In their efforts to revive Wii U sales across the United Kingdom, Nintendo have confessed that there aren’t enough people aware that it is an entirely new console from the company.
To rectify this, they have devised a campaign that targets parents, children, and Wii owners in particular, having struck a deal with Tesco that has seen them book in-store space, distribute a five-page leaflet to 300,000 customers that purchased a Wii from the supermarket chain, and give away vouchers that discount games.
If that wasn’t enough, television advertising will run “continuously from half-term to Christmas” alongside national press advertorials, online advertising campaigns, and a promotional tour that seeks to attract 115,500 shoppers.
Expectedly this means their marketing budget across Wii U and Nintendo 3DS is “significantly higher” in comparison to last year, which shows their determination to turn everything around.
“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,” Nintendo UK’s marketing director Shelly Pearce explained to MCV.
“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.”
Tesco to aid Nintendo’s Wii U advertising campaign
Maybe it’s time for Nintendo to stop releasing underpowered consoles, as a benchmark they should look at the latest phones on the market and aim to put atleast a bit more processing power than those! I’m not surprised their sales are falling as for the same price you could buy a GTX770 and enjoy much better framerates and visuals. You could then even emulate a wii if you choose and still enjoy Super Mario! I’ll be sticking with the SNES for now, best console nintendo ever made. RIP!
Looks like a good strategy, my flatmate has one and I’ve been generally impressed by it apart from the lack got games that appeal. Some of my mates (who have Wiis ) have actually been round and asked “What’s that??” when they see the controller, perhaps people see the ads and just think the controller is an add on like the Kinect