Topic: Nintendo wins Marketer of the Year

[GoldenPhoenix]

What a turn around, I remember everyone whining and moaning about Nintendo's marketing, well it appears they are finally getting things right!

Look here

I especially like the praise of the name, something that brings back old memories of hatred when it was first announced!

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And now the back story on that crazy name.

When Nintendo announced in April 2006 that it was changing the code name of its forthcoming console from Revolution to its permanent moniker, Wii, the world said, "What?"

Nintendo executives can't be that naïve, right? They do know what people will think of, right? Wait, is it maybe just a strategy to build buzz?

No, yes and sort of.

Nintendo was not naïve. In fact, it hired a respected branding and naming giant, Interbrand, to come up with the name (along with dozens of others that were discarded).

And, yes, Nintendo executives did know the urinary connotation of the word. They were prepared for the jokes and snickers but also knew those would run their course.

And while executives insist the name wasn't meant purely to inspire buzz, the selection and announcement were indeed wellfounded in strategy. Wii the name cannot be shortened or bastardized.

Wii the name refers to the inclusiveness and we-ness of playing together. Wii the name has two i's that physically mimic two people or two remotes. And Wii the name is global -- it's pronounced the same way in most any language.

As for the announcement, it was the timing that was strategic. It came just weeks before the console's first public unveiling at E3, the most important gaming show of the year. The intent was to let the comments and snickers rise up and then die down by the time it came to checking out the hardware and software, says George Harrison, senior VPmarketing and corporate communications at Nintendo of America.

"We knew that people were going to make fun of it," says Perrin Kaplan, VP-marketing and corporate affairs. "We knew there would be a little rainstorm before the sun showed up again."

And, they ask, a year and a half later, can you imagine it being called anything else?

Well, no, actually, Wii can't.

 

[son of lucas]

It's still a stupid name.  I don't know much about creating brandnames, but I know that there are plenty of short words out there that can't be associated with urine or genitelia.  And Nintendo's overall marketing is hardly impressive.  Their biggest boost in that area comes from media articles, not Nintendo itself.

They're succeeding despite massive incompetance in their marketing department.

[Shift Key]

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Originally posted by: son of lucas
It's still a stupid name.  I don't know much about creating brandnames, but I know that there are plenty of short words out there that can't be associated with urine or genitelia.

ANGRY PANTS TIME. EVERYONE PULL THEM UP AND LETS TRAVEL TO LAST YEAR

[son of lucas]

I didn't bring up a topic trying to say that making your brand a laughingstock weeks before your big unveiling was a stroke of calculated genius.

The Wii is a success because people love the product.  The executives and hardware guys who came up with and executed the concept get all the credit from me.

[GoldenPhoenix]

And the funny thing is that no one really associates Wii with urine, it has made a name for itself.

[Crimm]

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Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
And the funny thing is that no one really associates Wii with urine, it has made a name for itself.

YOU SAID PEE PEE

[Kairon]

Despite some holdouts, the general acceptance of the name vindicates those who embraced it almost immediately.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Regardless that is just one part of this, it really shows a big turnaround for Nintendo in the general publics eye when it comes to marketing.  

[Adrock]

Wii is still a pretty lame name. However, a console makes a name for itself. If the controller didn't catch on and Wii failed to capture an audience, we'd probably still hear people making fun of the name. Most consoles have pretty dumb sounding names, but we all remember them, mostly, by how they performed in the market.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: Adrock
Wii is still a pretty lame name. However, a console makes a name for itself. If the controller didn't catch on and Wii failed to capture an audience, we'd probably still hear people making fun of the name. Most consoles have pretty dumb sounding names, but we all remember them, mostly, by how they performed in the market.

The way I look at it, there is far more evidence backing the pro of then the negative. I would think a highly respected trademark designer would know much more about what they are doing then the average joe.

[Kairon]

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Originally posted by: Adrock
Wii is still a pretty lame name. However, a console makes a name for itself. If the controller didn't catch on and Wii failed to capture an audience, we'd probably still hear people making fun of the name. Most consoles have pretty dumb sounding names, but we all remember them, mostly, by how they performed in the market.

