Marketing Plan

Sample Marketing Plan: Play Ragnarok
Online

1. Executive Summary
Play Ragnarok Online i s a MMORPG (Massi vel y Mul t i pl ayer
Onl i ne Rol e Pl ayi ng Game) ; Play RO i s a f ree pri vate Ragnarok
Onl i ne Gami ng Server. Pl ay Ro i s a t ype of Rol e Pl ayi ng Game,
Where you gai n experi ence poi nts by compl eti ng quests or by
ki l l i ng monsters. As you gai n more experi ence poi nts you gai n
hi gher l evel s, whi ch gi ve your character more power, and
general l y gi ve them speci al poi nts that al l ow them t o f urther
customi ze thei r character and l et them set themsel ves apart f rom
everyone el se.
Pl ay RO wi l l i ni ti al l y go f or aggressi ve promoti ons and
advert i sements by gi vi ng away CDs f or f ree. Once the customers
have started pl ayi ng, the next step i s to get them to keep comi ng
back f or more and i ncreasi ng the communi ty. “The experi ence
f rom our game shoul d be so compel l i ng that i t makes you gi ve up
spendi ng ti me doi ng other thi ngs. Then we shoul d keep
devel opi ng new content, new experi ences f or our subscri bers.
Once we have huge communi t y of pl ayers we coul d then start
generati ng revenue through them and i mprove more on game pl ay.
Our l ong term goal i s to be the number one pri vate Ragnarok
Onl i ne server and set up the game servers al l the over t he gl obe.

2. Situation Analysis
We wi l l be anal ysi ng the si tuati on usi ng the 4C f ramework.
4C stands f or customer, competi tor, company, and context .






2.1 Customers
Ameri can Academy of Paedi atri cs says nearl y 1 i n 10 ki ds
are vi deo game addi cts and by the t i me they are 21, they
woul d have spent 10,000 hours pl ayi ng games al one. So f or
Onl i ne game we have a huge target segment. We need to
grab thei r attent i on and f ocus on youngsters of age group
12-35 who are part i cul arl y i nterested i n gami ng f i el d.

2.2 Competitors
Pl ay Ro knows that there are some establ i shed gami ng
servers out there and i n them WOW (Worl d of Warcraft) i s
the mai n competi tor whi ch has around 30 mi l l i on pl ayers
pl ayi ng onl i ne at a gi ven t i me and some other servers l i ke
Lord of the Ri ngs onl i ne, Dungeon and dragons, Near real i t y
and other onl i ne games whi ch have about 50-60 mi l l i on or
more potenti al members pl ayi ng regul arl y.
Af ter caref ul anal ysi s we came to know that the
pl ayers tend to pl ay i n one parti cul ar server because of one
maj or reason whi ch i s communi t y or the peopl e i n the server.
Pl ayers try to hang out i n the server onl y because of thei r
f ri ends who pl ay that server so, Once we have more pl ayers
j oi ni ng i n our server we coul d al so grow sl ow and steadi l y
and then compet e agai nst these bi g onl i ne gami ng servers.










SWOT anal ysis:
Strengths:
 Uni que gamepl ay f or a MMORPG where pl ayers
engage i n a seri es of quest.
 Expansi on packs can be created and customi zed
accordi ng to customers
 Abi l i t y to i nteract wi th other pl ayers i n the worl d and
f orm teams to pl ay together
 Pl ayers can buy the game f or f ree and start pl ayi ng.
 The game i s made avai l abl e 24/7, f ast and no l ags.
 Fri endl y GM (Game Master) teams to hel p pl ayers.

Weakness:
 Pl ayers mi ght stop pl ayi ng i ni t i al l y as there are f ewer
pl ayers.
 Better games avai l abl e i n the market.
 Getti ng pl ayers f i rst ti me attenti on.
 Mi ght be bori ng af t er 2 – 3 years.

Opportuni ty:
 Hardl y there are f ew games whi ch work on a story and
devel op the story as the pl ayer pl ays.
 Expansi on packs can be created and sol d when the
customer i s addi cted to the game.
 The quests and equi pment (i tems, weapons, and
armors) can be customi zed to l ook good and powerf ul
so pl ayers tend get attracted to pl ay more.
 The creati on of movi e and cartoon seri es based on the
game woul d att ract more target audi ence.




