Webkinz, the bridge to real and virtual |
wednesday 4 april 2007 |
Webkinz is a marketing concept that has been able to bridge the real and virtual world. Webkinz combines classical stuffed animals with popular online trends such as social networking and instant messaging. It is about playing games and nurturing. It is highly interactive. And what is more, Webkinz is an absolute craze among the 6 to 13 year-olds.
Webkinz is a stuffed animal that is cute as well as educational. When you buy a Webkinz made by The Canadian organisation Ganz, the toy comes with a code that can be used to enter the Webkinz online world for a one-year period. In this virtual world the animal comes alive. Here, children can buy food or toys for their pet, take their pet to the vet, decorate their pet’s room, or play educational games to earn money to buy more things. Webkinz puts strict limits on how much time kids can spend on any activity, leaving the children wanting more. If you have more than one Webkinz, which come in a variety of colours and animals with a new addition debuting every month, the animals can talk to each other, or the child’s pet can speak with a pet’s friend. “It is a personal and all encompassing experience with the pet” says the communications manager for Ganz in Hometown life (published on the website of Ganz).
The target group are boys and girls aged 6 to 13, kids growing up accustomed to computers and using the internet. The concept has been built on the belief that kids traditionally love to collect, they like to build and they love dolls that they can dress up. Webkinz.com is a site where children can build things, dress things, interact with each other and do the nurturing side of things. The site is age-appropriate and monitored by the Canadian parent company Ganz Inc. No personal information is required to register. The site is safe for kids. Chatting takes place by sending preset phrases. It is free from advertising, although the benefits of buying more pets are promoted throughout. With each purchase kids extend their site access, add KinzCash to their virtual bank, and raise their pet’s happiness level by introducing a friend. Webkinz.com is currently just a way of selling more pets, that the company sells only to independent North American toy retailers and not to mass-market stores.
In less than two years, Webkinz has become must-have, just by word of mouth. In 18 months over a million and a half users are registered on the site. The Christmas period resulted in a growth to 2.3 million visitors.
To put that growth rate in perspective, it took Second Life three years to attract the first million residents to its virtual universe. Between April 2006 and January 2007 kids spent an average of two hours per visit on Webkinz. YouTube, by contrast, averaged 32 minutes per visit during the same period, while Club Penguin averaged 54.
The value of the exact market hasn’t yet been tallied, but according to Packaged Facts target group in the US, the market consists of 29 million children with an annual purchasing power of $40 billion. Nearly 90% of these children are now online. Webkinz.com and a site called Club Penguin were early entries into the market, but they are joined this year by the giants Disney and Nickolodeon.
Webkinz is a big success. Sales have boomed. The combination of a tangible product with the intangible experience on the internet is a new approach in marketing and selling products. If and how profitable it is, is not known. And the biggest question is how long will the success last. It all depends on what the kids will want in the future. Their needs can change on the spot and their behaviour is totally dependent on what is considered cool.
Sources: www.ganz.com, nytimes.com, mlive.com, cnnmoney.com, nashuatelegraph.com
Webkinz is a stuffed animal that is cute as well as educational. When you buy a Webkinz made by The Canadian organisation Ganz, the toy comes with a code that can be used to enter the Webkinz online world for a one-year period. In this virtual world the animal comes alive. Here, children can buy food or toys for their pet, take their pet to the vet, decorate their pet’s room, or play educational games to earn money to buy more things. Webkinz puts strict limits on how much time kids can spend on any activity, leaving the children wanting more. If you have more than one Webkinz, which come in a variety of colours and animals with a new addition debuting every month, the animals can talk to each other, or the child’s pet can speak with a pet’s friend. “It is a personal and all encompassing experience with the pet” says the communications manager for Ganz in Hometown life (published on the website of Ganz).
