Back in 2009, Finnish studio Rovio was desperate for a hit and went through a bunch of ideas, but one stood out. “[It was] a bunch of angry-looking bird characters,” says Rovio franchise development VP Ville Heijari. “Everybody fell in love with them, so we decided to use them.”
The call was a sound one, and Angry Birds has become the top selling paid app on the App Store and has been downloaded over 200 million times. “Anything from 500 to 1 million downloads [was] our most optimistic plan,” says Heijari. “The success has been quite staggering.”
Rovio has ridden this success with merchandise like plush toys, T-shirts and phone cases, with a board game upcoming. “We had the prototype, got in contact with Rovio, and got a deal going pretty quickly,” says Mattel marketing manager Ray Adler.
All of this is a calculated plan, not unlike the way Disney expanded into a media empire. “Rovio is taking the long view, building brand equity in the long term,” said Richard Gottlieb, publisher of Global Toy News, noting that margins on licensing deals are likely 10 percent to 12 percent. “It’s substantial, incremental income.”
While some are wondering if Angry Birds will eventually fall out of fashion, Rovio is looking towards more spin-off merchandise in the U.S. “We could see Angry Birds bubble gum to card games to theme parks,” Heijari says.
Source: AdWeek