Treats:
 Hackers mi ght be abl e to crack the stati on and produce
dupl i cate i tems or other thi ngs.
 Thi rd part y Bot programs coul d be used by customers to
cheat the game pl ay.
 The competi tor onl i ne game servers coul d steal pl ayers
f rom Pl ay Ro.


PEST anal ysis:
Political and legal Environment:
Pl ay Ro success i n the onl i ne gami ng worl d depends a
l ot on the l egi sl at i on and acceptance f rom the governments of
the countri es that they have gamers i n. Due to l obbyi ng and /
or pressure groups,
“Government s coul d i mpl ement l aws that prohi bi t
producti on of vi ol ent games, whi ch coul d ki l l off the onl i ne-
gami ng i ndust ry. ”
When taki ng a deci si on there i s a sl ow-down i n
government deci si ons due to pol i ti cal i nstabi l i t y whi ch woul d
aff ect the gami ng busi ness.



Economical Envi ronment:
Currentl y the state of our economy i s not i n a good
posi ti on. From al l the hi stori c recessi ons, the economi c
growth has shrunk whi ch means that the growt h of
the economy i s negat i ve. So pl ayer’ s spendi ng money on the
vi rtual worl d i s qui t e l ow. Even though the number or pl ayers
are i ncreasi ng each year, Due to cl ose competi ti on the market
share f or the Pl ay Ro woul d be l ess as i t’ s new to the gami ng
worl d.









Social Envi ronment:
Pl ay RO wi l l be made avai l abl e al most al l around the
Indi a as of now, and i n today’ s soci et y the gami ng cul ture i s
growi ng st ronger and stronger, l eadi ng to i ncreasi ng
popul ari t y, and prof i ts. However, Pl ay Ro do need to make
sure that nothi ng i n thei r games i nsul t the cul tures that t hey
work i n, or that the games are sui tabl e f or certai n age
groups, even though, cont rary to popul ar bel i ef , onl y 25%
of MMORPG pl ayers are teenagers.
We woul d be maki ng the cul tural events i n game such
as Chri stmas etc, whi ch al l ow pl ayers to meet (vi rtual l y) and
cel ebrate these events i n the games.

Technological Envi ronment:
Wi th the i ncrease i n Computer and broadband speed
comes the need t o i ncrease the qual i t y of the games that
Ragnarok provi des. Wi th thei r gamers expecti ng
new or i mproved products and “pat ches” regul arl y, the
Research and Devel opment department to stay one step
ahead of the consumer. Ragnarok have managed to cope
very wel l wi th the MMORPG phenomena, and i nterest i n the
game has i ncreased by l eaps and bounds over the years
and has surpassed the expectat i ons of even i ts creat ors.
One of the maj or reasons f or the game' s phenomenal
success i s i t s si mpl i ci t y. Many onl i ne games have a st eep
l earni ng curve, but si nce Ragnarok of fers si mpl e user
i nterf aces, both novi ces and expert s can pl ay thi s game and
enj oy i t equal l y.
The abi l i t y to keep the game pl ay si mpl e whi l e
constantl y i mprovi ng the graphi cs and f eatures and overal l
experi ence has been a maj or f actor i n the success of games
l i ke Ragnarok, and i t i s because of thi s, among other thi ngs,
that they are one of the worl d l eader i n the MMORPG and
Games market.






2.3 Company
Pl ay Ro has a total i nvestment of 5 Lakh, Ini t i al l y t he
company i s goi ng to concentrat i ng on gatheri ng more and
more pl ayers and once we have more pl ayers we then we
wi l l be expandi ng our busi ness.
Accordi ng to our pl ant, i ni t i al l y we are expecti ng 1000
customer pl ayi ng by f i rst year end, through them we woul d
be expecti ng a 2% sal es and by the ti me we reach second
year we woul d be expect i ng 5000+ pl ayers pl ayi ng onl i ne
where we woul d have spread al l over Indi a by then and
expecti ng 10% more sal es and we coul d keep addi ng smal l
servers i n di f f erent areas so we coul d provi de better game
pl ay f or the customers.