The target group are boys and girls aged 6 to 13, kids growing up accustomed to computers and using the internet. The concept has been built on the belief that kids traditionally love to collect, they like to build and they love dolls that they can dress up. Webkinz.com is a site where children can build things, dress things, interact with each other and do the nurturing side of things. The site is age-appropriate and monitored by the Canadian parent company Ganz Inc. No personal information is required to register. The site is safe for kids. Chatting takes place by sending preset phrases. It is free from advertising, although the benefits of buying more pets are promoted throughout. With each purchase kids extend their site access, add KinzCash to their virtual bank, and raise their pet’s happiness level by introducing a friend. Webkinz.com is currently just a way of selling more pets, that the company sells only to independent North American toy retailers and not to mass-market stores.
In less than two years, Webkinz has become must-have, just by word of mouth. In 18 months over a million and a half users are registered on the site. The Christmas period resulted in a growth to 2.3 million visitors.
To put that growth rate in perspective, it took Second Life three years to attract the first million residents to its virtual universe. Between April 2006 and January 2007 kids spent an average of two hours per visit on Webkinz. YouTube, by contrast, averaged 32 minutes per visit during the same period, while Club Penguin averaged 54.
The value of the exact market hasn’t yet been tallied, but according to Packaged Facts target group in the US, the market consists of 29 million children with an annual purchasing power of $40 billion. Nearly 90% of these children are now online. Webkinz.com and a site called Club Penguin were early entries into the market, but they are joined this year by the giants Disney and Nickolodeon.
Webkinz is a big success. Sales have boomed. The combination of a tangible product with the intangible experience on the internet is a new approach in marketing and selling products. If and how profitable it is, is not known. And the biggest question is how long will the success last. It all depends on what the kids will want in the future. Their needs can change on the spot and their behaviour is totally dependent on what is considered cool.
Sources: www.ganz.com, nytimes.com, mlive.com, cnnmoney.com, nashuatelegraph.com
When you use the analyses and ideas, which are published on our site, we would be happy if you properly name and link the source: science-strategy.com
New business models in media |
tuesday 27 march 2007 |
The quest for new business models in media
A great deal is written and discussed about the need for new business models for organisations in the media sector. The key drivers of change are the developments that are taking place in the sector. Driven by technology, these are:
The media sector concludes in various articles and presentations that there is a need for differentiating business models that are structurally profitable. It is striking, however, that almost no one in the sector knows exactly what is understood by a business model.
What is a business model?
Various concepts have been developed for describing business models, including the business model template of Alexander Osterwalder and the strategy canvas of Kim and Mauborgne. Science & Strategy uses a theoretical framework which has been developed by our advisory body. This framework comprises four building blocks:
In this weblog we will discuss business models which are distinctive and profitable over a longer period of time, starting with Pixar.
A great deal is written and discussed about the need for new business models for organisations in the media sector. The key drivers of change are the developments that are taking place in the sector. Driven by technology, these are:
- New entrants with a disruptive business model are coming into the market and appear to be successful. The question is whether they will also be able to survive in the long term and how they will be able to continue the success they currently appear to be achieving with their disruptive innovation in the future with a structurally differentiating and profitable model.
- Media are becoming ever more interactive. Consumers are participating in the development of content, so that the difference between the professional and amateur is gradually disappearing. Content is king, but whose content is it actually?
- There is far-reaching differentiation in the media offer. Digitisation makes it possible to cater for the demand for ‘niche products’ (the Long Tail). The mass market is changing into a multi-niche market and the question is how this market can be exploited profitably.
- There is increasingly a pull market, in which consumers themselves determine what media products they wish to purchase (e.g. iTunes).
- Traditional value chains, value propositions, consumer segments and business models are no longer adequate. Established suppliers are under pressure and are hardly in a position to keep pace with the market through innovation. The traditional media companies are required to adapt their current business model, or supplement it with new models.
The media sector concludes in various articles and presentations that there is a need for differentiating business models that are structurally profitable. It is striking, however, that almost no one in the sector knows exactly what is understood by a business model.
What is a business model?
Various concepts have been developed for describing business models, including the business model template of Alexander Osterwalder and the strategy canvas of Kim and Mauborgne. Science & Strategy uses a theoretical framework which has been developed by our advisory body. This framework comprises four building blocks:
In this weblog we will discuss business models which are distinctive and profitable over a longer period of time, starting with Pixar.
When you use the analyses and ideas, which are published on our site, we would be happy if you properly name and link the source: science-strategy.com