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What can Nintendo learn from Disney in terms of marketing and branding?

S

ScOULaris

Member
disney-compra-nintendo.jpg


Ever since Nintendo seized hold of the gaming public's imagination with the launch of the NES and a certain plumber's debut, it has often been called the "Disney of gaming." The parallels between these two iconic companies are easy to spot:


  • Emphasis on all-ages entertainment with colorful worlds and characters.
  • A stable of iconic characters that make appearances across various series and media.
  • Robust merchandising and licensing programs for their biggest characters and brands.
  • Polish that pervades (nearly) all of their flagship products, lending them their trademark feel or "magic."
  • Wholesome, universally appealing gloved/booted heroes that serve as the figurehead/mascot for both companies.
Even as Nintendo's popularity has waxed and waned over the last few console generations, I've always respected how well they maintain their branding as a company. In this regard, they are similar to Apple in how they design their experiences with a cohesion of both hardware and software in mind. Nintendo designs new hardware in order to allow for software to showcase whatever new capabilities they've cooked up for their consoles or handhelds. If you've ever been to the Nintendo World Store in NYC, you can see just how well all of their products and various intellectual properties gel together in the marketplace. Really, it's a shame that there aren't more dedicated stores like this solitary one in New York. It truly is a must-visit location for any Nintendo fan if you're in the area.

Anyway, I was browsing around Downtown Disney recently and marveling at all of the expertly executed Disney theming and branding throughout all the shops and dining establishments. Disney has obviously been at this for a long time, and they have managed to cultivate a very distinct, consistent, and recognizable brand through the use of their theme parks, TV series, movies, and merchandise. I can't help but look at what Disney has accomplished and wonder what Nintendo can learn from them, given their similar audiences and overall vibe. Nintendo already does a pretty damn good job with their merchandising and living up to their "seal of quality" with their flagship series, and I'd like to see them succeed even further after winning back my support with their lineup of great Wii U titles.
 
H

hitoshi

Member
Disney is really very cohesional when it comes to shutting down studios and shooting down promising, maybe even revolutionary games and

1. Sticking to games nobody wants or asks for
2. Making sure that all of them become a huge flop.

I hope the only thing that the industry learns from the Disney videogame department is how to not copy anything they do and do the exact opposite of it.
 
Z

Zalman

Member
I do wish Nintendo would expand their business outside of gaming. I think they have the IPs to do that.

Obviously I don't want them to abandon gaming or anything, but there's no reason why they couldn't explore new things. A big chunk of Rovio's revenue comes from Angry Birds merchandise.
 
Deft Beck

Deft Beck

Member
Zalman said:
I do wish Nintendo would expand their business outside of gaming. I think they have the IPs to do that.

Obviously I don't want them to abandon gaming or anything, but there's no reason why they couldn't explore new things.A big chunk of Rovio's revenue comes from Angry Birds merchandise,
Click to expand...

Nintendo licenses their characters out to third-party merchandise companies all the time.
 
J

James Scott

Banned
Zalman said:
I do wish Nintendo would expand their business outside of gaming. I think they have the IPs to do that.

Obviously I don't want them to abandon gaming or anything, but there's no reason why they couldn't explore new things. A big chunk of Rovio's revenue comes from Angry Birds merchandise.
Click to expand...
This, basically. Until amiibo they didn't have a lot of physical merch in comparison to minecraft or angry birds and i still think they can do more.
Movies and good TV shows would also help with their franchises all creating a unique synergy (games help sell the movie which help sell toys which help sell games....)
With the biggest, most recognizable franchises in gaming they can at least do something.
The more they do outside of gaming the more it would help their gaming business and I'd much rather they do that than QoL
 
E

Exterminieren

Banned
Diversify. For the love of God, diversify.

Disney don't just produce movies. They have their fingers in a lot of pies, and if any one of their industries starts to fail, they can rely on the others to prop them up while they reorganise.

Nintendo have one of the most recognisable suites of IP in the business. It would be a real shame if they couldn't leverage them further, be it through aggressive merchandising, tie-ins, movies, theme park licensing... There's a whole host of possibilities. The Walt Disney Company didn't become a powerhouse until it introduced Disneyland.
 