2.4 Context
In the year 2012 al one the onl i ne gami ng expect i ng to reach
68 bi l l i on dol l ars al l over the wor l d and accordi ng to Indi an
gami ng i ndust ry the f orecasts are to cl ai m that the i ndustry
woul d grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
of 32% by the year 2014 recordi ng an amount of Rs. 3100
crore.
The rapi d growth i n gami ng i ndustry has l ed to
i ncrease i n demand f or new and i nnovat i ve games. So i n
the next 5 years the gami ng i ndustry woul d devel op
tremendousl y and thus hel p i n obtai ni ng better market
pri ces.





3. Market Opportunity and Issues
Assumi ng that there woul d be 1000 pl ayers by the end of
the f i rst year, i n t hat l ets take a 20% of pl ayers woul d take a
donati on i tems t hen i ts 100(pl ayers) * 100 Rs(equi pment
cost/i tem) woul d produce 10,000 Rs. And we are ai mi ng f or 5000
pl ayers by the end of second year and expect the sal es to go up
by 10% and rel ease the expansi on pack whi ch woul d cost around
300 Rs and by the thi rd year expect around 25000 pl ayers pl ayi ng
we shoul d be abl e t o get the Break Even poi nt.
The key success f actor i n the Gami ng i ndust ry i s that we
have keep up the i nterest of t he cust omers up al ways and del i ver
good servi ce to customers whi ch they are f aced wi th probl ems
l i ke “In game hel p wi th game pl ay” or “probl em wi t h buyi ng
equi pments” etc If we can keep up then we shoul d be abl e to grab
the target market attenti on.

4. Objectives
1. Achi eve sal es of 100, 500, and 2500 i tems i n f i rst, second and
thi rd year, respecti vel y ( ref er bel ow tabl e).

Year Sales (items) Rupees(lakh)
2012 1000 1
2013 5000 5
2014 7500 7.5




Assumptions:
 There wi l l be 1000 uni ts of i tems whi ch wi l l be sol d by the end
of f i rst year
 Af ter 18 months we rel ease the expansi on pack whi ch woul d
cost 300/account whi ch i s actual l y bought by 500 persons .
 By the end of 2 and a hal f years the expansi on pack woul d be
bought by another 1500 pl ayers whi ch woul d contri but e a l ot
f or the prof i ts and hel p i n achi evi ng breakeven poi nt.

2. Achi eve break-even sal es as bel ow

Sal es Rs 22, 70,000
Vari abl e cost Rs 16, 20,000
Contri buti on Rs 6, 50,000
Fi xed cost Rs 1, 80,000
Prof i t Rs 4, 70,000

p/v rat i o = 6,50,000/2270000
= .2863

Breakeven poi nt i n sal es =1, 80,000/.2863
= Rs 629370.62

Breakeven poi nt i n uni ts = 629370.62/ 100
= 6294 uni t s

3. Achi eve the i mage of the most – pref erred Onl i ne Game i n the
mi nds of the cust omers del i veri ng superi or game pl ay and
f ri endl y envi ronment.
4. Open up servers i n di f f erent geographi cal l ocati ons al l over the
gl obe so that pl ayers f rom di f f erent pl ace wi l l not have any
probl em (l ag) whi l e pl ayi ng the game.



5. Marketing Strategy
 The game i s made avai l abl e f ree of cost f or the customer.
 The pl ayers need not have to pay to pl ay the onl i ne
game.
 Ini ti al l y f or about f i rst 3 months f ree game CDs are made
avai l abl e to the customers i n vari ous pl aces l i ke school s,
col l eges etc
 Try to grab the pl ayer’ s attenti on to our game and retai n
the pl ayer.
Sales Strategy:
 Once we reach 1000 members, we go f or aggressi ve
sal es where we of f er equi pments at package cost where
i f the customer buys head gear + armor + weapon he
woul d get i tems at much di scounted pri ce than buyi ng
separatel y.
 Attract the customers and make competi ti ve events such
as 5 Man PVP (peopl e vs. peopl e), 3vs3 etc events whi ch
woul d f orce the customers to buy powerf ul equi pments to
make thei r charact er st ronger.






