Market Structure and Competition Analysis

The most popular applications across platforms are gaming applications. They are the most downloaded and generate the most revenue.

Angry Birds falls into the casual gaming category and is classified as a puzzle game. From the time of its launch till date it has managed to maintain a strong hold in the market, although with time its market share is seen to be fluctuating because of the launch of competing games in the market.

The games that can be seen as direct competitors of Angry Birds currently (because of comparable prices and same game category) include: Where's my Water, Cut The Rope, Scribblenauts etc. However all of these are relatively new in the market whereas Angry Birds has been around for a much longer duration but is still consistent on the top charts across various platforms. Following is a screenshot of the Ios App store on a random day in the month of September 2013:

Buying Decision Process

Problem Recognition:

The buying process of a product starts when the person recognizes a problem or requirement triggered by internal or external stimuli. For the app Angry Birds, the requirement is entertainment. When a person (with a smart phone or tablet) is bored and needs something to kill time or just to entertain themselves, they may look at various games available in the market. The requirement could also be triggered by watching another person playing the game and downloading it to compete with that person.

Information Search:

The Personal search for this product comes from friends and family who have played the game. This is the most reliable source, if a friend recommends a game to you, you will download it. The other source is Commercial. While browsing through the internet one may come across ads for Angry Birds game or one may go on the app store actively looking for information about the various games available in the market. The third source is Experiential. A person may have played the game on somebody else's device and having experienced it, decides to download it for himself.

Evaluation of Alternatives:

A customer will have certain beliefs and attitudes about a product, based on which he will decide to buy or not buy. The general attitude that people have towards games is that they are meant to entertain, and Angry Birds fits well into this existing attitude. It is a casual game that provides pure fun. A person may evaluate Angry Birds against the alternatives available in the market, but the decision is based on whether the game has most of the attributes that a person is looking for in a game. Angry Birds is a wholesome game and has attributes like good art work, simplicity, entertainment value etc. These are the main attributes one looks for while looking for a game and this is one of the reasons why the game has been so successful.

Purchase Decision:

Once clear about buying Angry Birds, after looking at all the alternatives, decision Implementation is simple because Angry Birds game app is easy to buy, from online app stores.

Post-purchase Decision:

Once the app has been purchased and downloaded, it keeps sending push notifications and emails to users letting them know about new updates and news. This leads to post-purchase satisfaction as the customer feels good when he reads that the app is still doing well in the market and feels that he is getting updates and new levels even after his purchase has been made. The continuing popularity of the game also makes the customer happy with his decision.

Customer Value

Customer Percieved Value is the value that a customer believes he gets from buying and using the product. It is the tradeoff between what a customer gets and what he gives while acquiring and using the product.

Thus for value to be created, what the customer gets from buying and using the product has to exceed what he gives.

Customer Benefit while acquiring and using Angry Birds:

• Product Benefit- The product itself is an easy to use game. It can provide hours of entertainment and fun. It is also a quality product with good artwork and sound (important elements when it comes to apps).
• Services Benefit- Once the app has been purchased, in case of any performance issues, there is an option to contact the company directly and let them know and they will address these issues
• Personnel Benefit- Since it is a product that is purchased online, and comes through directly to your device there are no personnel involved
• Image Benefit- The Angry Birds brand itself has gained immense popularity. The customer knows that the brand ensures quality and delivers on a certain entertainment quotient

Customer Cost while acquiring and using Angry Birds:

• Monetary Cost- Angry Birds costs Rs. 55 for the iPhone and Rs. 170 for the iPad. It is quite cheap when you compare it to other similar means of entertainment. (A pc game costs approx Rs. 500; an Xbox game costs approx Rs. 2000; Rs. 55 or 0.99$ is the minimum an app can cost on the app store)
• Energy Cost- The app is freely available across platforms, easy to find in the respective app stores. Thus the energy cost to acquire the app is almost negligent.
• Time Cost- Similar is the case with the time cost. The app can be purchased with a simple tap on your device. The entire procedure will not take more than a few minutes.
• Psychological Cost- The psychological costs refer to the consumer’s mental stress or emotional labor during the shopping experience which isn't a factor in the case of Angry Birds.
  
  
  
  
  

About Angry Birds

Everyone who is familiar with the smartphone and tablet gaming scene has heard of the name Angry Birds. The game is probably the “largest mobile app success the world has seen so far”.

Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Rovio Entertainment that started the Angry Birds franchise. The game was first released for iOS in December 2009. Since that time, over 12 million copies of the game have been purchased from the iOS App Store, which has prompted the company to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, most notably those using the Android, Symbian and Windows based operating systems. It has since expanded to video game consoles and for Pcs.

Under the Brand umbrella of Angry Birds, Rovio Entertainment has launched several other products (other games) that ride on the brand value of Angry Birds. 

There is also a market for merchandise featuring its characters and even long-term plans for a feature film or television series.

The game has seen combined 1.7 billion downloads across all platforms and including both regular and special editions, which is quite a commendable feat.

Marketing Definition by AMA with reference to Angry Birds:

• Marketing is the activity (Demand Creation and Supply),
  
• set of institutions, and processes for creating (Products i.e. Apps, toys, merchandise),
• communicating (promoting Angry Birds),
• delivering (Products and after sale services including in app purchases and updates),
• and exchanging offerings that have value for customers (Brand Image, quality, after sale-services, Value for money, entertainment quotient i.e. Easy and fun to play), clients, partners, and society at large’.