Nintendo acknowledges people are unaware of Wii U, big plans to educate UK consumers
Since the Wii U’s unveiling, there was confusion as to whether the hardware was a brand new console. That’s still a bit of a problem, and coupled with the fact that quite a number of consumers don’t actually know what the Wii U is, has convinced the company to begin a new campaign to educate parents as kids. As MCV points out, Nintendo’s main focus will now be to reach out to Wii owners.
Nintendo has secured in-store space as UK retailer Tesco. The company intends to produce and release a five page leaflet to 300,000 Tesco customers that bought a Wii, but have yet to purchase an additional console. Vouchers offering money-off games may also be given away.
As far as advertising is concerned, Nintendo will display commercials for its big franchises, including Donkey Kong and Zelda. Ads will run “continuously from half-term to Christmas”, according to Nintendo.
On top of this, consumers can expect national press advertorials, significant online activity, and a huge out-of-home promotional tour targeted at 115,500 shoppers.
Nintendo tells MCV that both its Wii U and 3DS marketing budget is “significantly higher” than last year.
UK marketing director Shelly Pearce told MCV:
“We haven’t had the sales we wanted on Wii U hardware. We haven’t had the software for most of this year. But we have some quite ambitious numbers, particularly with some of our biggest franchises coming. Our monthly tracking shows that Wii remains the No.1 console for brand awareness. This offers us a massive opportunity to convert Wii owners to Wii U. Interest is starting to grow but we know we have a lot of work to do.”
“There was a big misconception at launch about what Wii U is. And one of the big messages is that this is a new console and a new controller. There are many people out there that don’t know what this is.”
