106232 - MARKETING

Subject type: Basic

Coordinator: Adso Fernández Baena

Trimester: Third term

Credits: 6

Materials (articles, videos, guides, etc.) in English and Spanish are used during the course. 

Developing video games, as well as in other creative and cultural industries, means design and technical capabilities, but also the creation of products and services that need to be distributed and collected. Making video games profitable in an increasingly competitive and changing market can mean turning that passion into our way of life. The subject of Marketing addresses this exciting professional field as a science and as an art, without losing sight of the fact that it is a piece of something bigger called business.

The knowledge and skills covered by the subject are acquired from the different sessions of theory, teamwork, group discussions, research, etc. It is for this reason that the evaluation system rewards constant teamwork and the acquisition of theoretical knowledge on an individual basis.

This subject has methodological and digital resources to make possible its continuity in non-contact mode in the case of being necessary for reasons related to the Covid-19. In this way, the achievement of the same knowledge and skills that are specified in this teaching plan will be ensured.

The Tecnocampus will make available to teachers and students the digital tools needed to carry out the course, as well as guides and recommendations that facilitate adaptation to the non-contact mode.

At the end of the course the student must be able to:

• E13.1. Demonstrate knowledge about the structure and organization of a company.
• E13.2. Use forecasting and business planning tools.
• E13.3. Describe the basics of marketing and market research.
• E13.4. Design a marketing strategy for a video game.
• E13.5. Describe business models related to the video game industry.
• E13.6. Design a business model and monetize a video game.
• E13.7. Analyze the economic viability of a business or line of business.

The subject uses the following work methodologies:

Master Class, Lectures, Presentations, Video Capsules, Debates and Forums, Case Studies, Role Playing, Collaborative Learning, Problem Solving, Critical Article Search and Reading, and Question-Based Learning.

1. THE ROLE OF MARKETING YESTERDAY AND TODAY
1.1 What is Marketing and what is it for? 
1.2 Strategic Marketing vs. Operational Marketing
1.3 When does marketing intervene? GaaP VS GaaS orientation
1.4 Phases
1.5 Professional profiles.
1.6 Alternatives for the video game developer.
1.6.1 Self-publishing
1.6.2 Publishing
1.6.3 Third party services

2. STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL MARKETING
2.1 The business-product-market fit:
2.1.1 The value proposition (company / product)
2.1.2 Value delivered and perceived
2.1.3 Hooks vs. Points of Sale
2.2 Branding
2.2.1 Brand image
2.2.2 Brand strategy and brand tribes
2.2.3 Personal Branding
2.3 The Market and the Importance of Market Research

3. MARKET RESEARCH PHASE
3.1 Market Analysis:
3.1.1 Concentration, Competence, Maturity and Life Cycle.
3.1.2 Analysis tools (red oceans / blue oceans, trends, benchmarking)
3.1.3 Indie market situation
3.2 Market testing
3.2.1 Value and growth hypothesis.
3.2.2 Validation methods.
3.3 STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)
3.3.1 Segmentation. User Research, secondary data, qualitative data mining
3.3.2 Targeting. What is? Strategies
3.3.3 Positioning. Steps. Static and dynamic components

4. PREPRODUCTION PHASE 
4.1 Games as a Product and the 4 P'S or Marketing Mix
4.1.1 Product (benchmarking)
4.1.2 Place (platforms, stores, date, metrics and algorithms, analysis tools, etc.)
4.1.3 Price (cost / benefit, revenue models)
4.1.4 Promotion (hook and pitch)
4.2 Games as a Service (GaaS) and the 7Ps of the Marketing Mix
4.2.1 Physical Evidence (quality evidence for intangible products)
4.2.2 People (HR required to provide GaaS)
4.2.3. Process (processes required to offer GaaS)
4.3 Market testing
4.3.1 Crowdfunding and Early Access
4.3.2 Geographical tests

5. PRODUCTION PHASE 
5.1 Traditional vs. Modern Communication. Inbound vs Outbound
5.1.1 Public Relations (PR). Types of Audiences, Audience Creation, Agencies, Community Management, Buzz Marketing, Influencer Marketing.
5.1.2 Advertising. Historical note, Determinants, Agencies and Ads Campaigns.
5.1.3 SEO / SEM and ASO positioning.
5.2 When to communicate? 
5.2.1 Time of year
5.2.2 Type of consumer
5.2.3 Customer Journey and Touch Points
5.3 Creation of Materials.
5.4 Communication tools.
5.5 The Roadmap.

6. PUBLICATION AND POST-LAUNCH PHASE
6.1 Release Hype and Timing
6.2 Distribution and Platforms
6.3 Earned Media
6.3.1 Types of Press
6.3.2 Types of Coverage 
6.4. POST-LAUNCH
6.4.1 Press Reviews and Follow-up
6.4.2 Social Networking, Support, Community-driven programs and Pricing game
6.4.3 Updates, content extensions and series
6.4.4 Others: Awards, Merchandising and technical back catalog
6.4.5 Post-mortem: Budgeting and Learning Reports

With the aim of collecting evidence of the achievement of the expected learning outcomes, the following activities of an evaluative nature will be carried out (related to all the common competences):

A1. Exercises in class or at home (Evidence of learning outcomes E13.1, E13.2, E13.3, E13.4, E13.5 and E13.6)
Practical analysis exercises, eminently based on real cases, starring international video game companies, and dealing with strategic decisions or real companies that end in success or failure. Usually supported by texts, viewed in class: videos or presentations in PWP. The directed activities serve to evaluate the attitude towards learning. At the end of the activities the student must have a speech to comment on decisions about product creation and design and business ideas. However, the student should be able to analyze new cases independently with a more technical and scientific view.