The name by itself is dumb. But the name combined with the console? The name viewed holistically as part of Nintendo's overall strategy? Genius.

The proof is in the pudding, I'm afraid.

[King of Twitch]

>>Nintendo was not naïve. In fact, it hired a respected branding and naming giant, Interbrand, to come up with the name (along with dozens of others that were discarded).

Hmm I remember Kaplan saying she came up with the name.


Game Informer, 4/27/2006:
GI: Whose idea was Wii?

Atwood:  It was actually several people internally. But beyond that, we aren’t disclosing specifics on how the name came about.  But it was several people at NOA and NCL.

[GoldenPhoenix]

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Originally posted by: MJRx9000
>>Nintendo was not naïve. In fact, it hired a respected branding and naming giant, Interbrand, to come up with the name (along with dozens of others that were discarded).

Hmm I remember Kaplan saying she came up with the name.


Game Informer, 4/27/2006:
GI: Whose idea was Wii?

Atwood:  It was actually several people internally. But beyond that, we aren’t disclosing specifics on how the name came about.  But it was several people at NOA and NCL.

I really don't think Kaplan came up with the name, I don't recall that. My guess is that NOA and NCL worked with a 3rd party to develop the name.

[Strell]

Jesus.

Is it 2006 again?

I've seen forum threads whining about graphics this week too.  But the name crap again?

There is not enough alcohol in the universe for this sh*t.

[IceCold]

Marketing isn't only advertising. You guys need to learn the four Ps.

[Mashiro]

Product. Place. Price. Promotion.

=)

[Kairon]

Yeah... I guess it's true that most gamers think of advertising as the one big C: commercials.

[vudu]

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Originally posted by: IceCold
You guys need to learn the four Ps.

Don't forget STP!

[GoldenPhoenix]

Well before the Wii, Nintendo only had the Price P!

[Ian Sane]

Nintendo winning any sort of marketing award just seems so ironic.  Though the console is selling so something's going right and I'll give them credit.

I think a big part of it is that the product itself is so "neat" for lack of a better word that people became curious about it and thus made an effort to familiarize themselves with it more.  They made sure to try it out which they never did with the Cube.  With the Cube everyone assumed that it would have the problems of the N64 and Nintendo not only f*cked things up in such a perfect way so as to confirm that bias but also didn't publicize any reason to not think that.  Regardless of what Nintendo did right or wrong the Wii made people look at Nintendo again and they found a decent product because Nintendo always releases pretty damn good stuff.  Odds are if people actually bothered to check it out they would have liked the Cube more than they did as well.  Nintendo's greatest accomplishment with the Wii was making something so unique, different and interesting that everyone had to check it out.  If that was all on purpose that's pretty good marketing I suppose.

I still won't give the name credit.  It's dumb.  It's stupid.  Although I meet people who actually talk about the Wii outside of my core group of friends the first time anyone I knew mentioned it there was a sort of embarrassed tone to their voice.  Most people I meet say "Nintendo Wii" to set the topic of conversation and only after that does just "Wii" get used.  Maybe in Japan that name was a big deal but here I still think the console suceeded despite the name, and definitely not because of it.  Everybody who heard that name made fun of it at first and I don't think many people checked it because it had a name that sounded like pee.  They checked it out because when they found out what Wii was it sounded like a cool concept.

Though maybe having a stupid name was the plan.  Having radio DJs making fun of your console's name is better than them ignoring you outright.

I don't think Nintendo Revolution being the exact same console with the same games and same ads and same everything but the name would have sold worse.

I think if the competition is on the ball next time and Nintendo follows the same marketing strategy this time around but doesn't have something as unique and interesting as the remote was it won't work as well.  Now as the market leader it's always their spot to lose and unless they make a huge mistake they'll be okay, but take away the remote and the name and look of the console and ads and all that stuff isn't very impressive.  I felt at the time that the controller change was not necessary for success but looking at what Nintendo did it was.  I think a more traditional console would have worked but sure as hell not with this marketing strategy.  A major overhaul of their marketing as well as policies towards virtually everything but game design itself seemed essential but instead Nintendo kept those things largely in tact and just made such a major change to the hardware that people had to notice.  It's kind of a freakshow strategy.

