industry developer must be able to identify a gap in the market and keep up, constant modifications and updates

Youngsters are not the biggest consumers of mobile games. In fact, parents are more likely to be gamers than their children. 61% of gamers in our survey were parents with children living in the same household. The 16-24 age group represents a mere 14.2% of mobile gamers, while people older than 45 years make up nearly a third. So mobile gamers are more likely to be moms than their teenage sons. The findings of this study reveal a direct correlation between the amounts of money spent on virtual goods within

As the mobile gaming industry grows and the variety of games increases, there are dozens of games that appeal to female audiences, such as Candy Crush Saga and Words with Friends – which are the most popular games for both our female and male panellists.

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