M

monpiece

Banned
I believe that Disney had a much more important factor from the beginning, that was expanding to many different areas since the start. Although Nintendo has tried to expand to other media, their main focus has been gaming.

Besides, Nintendo philosophy is different from Disney philosophy when it comes to working with partners and licensing their biggest brands. Nintendo is a lot more protective, and that doesn't help when they are trying to expand and reach other audiences outside gaming fans.
 
N

Nightbird

Member
There were a lot of TV Shows for Nintendo IP's in the Past, This is something that Nintendo should pick up again.

Imagine for example a Splatoon TV Show with 12 Episodes. Just like the Pikmin Shorts but longer.

We know that Nintendo has opend up again for more kinds of licencing, and it's clear that we don't get to see the Results of that the next Day, so i will wait and see whats coming to us next Year.
 
I

IAmtheFMan

Member
Market the princesses. Seriously.

You see what Disney has done with their Princess line and Nintendo's sleeping on a gold mine.
 
J

JoeM86

Member
Exterminieren said:
Diversify. For the love of God, diversify.

Disney don't just produce movies. They have their fingers in a lot of pies, and if any one of their industries starts to fail, they can rely on the others to prop them up while they reorganise.

Nintendo have one of the most recognisable suites of IP in the business. It would be a real shame if they couldn't leverage them further, be it through aggressive merchandising, tie-ins, movies, theme park licensing... There's a whole host of possibilities. The Walt Disney Company didn't become a powerhouse until it introduced Disneyland.
Click to expand...

I want PokéPark to come back. That was a badass place I always wanted to visit. I know not strictly Nintendo, but things like that would be awesome.
 
Z

Zalman

Member
Deft Beck said:
Nintendo licenses their characters out to third-party merchandise companies all the time.
Click to expand...
That's true, but they have never really been serious about it. As James Scott just pointed out, they didn't have that much physical presence in stores (outside of games) until amiibo came out. I think it's a big step in the right direction. Iwata has talked a lot about leveraging their IP lately, so I hope we see more things like this in the future.

Merchandise is just one of the many possibilities though. Movies and TV shows should be a no-brainer for a company with such iconic characters. Every kid knows who Sonic is, and I doubt it's just because of his games.
 
B

Balb

Member
NCL has to start giving NoA a lot more latitude when it comes to marketing and branding. It's pretty clear that the Japanese branch doesn't understand what Americans want from Nintendo.
 
M

Mik2121

Member
James Scott said:
This, basically. Until amiibo they didn't have a lot of physical merch in comparison to minecraft or angry birds and i still think they can do more.
Movies and good TV shows would also help with their franchises all creating a unique synergy (games help sell the movie which help sell toys which help sell games....)
With the biggest, most recognizable franchises in gaming they can at least do something.
The more they do outside of gaming the more it would help their gaming business and I'd much rather they do that than QoL
Click to expand...
That must be in the US. Here they have all the Pokemon figures, the Mario Kart 8 figures and board games, the Mario board games, a bunch of puzzle games, posters and TONS of plushes and other stuff like Mario figures.
They also have Nendoroid and Figma figures, plus the Amiibo stuff and other things.


I wish I was a kid again to have all those damn Pokemon figures. I could see my young self buying so many of the original ones :/
 
J

James Scott

Banned
Seriously though,Nintendo can get through several "Wii Us" by doing some of those things.
IAmtheFMan said:
Market the princesses. Seriously.

You see what Disney has done with their Princess line and Nintendo's sleeping on a gold mine.
Click to expand...
Nintendo has the girl from Frozen so that's a start. I heard she's pretty popular
 
E

egruntz

shelaughz
IAmtheFMan said:
Market the princesses. Seriously.

You see what Disney has done with their Princess line and Nintendo's sleeping on a gold mine.
Click to expand...

This wouldn't have the same appeal.
Little girls love Disney princesses because they're familiar with their stories. They pretend to be them all the time. My niece pretends she's Ariel with mermaid fins and tails and crap. Whenever she gets mad at her parents, she pretends she's Ariel, seeking out a new life in a world away from her family. She doesn't care about being a blonde bimbo with no backstory or adventure.
 