[GoldenPhoenix]

All I have to say Ian, is there is more circumstantial evidence of the name being positive then the name being negative. Nintendo has run a brilliant marketing strategy all around, and the name was just one part of it, heck even my Operation Management teacher praised Nintendo's marketing INCLUDING the name.

[Ian Sane]

"All I have to say Ian, is there is more circumstantial evidence of the name being positive then the name being negative."

Because the console is actually selling, right?  If things are going good it's kind of makes sense to assume it was all a brilliant plan in every way.  But that's something a company shouldn't assume.  Other factors can affect things.  Hell do you think the Wii would have done as well as it has if the PS3 wasn't such a f*cking joke?  There's an example of something affecting that outcome that was never part of Nintendo's plan.  So next time Nintendo can't just do the same thing and have it work.  They have to analyze it.  What really contributed?  What didn't matter?  What did we succeed despite of?  What did we get lucky on?  What did we earn?  What did we get unlucky on?

I've never heard anyone say anything GOOD about the name.  It's either a joke about it or they don't mention it at all.  Nintendo mentioned "we" like the name suggested togetherness.  I've never encountered anyone making that connection beyond the original name defenders on this forum.  "Urine" is still the only association I've ever seen from people in my day to day life and no I don't just hang around with people that think like I do.  It's not like I'm all buddy-buddy with all my co-workers for example.  The piss jokes suggest to me that at least the people I've talked to merely tolerate the name.

I do like the logo though.  The two i's that look kind of like people was a good idea and having Wii flip over to Mii is pretty clever.

Was the Gamecube a bad name?  The console didn't sell to Nintendo's expectations.  Is that enough evidence to suggest the name screwed things up?  Maybe it had no effect.  Maybe the name was good but other factors overtook it.  Personally I thought it was a good name but it wasn't a big enough deal to help things.  Since the Cube was a flop was everything about it bad?  No.  I'd say Nintendo should have, and probably did, look at what still was a good idea despite the failure and what the real problem was.

I'll admit when I thought the name was so bad that it would completely f*ck everything up I was wrong.

[that Baby guy]

My two cents?  Nintendo's marketting isn't really good, but for the first time in years, it isn't bad, either.  Of course, I say it isn't bad because it doesn't seem as strange, out there, and inaccessible to everyone as previous commercials and advertisements have been.  I say it isn't good because it isn't really getting people talking about games.  The hottest Nintendo game isn't really water-cooler conversation anywhere, because people don't care that much.  Sure, it'll be talked about a little bit once a month, but not thanks to marketing.  That's a problem to me, but it's still a victory that the Nintendo ads haven't been stupid, like they could be.

As for the naming aspect, I think naming the system the Wii was brilliant in a way.  Compare: Xbox, Playstation, Revolution, and Wii.  The first three seem geeky, high-tech, very unaccessible, and intimidating.  The last one sounds like it could be anything, and is intriguing.  The name really was instrumental.  It shows a new idea in videogames, and not in an intimidating way.

[GoldenPhoenix]

Actually I think the name Gamecube did hurt the system along with other things (including the design). It sounded like a kids system, and the look of the system didn't change that either! I do want to say that you don't have to consciously get the "We" connotation, you can also get it subliminally or sub-consciously. Wii was a great name for the simple fact that it can't be shortened, and the name itself drives interest in what it is. Some of the best advertisers are ones that can think of a name that is so different that people need to know what it is, and when it becomes mainstream it may even become synonymous with that type of product.

I actually hate the Revolution name now, it sounds confrontational and it could have had an impact sub-consciously with people, Wii is weird, but it doesn't invoke possible confrontational meanings and is more "accepting". Heck some of the most successful brand out there have short names, such as iPod. One thing I will NEVER understand is "we" is used all the time but people like to focus on some stupid westernized context that is immature beyond belief. Though now that the Wii has become popular I am hearing the name being used by itself without Nintendo attached to the beginning.

Also Ian, have you ever admitted you were wrong?  Just curious.

[GoldenPhoenix]

This relates. Business Week also picked Nintendo and Wii as one of the best global brands.

Yet another example of Nintendo getting things right from a marketing standpoint