The task was event marketing, it's like they assigned me cake

I recently went for an internship where the task to get to the next round was to design a brand party. A piece of cake I thought. No, not a piece of cake, a whole ice-cream cake. There were three parts.

So I thought that it might be nice to share my creative flare with you, demonstrate how I would ensure coherent branding as well as experiential marketing at it's most fun.

I present, for your pleasure, my Nintendo brand party!

Part 1

Choose a brand and write 2-3  short paragraphs outlining why you chose the brand

The reason that I have chosen Nintendo as the brand I would most like to create a ‘brand party’ for is because it holds a unique place to me personally, within the global community culturally, and perhaps most importantly it pervades several generations. It is a fun brand, that encourages creativity, friendship, and learning. For instance it has been a source of joy, entertainment, conversation and friendships in my life.

Nintendo has been servicing the entertainment market for over 100 years in Japan and for at least the last 50 years internationally. The company is a pioneer in the electronic gaming and toy industry. Having been a strong player in the market since they entered in the 1970s. This means that children and young adults in the 1970’s who were exposed to arcade games and the original brand champions of Nintendo now have children of their own who are also fans of Nintendo. In this way Nintendo has spanned generations of brand champions globally.

The fact Nintendo has captivated the leisure time of so many people world over has contributed to Nintendo’s ability to influence culture. No longer can we think of plumbers named Mario with out the image of a mustachioed man with a red cap of Italian heritage being invoked. Nintendo characters and themed jokes regularly feature in memes as well. It is for these reasons that to host a brand party for Nintendo would not only be an honour but also fun.

Part 2

Where would it be? Who would be there? What type of music would be playing? What is the atmosphere like? and why?

Where would it be?

The venue would be ‘Cookie’, ‘The Toff’ and ‘Roof Top’  in Melbourne on Swanston Street, the venues are operated by the same business and housed in the same building. The whole venue would be harnessed to deliver a completely inclusive experience. The reason that Cookie would be chosen as a venue is due to its central location, its varying rooms/areas and also the staff’s skill in creating amazing drinks and food. The food and drinks although secondary will be an important aspect of the brand party.

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Who would be there?

A completely diverse guest list would be created but as Nintendo operates in the technology and entertainment segment there would be a focus on technology-based invitations that will generate positive word of mouth as well as free publicity via blogs. Owners, buyers, managers and staff at various electronic (whether exclusively dealing in games or just a stockiest of game products) owned businesses. These would include Electronics Boutique, JB Hi-Hi, Toys-R-Us etc.

Avid game bloggers, and online contributors from various tech related websites such as Gizmodo would also be invited to attend the event. The reasons for these invitations would be to generate publicity for Nintendo through online third party endorsements and dialog.

To capitalize on the family friendly nature of Nintendo, especially the Wii, families would be invited to the event early with a special showcase and area that would be appropriate for children. The families would be chosen through a number of channels such as online competitions and buyer reward programs.

There would also be a component open to the general public especially for the tournament.

What sort of music would be playing?

The music that would be playing would be a combination of bands as well as DJs and producers. The music would be themed around video games. The musical talents all having some sort of influence gained from video games, spanning the 1970’s to today. There would also be background music in the foyer, elevator and stairwell which would be a combination of soundtracks from Mario, Tetris and Pokemon.

There would also be a live show where Nintendo characters would perform a stage show of sorts. This would occur during the family section of the party to provide family friendly entertainment.

Girl Talk - a world renown remix producer - would be commissioned to create a remix compilation featuring tracks, reworks, edits and remixes of Nintendo music.

The artists that would be used and the order in which they would appear would appear are as follows.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra( playing various songs from well known video games, featuring Nintendo game compositions exclusively)

Yellow Magic Orchestra (Band, Japan) http://www.ymo.org/

Girltalk (Producer/Remixer, USA) http://www.myspace.com/girltalk/

Boy 8-bit (DJ, Australia) www.boy8bit.com

These artists have been chosen to showcase the depth to which Nintendo has penetrated society. The music would be a showcase from around the world of Nintendo or arcade inspired musical compositions.

What would the atmosphere be like?

The atmosphere would be that of a showcase, party and tournament. There would be people interacting with each other and on their own. There would be music in the background and it would be a fun, safe environment where everyone can find a spot to have fun. No detail would be spared for instance when the elevator reached a floor the Nintendo ‘ding’ would be heard that is so familiar to the original Game Boy player.

The experience starts immediately once a person enters. As people enter the foyer and move up the stairwell or elevator, Nintendo pop culture encapsulated their senses. Each room and building floor after floor would contain Nintendo paraphernalia.

The drinks and food would be themed to either mimic or replicate food from various Nintendo games over time. All of the staff would have Nintendo themed costumes. The security staff would be a combination of Donkey Kong and Wario. The bar staff would have free reign as to the attire they chose to dress up in. Waitresses would be dressed as Princess Peach whilst waiters would be Mario and bus boys would be dressed as Luigi.

‘Roof Top’ would be the centerpiece. A 3D projection technique would be used to allow individuals to play a live Tetris game (refer to references for youtube clips). This live Tetris game would utilise the whole side of the neighbouring building. In this way the blocks would literally be suspended in the air and cast on to the canvas that is the surrounding environment. A staging area would also be set up to allow for all of the musical performances to be held outside.

‘Cookie’ would house the console units, where all of the consoles that Nintendo has produced over the last 30 years can be showcased. All of the originals would be there such as Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64 etc. The cult games would be featured with each console emphasizing a multiplayer approach to try and include as many people as possible. A limited number of games would be available to play due to the sheer size of the catalog available.

Using the booths in ‘The Toff’ section of the venue Game Boy tournaments would be hosted. A variety of tournaments would occur featuring retro consoles such as the original Game Boy systems as well as tournaments with the new systems such as Game Boy Advanced and Game Boy DS. Games would range from Tetris to Pokemon. The right section of ‘The Toff’ would also play host to arcade machines that Nintendo has produced as well as an area to mingle and converse.

Nintendo is much more than one thing and the experience that is needed at a brand party for Nintendo would involve the complimentary combinations of sounds, lights, food, music, decor, colours, people and space. The atmosphere would be a part of the experience, which would encompass the whole building and its surroundings.

Part 3

What you think the brand could do better?

Nintendo is a globally recognised brand with positive connotations, it is embedded into the culture and memories of young adults born after the 1980’s and it has the amazing ability to become multigenerational. Individuals who grew up and purchased the first Game Boys (the first hand held Nintendo product) in the 1980’s are now having children of their own. They in turn buy Nintendo Wiis and Game Boy DSs for their children. With this in mind I think that they can do better to grow and strengthen their brand equity further.

I think that the brand is lacking in the ability for a true multigenerational cross over and interaction. Where games can be shared and passed down from parent to child – Super Mario, Wario, Tetris, Kirby etc. Children beating their parents’ high scores can be a source of pride and sharing in the same ‘digital adventures’ they experienced as children.

Nintendo can do this by integrating better the past consoles into the new consoles. This is not a new concept for Nintendo either, there was some ability to do so originally with the Nintendo/Super Nintendo/Nintendo 64 and Game Boys but there is little or no transferability for later consoles.

This improvement can be done through converters, adaptors and emulators built into the consoles which could also interface with old Nintendo hardware. Hardware has been created in the passed to allow for this to occur with Game Boys integrating with Super Nintendo systems.