3 minute read
Nintendo Switches Attention to Mobile
Written By: BROOKE GRIEF, Content Marketing Manager, Iterable
At Iterable, we’re all about creating a personalized crosschannel experience that shows brands are paying attention to customer behavior. I recently had my own seamless cross-channel experience, courtesy of Nintendo.
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The other night I dusted off my Nintendo Switch, something I hadn’t touched since the early days of the pandemic. “Animal Crossing: New Horizons” was huge during lockdown—it was first released March 20, 2020. A friend of mine, however, just recently dove into the game. She texted me, asking if she could come to my island to get fruit. This meant I had to launch the game and remember how to play for a bit.
As I’m re-learning which buttons do what, I notice my phone buzz. An important aside: Nintendo is a brand that takes full advantage of their mobile app—it makes life way easier to create an account and quickly buy games. So, I hear my phone buzz and notice a push notification from Nintendo. Mind you, I still have Animal Crossing open on my Switch. The push notification reads “You can use voice chat in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”
As a marketer, this really stood out to me. Nintendo noticed that I was playing Animal Crossing via my account on my Switch, could tell that I hadn’t played for a while, and knew that I had a friend coming to my island. All of these data points combined led to this incredibly relevant push notification. Because there isn’t a way to share this kind of notification mid-game on the Switch (plus it would disrupt the game if there was), Nintendo brilliantly used the next-best channel to capture my attention: mobile.
Not only was this a super relevant text, but it happened while I was playing the game. This timely content shows not only an impressive level of automation, but an extreme attention to detail at the same time. They’re on top of it. I’ve been a Nintendo user since the N64 days and seeing this digital transformation assures me that Nintendo is up-to-speed with the latest technology capabilities. It strengthened my loyalty and trust in the brand and I’ll continue to be a Switch user, maybe I’ll even try voice chat in Animal Crossing. This attention to detail and consistent customer experience builds trust with customers— improving customer relationships. This, in turn, improves customer lifetime value. Other brands should strive to create automated, seamless cross-channel experiences, like Nintendo’s, to meet customers where they are, when it’s most impactful.
