Wii would like to play

As Christmas-time is approaching, a few of you might recognize themselves when I tell you my children want a Wii-console for Christmas.
Like the iPod a few years ago (or was it last year?), the Wii is expected to become one of the end-of-the year hits, on top of all child’s wishlist.

But don’t be surprised if your sprouts aren’t the only ones who want a Wii. Adults love it as well. Video-gaming doesn’t only appeal to children, as you already know. It is though remarkable how Nintendo achieved to fulfill the needs of casual gamers (which, in contrast to “hardcore” gamers, play in series of short time slices, though we all know how addictive games like Tetris or brain training can be)
But with the Wii, Nintendo went a step further than just casual gaming: with its motion sensing controller, the gaming experience is more intense. By making crazy movements, console-gaming has become more fun. The the Wii sets up a social experience and connects people in front of the telly, probably reflected in its slogan “Wii would like to play”.

The Wii widened the market for videogames: in contrast to the other consoles, which appeal to a rather male audience, the Wii’s customer demographics are equally female and male (while only 11% of the PlayStation 3 users are female). Not surprising, giving recent study by Information Solutions Group (ISG) that 76% casual gamers are female.
It is thus time that marketing managers realize that females are entering the main stream gaming market, and remove the babes section on gamers websites or promo-girls disguised in Lara Croft.

So don’t be surprised, if your parents show up a little more often at home to play with their grandsons and daughters around the Wii.

Paradox

How to explain the following paradox: consumer confidence is decreasing, confidence of entrepreneurs is up. Who's right? And how to explain this? Will the mortgage crisis in the US affect European economies and are we heading for a recession? Some pertinent questions, where it's important not to jump to conclusions.

Read all about it in this week's column.

Now the book

The readers of this blog have already noticed the announcement of my new book 'Het Merk Mens'. The book describes the paradoxes we find in our society today. Like a BMW on the parking lot of the discount supermarket Aldi, adult women over their 50ies riding a Harley Davidson or grand children learning their grand parents to surf on the net.

Fo more information on the book, go to www.hetmerkmens.be or read this week's column.

Copernicus is dead

At the end of this month, the 26th Marketing Congress of Stichting Marketing takes place in Ghent. Topic this year is 'Marketing in a flat world'. How do brands have to behave in a global and ever connected world? The more global the world is, the more we appreciate local touches. Brands like Mc Donald's or Pampers have understood this and behave upon it.
Read all about it in this week's column.

Fons van Dyck is keynote speaker on the congress on Friday 30 November.

Tomeke tomeke

The most popular Dutch dictionary, het Van Dale Groot woordenboek van de Nederlandse taal, took up TomTom as a synonym for navigation system.
Just like Bic and Google, TomTom becomes a generic term for what it stands for. A brand’s dream! Certainly when you know that it is expected that the number of portable navigation systems in Europe and North-America will grow with more than 100% at the end of 2007. TomTom is worldwide market leader in this segment.

Happiness

Last week, the Flemish newspapers reported on a study of In Petto, the Flemish Youth instance, and the VUB. The research investigated the degree to which Flemish youngsters find themselves happy. It was remarkable to see which finding of the study was highlighted. Some focused on the positive aspects, others titled the more dark side of our youngsters. It is clear that black and white is not inherent to our information age and nuances are demanded. Also characteristic of the information age is that no subject is left uninvestigated, which permits us to be better prepared then ever.

Read all about it in this week's column.