Papacheeks

Papacheeks

Banned
They would actually have to learn to make software that was dedicated for their AmiiBo's first.

Also Disney didn't rely on their Old characters as much now as they did in the past. Nintendo is the opposite.

Through their new Studios and talents they have created new characters that people enjoy like Wreck-IT-Ralph, Big Hero 6, Frozen, even tangled.

Nintendo has relevance with their big stars like MARIO, WARIO, YOSHI, TOAD, Donkey Kong, but havn't had any new characters made from scratch have the spotlight like Disney has done for their new properties.
 
MAX PAYMENT

MAX PAYMENT

Member
A lot. I feel like Nintendo IS the Disney of gaming. I also believe they'd be a match made in heaven if Disney were to ever aquire Nintendo.

I think they're taking the star wars acquisition very seriously. There's no doubt they'd handle NOA better.

Disney puts HUGE emphasis on each of their characters. If you care a lot about the particular character, Disney surely has a ton of obscure bulls hit based on just that character.

Nintendo needs to do more of that.

Mario is a good parallel to mickey.
but the other characters don't parrellel the amount of love disney puts towards it's "minor" characters.
 
M

MrT-Tar

Member
I think a conservative level of diversification in terms of media would do Nintendo well. I know Nintendo probably got their fingers burnt with the F-Zero anime, but I can't help thinking that roughly one 26 episode anime and/or CGI mini-series a year for the near future would spread Nintendo's image and branding and could probably pay for itself.

If Nintendo were to hire out Madhouse or somebody else for a Xenoblade X anime, I honestly think it would do ok .
 
M

Mysterious

Banned
egruntz said:
This wouldn't have the same appeal.
Little girls love Disney princesses because they're familiar with their stories. They pretend to be them all the time. My niece pretends she's Ariel with mermaid fins and tails and crap. She doesn't care about being a blonde bimbo with no backstory or adventure.
Click to expand...

What about Zelda and Samus?
 
Z

Zalman

Member
IAmtheFMan said:
Market the princesses. Seriously.

You see what Disney has done with their Princess line and Nintendo's sleeping on a gold mine.
Click to expand...
You are on to something. Nintendo should try to appeal more to the female demographic. I think they realize this too. More and more of their games have playable female characters. Just look at the Smash Bros. roster, for instance.
 
T

t26

Member
Making their stuff extremely limited if you don't buy it day one. Oh wait Nintendo is already doing it.
 
M

Mysterious

Banned
egruntz said:
Even fewer girls know who they are.
Most think that "Zelda" is Link. Even more have absolutely no idea who Samus is. Those who do think she's a dude.

=/
Click to expand...

They could market them. Which is what that poster was implying, "Nintendo is sleeping on a goldmine." Make little kids more aware of them.

Rosalina, Palutena, Zelda, Samus, Lucina, etc. all have plenty of backstory and adventure. It's only just Peach. :\
 
S

ScOULaris

Member
Balb said:
NCL has to start giving NoA a lot more latitude when it comes to marketing and branding. It's pretty clear that the Japanese branch doesn't understand what Americans want from Nintendo.
Click to expand...

It's a shame because in Japan Mario is heavily marketed and merchandised like crazy. Almost all of the crazy, obscure Mario merch is exclusive to Japan.
 
S

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
Less fat plumbers, more princesses.

Seriously though, this would probably be pretty smart. The girls' market is pitifully under-served in the console arena. It might take awhile to take hold and buck off the common perception of console games for girls as awful cash grabs, but establishing a girl-focused line of actual good games could be the cornerstone of a new empire. The removal of the taboo of making games that actively cater to girls and women is a huge factor in mobile gaming's rise to power, and most of that output is "kind of passable" at best.
 
T

TheSlySoul

Member
Disney did a good job keeping the mascot in check and letting other franchises get their time. I feel like Nintendo should do the same. Do not let F-Zero and Kid Icarus die.
 
E

egruntz

shelaughz
Mysterious said:
They could market them. Which is what that poster was implying, "Nintendo is sleeping on a goldmine." Make little kids more aware of them.
Click to expand...