A2. Group work: Market Analysis (Evidence of learning outcomes E13.2, E13.4, E13.6 and E13.7) 
Purpose of the exercise: Analysis of market opportunities for a game indie. The exercise aims to promote the reflection and application, by students, of the basic aspects of marketing in the process of creating games. indie. These basic aspects correspond to the theoretical contents of the subject and, therefore, it is a question of the students selecting and applying these contents to the activity of creating a video game independent of the financial and creative control of a large corporation.

A3. Work in group: Marketing Plan (Evidence of learning outcomes E13.2, E13.4, E13.6 and E13.7)
Purpose of work: Creation of a marketing plan for an independent video game development company. The course work aims to reflect and put into practice by the student the basics of marketing in small video game companies. These basic aspects correspond to the theoretical contents of the subject and, therefore, it is a question of the students selecting and applying these contents to the activity of creating a marketing plan for a "virtual" video game company.

A4. Partial examination (Evidence of learning outcomes E13.1, E13.2, E13.3, E13.5 and E13.7)
Individual partial examination of part of the syllabus. The statement of the test consists of three parts: first part with test-type questions, second part with practical exercises and, third part, reasoning questions.

A4. Final exam (Evidence of learning outcomes E13.1, E13.2, E13.3, E13.5 and E13.7)
Individual final exam of part of the syllabus. The statement of the test consists of three parts: first part with test-type questions, second part with practical exercises and, third part, reasoning questions.

General criteria of the activities:

• Teachers will present a statement for each activity and the evaluation and / or rubric criteria, in class and through the virtual campus.
• The teacher will inform of the dates and specifications of delivery of the activities, although it is the responsibility of the students to attend to any modification of dates or formats of delivery.
• Class and homework exercises will be done in teams of 4 people. The variation of the number of components to a number of students different from the specified one will be at the discretion of the teaching staff, according to the needs of the subject / groups. The groups will be created at the discretion of the students.
• Class exercises and assignments will be delivered in digital format via the eCampus, with one week for delivery in the case of class exercises.
• The exercises and works will be solved together in the classroom and will serve to comment, analyze and generate debates in class around the contents of the subject. Thus, the development of the works contemplates tutorials during the classes where the students can ask doubts. The class will detail the frequency and its operation. Attendance at these sessions will be important in the evaluation process, in accordance with the general competencies of the subject related to organizational work, self-learning, teamwork and the ability to apply content and generate ideas.

The grade of each student will be calculated following the following percentages:

• A1. Exercises to do in class or at home: Exercises 10%
• A2. Group work: Market Analysis 15%
• A3. Group work: Marketing Plan 25%
• A4. Partial exam: Partial exam 20% 
• A5. Final exam 30%

Final grade = A1 x 0,1 + A2 x 0,15 + A3 x 0,25 + A4 x 0,2 + A5 x 0,3

Considerations:

• The exams (partial and final) must be passed with a minimum grade of five (5) to pass the continuous assessment.
• An activity not delivered or delivered late and without justification (court summons or medical matter) counts as a zero (0).
• It is the responsibility of the student to prevent plagiarism in all its forms. In the case of detecting plagiarism in any activity, regardless of its scope, it will correspond to having a grade of zero (0). In addition, the teacher will inform the Head of Studies of the situation so that applicable measures can be taken in matters of the sanctioning regime.

Recovery:

• Students with a grade of less than five (5) in the grade of any of the exams (partial or final), may retake the subject by taking a single exam that will collect all the contents of it. The mark of the resit exam will be the final mark of the subject.
• Students with a grade of less than five (5) in the weighted mark of the evaluation activities of the first call, will be able to recover the subject by carrying out a single exam that will collect all the content of the same. The mark of the resit exam will be the final mark of the subject.
• The maximum grade that can be achieved in an extraordinary call or second call is a five (5).

DRESKIN, J. (2016). A Practical Guide to Indie Game Marketing. FL: Taylor & Francis.

KOTLER, P. (1999). Kotler on Marketing. NY: The Free Press.

ZACKARIASSON, P. & DYMEK, M. (2017). Video Game Marketing. A student textbook. NY: Routledge.

NAGLE, TT, & MÜLLER, G. (2017). The strategy and tactics of pricing: A guide to growing more profitably. Routledge.

BONO, E. (2016). Six Thinking Hats. Life.

HOLIDAY, R. (2014). Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising. NY: Penguin Group.

KLEIN, L. (2018). UX for Lean Startups: Faster, Smarter User Experience Research and Design. US: O'Reilly Media Inc.

DRACHEN, A., MIRZA-BABAEI, ​​P., & NACKE, LE (Eds.). (2018). Games User Research. Oxford University Press.

FUTTER, M. (2017) The Gamedev Business Handbook: How to build the business you'll build games with! Bithell Games: London, UK.

FUTTER, M. (2018) The Gamedev Budgeting Handbook: How to finish your game on time and on budget! Bithell Games: London, UK.