Introduction
Spirited Company Pty Ltd is a startup company located in Minneapolis that offers game and consulting services. The company has a dynamic management team that will be responsible for overseeing its daily operations. Furthermore, a team-oriented and client-focused staff of three, that is, two computer programmers and a part-time social media person will support the management team. Based on the revenue potential of the Virtual Reality (VR) gaming sector, Spirited Company Pty Ltd has the capability of making significant market sales in the first year of its operation. With excellent and competent management, substantial annual growth revenue is expected.
The equity for every investor will be factored in by their investment. Each of the three directors, namely Michael Smith, Alecia Prior, and Andrew Bullock, contributed an amount of $30, 000. However, an additional $250, 000 is required to cover the initial expenses of operation. The investment capital will be secured in escrow until the project is fully funded. The $250, 000 is intended to be used in the following manner:
- $165,000 for two new programmers
- $45,000 for marketing
- $50,000 for working capital.
Moreover, Spirited Company Pty Ltd intends to make a soccer mobile VR video game named StrikaFootball, which will embrace the Free2Play (F2P) business model. A demo for the game is already available. StrikaFootball will be an interactive football game that will mirror the situations that crop up in the real arena. It will contain every league around the world with their respective strikers. Furthermore, it will constitute special sound effects and a fantastic user interface and graphics to energize the football experience. The aim of the game is for the selected striker to take free kicks and penalties with their feet. The individual will require one HTC tracker to shoot, or even no trackers when they have a standard VIVE controller on their foot. The game is played at different levels with each level having assorted numbers of goalkeepers, or goalkeepers with varying capabilities.
Marketing Plan
Spirited Company Pty Ltd has done extensive market research and collected substantial information regarding its archetype customer.
Market trend
The gaming market is a profitable and growing industry. It is estimated that the global video game market will generate $90.1 billion in 2020 from $78.6 billion in 2017 with mobile games being behind the revenue generation (Clarified International, 2018). Currently, a substantial portion of the market is located in China, Japan, and the U.S. Therefore, this suggests that there is a relatively sizeable untapped market with potentially millions of gaming enthusiasts. Moreover, the demand for mobile games is gradually rising with the market value expected to attain $74.4 billion in 2019.
Other elements of the gaming market, such as the eSports market are also gaining popularity and are expected to reach $2,174.8 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 18.61% between 2018 and 2023 (Markets and Markets, 2018). Moreover, sport is gaining considerable interest internationally for both genders. According to Nielsen Sports (2018), football is the world’s most popular sport; therefore, creating a mobile virtual reality game in soccer would be cutting-edge. Lastly, the F2P business model is more worthwhile than the Pay-to-Play model (P2P). For instance, in 2017, the P2P revenue was approximately $2.8 billion, while the F2P revenue was $17.1 billion (Woodside Capital Partners, 2015).
Market needs
Spirited Company Pty Ltd is intending to provide its customers with cutting-edge gaming solutions which are priced competitively in relation to that of the competitors. The rapid growth of the video game industry has been witnessed globally. The emergence of VR video games has further complimented this. Moreover, in the field of VR, the niche of sports video games accessible as mobile applications has not been fully exploited (Grandview Research, 2017). Therefore, this indicates that StrikaFootball will be among the pioneering games in the VR soccer mobile application games. It will thus have the capability of enjoying first-mover benefits of customer loyalty and brand recognition.
Marketing strategy
Spirited Company Pty marketing strategy will be centered on increasing the company’s visibility with its targeted population segment. This will be facilitated through a multifaceted promotion strategy that will utilize advertisements in video games magazines, video games trade shows, and social media.
Mission
Spirited Company Pty mission is to create a brand image and reputation for quality and innovative gaming solutions at competitive prices.
Target marketing
Spirited Company Pty Ltd clients can be categorized into two groups. The first group consists of sports gaming who want to enliven their gaming experience by taking a step into the virtual reality world at the comfort of their phones. Its market segment covers a vast range of ages constituting members of “Generation X” to the seniors. The second group comprises commercial clients who intend to “gamify” their industry or business.