They'd have to do more than that. For Zelda to reach anywhere near Disney princess levels, she'd have to have her own mainstream game. Legend of Zelda is already marketed pretty well. It's a very familiar title, with a very familiar face (Link's). It wouldn't be enough to leave the formula where it is and just shove Zelda's image at little girls.

She'd need a game that
1) Focuses entirely about her, going through her own sets of adversity
2) Sells extremely well (which won't happen...likely...if the target audience is little girls--Nintendo likely knows this, which is why it hasn't happened)
3) Resonates well with the target audience. Girls have to connect with Zelda's character (and let's face it, she's rather unanimated). It has to be on a level where they'd fantasize being Zelda. Little girls are more likely to fantasize about being a princess with a prince charming than being a princess in a dark land full of monsters that has to fight the evil Ganon. As sexist as it sounds, that's generally a boy's fantasy.

I just don't see it.

With Samus it's even more obscure. Her entire backstory is much more dark, as is the overall tone of her games. Metroid is not very accessible to most girls. Not to say that's the case for everyone--it's just a generalization. For THAT formula to be successful, they'd have to change the mood of Metroid entirely, and I wouldn't be for that just in the name of expanded marketing. Nintendo sticking to their guns and what they consider their quality works has always been their redeeming quality IMO.
 
MAX PAYMENT

MAX PAYMENT

Member
IAmtheFMan said:
Market the princesses. Seriously.

You see what Disney has done with their Princess line and Nintendo's sleeping on a gold mine.
Click to expand...

Yes. My god this. Went to Disneyland with the wife recently. I was amazed at how much they pushed each disney princess in every way possible. They seem to take the "there's no such thing as too much" approach.

Imagine if Nintendo's characters got the same love.
 
E

evilromero

Member
hitoshi said:
Disney is really very cohesional when it comes to shutting down studios and shooting down promising, maybe even revolutionary games and

1. Sticking to games nobody wants or asks for
2. Making sure that all of them become a huge flop.

I hope the only thing that the industry learns from the Disney videogame department is how to not copy anything they do and do the exact opposite of it.
Click to expand...

I'm curious why Disney Interactive was the first thing that came to your mind. I would assume it's pretty obvious that the OP is referring to Disney's masterful control of branding and their ability to leverage the appeal of their IPs to a variety of markets. He even mentioned "Downtown Disney."
 
M

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
There should be Nintendo store in all capitales, to begin with.
All Amiibos could be found there, + pokemon and animal crossing merchandise, trained reps would demo games, etc.

I can't see how they would not make big money around it.
 
T

TheSlySoul

Member
Also Nintendo can buy Crash from Activision and Mega Man from Capcom and make them their own icons like Disney did with Marvel and Star Wars.
 
S

saichi

Member
While Nintendo is not as deep pocket as Disney, they can probably still learn from Disney on how to spend money for marketing than what they are currently doing.
 
S

ScatheZombie

Member
Buy Marvel, Pixar and Lucas?

Because those three companies are what kept Disney expanding and growing when their in-house animation, merchandising, and television divisions where underperforming for the past 5+ years.

Frozen is the only non-Pixar (Wall-E, Up, Monsters University, Brave, Toy Story 3) or totally-ripped-from-Pixar (Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6) true Disney movie to do well in years. Their biggest merchandise movers are now Marvel and Star Wars related. And their game division struggles in everything but mobile throwaway games tied to their Pixar/Marvel/Lucas franchises.
 
B

Baron von Loathsome

Member
Disney has investments in tons of forms of media, is one of the largest companies in the world, is one of the most influential media producers in the world (even today), and is based in the same country as its largest market. They have a ton of advantages that Nintendo don't, few from which Nintendo could possibly learn.

ScatheZombie said:
Frozen is the only non-Pixar (Wall-E, Up, Monsters University, Brave, Toy Story 3) or totally-ripped-from-Pixar (Wreck-It Ralph, Big Hero 6) true Disney movie to do well in years.
Click to expand...

Tangled? And discounting Wreck-It Ralph and Big Hero 6 as in-house successes seems pretty arbitrary.
 
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