6. Target Market
 Ini ti al l y we are goi ng to target Geographi c area as Indi a,
af ter 2 years we woul d be targeti ng t he whol e wi de worl d
setti ng up servers everywhere.
 We ai m age group of mai nl y 12-45 who are both mal e
and f emal e.

 The audi ence f or onl i ne games worl dwi de grew 29% i n
the l ast 12 months addi ng 68 mi l l i on new gamers.
 More women pl ay games onl i ne then men.
 Research shows t hat 40.5 percent of the onl i ne games
audi ence i s bet ween 35 and 49 years of age, compared
wi th 23.3 percent bet ween 25 and 34, and 21.6 percent
bet ween 12 and 17.
237M
305M
Online Gamers – Audience Growth, 2011- 2012



7. Positioning
Pl ay Ro wi l l posi ti on i tsel f as
“A place for you and your friends to settle down”
So Pl ay Ro wi l l wants to be a pl atf orm where i t hel ps
pl ayers to meet vi rtual l y and exchange thei r vi ews and have
f un whi l e they are here.
What makes our product di f f erent f rom others i s
 The game i s made avai l abl e f ree of cost i ni ti al l y.
 You don’ t have to pay to pl ay the game.
 Fri endl y communi t y wi th l ag-l ess game pl ay.




Demographic Age Group
Age 35 - 49
Age 25-34
Age 12 - 17
Other


8. Marketing Mix
 Product: Pl ay RO wi l l l aunch a f orum where everyone coul d
come together and di scuss about game, and woul d soon
l aunch an expansi on pack the customers.
 Price: In the begi nni ng Pl ay Ro wi l l f ocus on gatheri ng
pl ayers so the cost i s i ni t i al l y 100 per i tem and i n the
second year the pri ces vary and al so there i s an expansi on
pack rel easi ng whi ch woul d cost 300 per account.
 Place: i ni ti al l y, Pl ay Ro wi l l concentrate on Indi an onl i ne
gami ng market f or the f i rst 2 years. Once Pl ay Ro i s f i rml y
establ i shed, we woul d be movi ng on to the whol e gl obe and
i nstal l several servers across gl obe so our customers al l
over worl d woul d be abl e to pl ay wi thout any l ag.
 Promoti on: Free CDs of game i n t he f i rst 3 months, and
di st ri but i on of games i n some popul ar Game stat i ons,
col l eges and school s. Later we promote our pl ayers to vote
f or the server i n popul ar MMORPG websi tes so others coul d
j oi n i n af ter seei ng the ranki ng i n those MMORPG websi t es.
Ask pl ayers to wri t e revi ews of the Pl ay Ro server on
popul ar gami ng si t es such as ratemyserver.com etc
9. Review and Control
Pl ay RO wi l l have a check on f ol l owi ng thi ngs on a peri odi c
basi s so that i t coul d take i mmedi ate acti on to resol ve the
probl em as soon as possi bl e.
 Revenue and uni t sal es.
 Expenses
 Customer Feedback
 Customer i nterest
 Conduct competi tor anal ysi s
 Conti nuous Improvement on game pl ay
 Perf ormance i ssues and game i ssues

10. Marketing Organization
The Market i ng f uncti ons wi l l be run by the Seni or Manager
who has t remendous experi ence i n gami ng f i el d and al so woul d
take advi ces f rom the team i tsel f so that we coul d get much
cl earer i dea regardi ng market i ng.

11. Contingency Plan
Suppose that we haven’ t got the desi red number of pl ayers
whi ch we were expecti ng at the end of 2 years (i . e. 25000
pl ayers ) then we woul d not go on i nstal l i ng servers gl obal l y as
we need to establ i sh the f i rm properl y so we woul d del ay setti ng
up servers gl obal l y f or a year and t ry t o achi eve the target
customers of 25000 and al so i mprove on game pl ay so t hat
customers woul d be more i nterested and try concentrati ng on
promoti ons so we coul d achi eve the target customers and then
go f or gl obal audi ence.
Try to reduce the equi pment cost of i tems i n game and
concent rate on promoti ons i n game as wel l as i n other gami ng
websi tes. Try to have more events i n game etc so that we coul d
have a st rong rel ati onshi p wi th pl ayers and then once we reach
the desi red number of pl ayers we coul d then go gl obal .