Marketing mix
Spirited Company Pty Ltd’s marketing mix comprises the following approaches to distribution, pricing, customer service, and advertising and promotion.
- Distribution – All mobile gaming applications will be distributed through the company’s website, Google Play store, and the iOS App Store. Consulting services will be distributed at the company’s physical office.
- Pricing – The pricing scheme used will be relatively competitive to that of its competitors.
- Customer service – The main objective of Spirited Company Pty Ltd is to establish a brand name and a customer base. This can only be achieved by providing quality customer service.
- Advertising and promotion – In the consumer market, the primary mode of marketing will be through social media platforms and video game magazines. However, in the business-to-business (B2B) market, the company will primarily reach its market through trade shows and little social media marketing.
SWOT analysis
The following SWOT analysis shows the strengths and weaknesses within the company and illustrates the threats and opportunities it faces.
Operation plan
General operating hours
Spirited Company Pty Ltd expects to operate all year round from Monday through to Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. This will exclude public holidays.
Human resource
Mr. Smith, Mr. Bullock, and Mrs. Prior will be the directors of Spirited Company Pty Ltd. When an additional human resource is required, Spirited Company Pty Ltd, under the leadership of Mrs. Prior, will identify the people qualified and able to work on a contractual basis. As for now, aside from the three directors, the company is intending to hire two programmers and a part-time social media person. The functions of the programmers will revolve around coding the logic and behavior of the game such that it becomes playable. They will have excellent programming and Artificial intelligence (AI) skills, and knowledge of the Internet, design patterns, TCP and UDP protocols.
Furthermore, the social media person will be an experienced social media marketer with experience in social media content creation. Upon getting hired, the employees will be for Employee Benefits.
Insurance requirements
Spirited Company Pty Ltd will incur the business liability insurance cost, which is estimated to be $4,500 annually.
Operating expenses
As a result of demands imposed at startup, Spirited Company Pty Ltd will require that it obtains the adequate working capital needed to cover all the operational expenses of the company in the first year. The business will require about $250, 000 of working capital to ensure the smooth launch and sustenance of the in the first year.
Office requirements and asset acquisitions
Spirited Company Pty Ltd will lease a WeWork office space located at:
225 South 6th St
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Private office space will be rented and it will constitute the essential office equipment such as high-speed Internet, IT support, office supplies, business-class printers, mail, and package handling, and global network among others (WeWork, 2019). This co-working office space will require $3,000 to revamp it hence making it aesthetically pleasing for clients and staff. The office will be rented at $3,190 per month. Additionally, Spirited Company Pty Ltd will require specialized programming software that will cost $10,000.
Financial Plan
The present amount contributed by each of the company’s directors is expected to fund the development of the beta version of the game and the part-time social media staff. Spirited Company Pty Ltd plans to attract investors to cover up the other start-up costs and the operating expenses. The following sections illustrate in detail that the company will be profitable from the beginning. The substantial revenue generated will be sufficient to provide returns to the shareholders.
Sales forecast
In the first month, the only sales activity that will be carried out this month will be the consultation services. Moreover, during this period, Alecia Prior, who has direct experience with hiring, training, and directing operations in technology companies, will be interviewing applicants with the expectation of bringing on board two full-time programmers and a part-time social media person. By the sixth month, revenue will be progressively increasing. In addition to these employees, the three directors will be working full-time.
Expense forecast
The marketing expenses have to be budgeted, therefore, they will be higher in the initial months since Spirited Company Pty Ltd is just opening.
3-year cash-flow projection
References
Clarified International. (2018). Gaming industry – Facts, figures and trends.
Grandview Research. (2017). Virtual Reality (VR) in gaming market size worth $45.09 billion by 2025.
Markets and Markets. (2018). Esports market by revenue and geography – Global forecast to 2023.
Nielsen Sports. (2018). World football report. Web.
WeWork. (2019). Capella tower.
Woodside Capital Partners. (2015). Video game market report.