Project Summary This purpose of this project is to create an Adidas x The Sims 4 collaboration. The digital artefact will consist of co-branding, product placement and immersive experiential marketing. The mutually beneficial venture will create revenue whilst increasing brand loyalty and brand awareness. The artefact will come in the form of a ‘Stuff Pack’ which contains 26 fashion pieces and costs £9.99. A single use discount code of 35% off Adidas will be given with each pack that is purchased. Due to the nature of a digital product, the artefact will have unlimited stock, an infinite shelf life and no textile waste. The project will use online and offline approach to create a multi-channel marketed artefact. The Sims 4 is it the largest life simulation game in history, reaching 32 million players in 2021. Despite this, The Sims 4 would massively benefit from exposure to 11% of the sporting goods market. Adidas is a leader in fashion technology however has only scratched the surface in the gaming industry. This artefact demonstrates an opportunity for Adidas to maintain to a competitive position against their biggest rival Nike, which featured in the most profitable game of 2019. The report finds the collaboration will benefit both brands by linking their core strengths and reinforcing character through expression of positioning. An examination of the external market revealed fashion in video games is over saturated with luxury brands, which does not represent all customers tastes. Research has highlighted gamers enjoy realistic gameplay to emulate their personalities online. The report finds that there is a gap in the market for low priced brands to penetrate the gaming industry. The gaming industry is worth almost 160 billion dollars which is more than the music and film industry combined. This vast market is often overlooked by the fashion industry in comparison to music and film. The gaming industry can offer thousands of hours of non-intrusive product placement to fashion companies. Primary research showed that 78.84% of Sims 4 players have played over 900 hours. A survey of 1150 Sims 4 players called attention to the 78.85% would like to see Adidas in The Sims 4. Many players download unofficial Adidas clothing for their Sims to wear, some outfits have 340,000 downloads. This highlights the customer hunger for an Adidas x The Sims 4 collaboration. These findings reduce the risks of the artefact substantially. Examining the costing aspect, the artefact has an estimated revenue of 128.8 million and a return on investment of 13043%. By implementing the artefact both brands would receive a plethora of benefits including, a large return of investment, extensive product placement, a sustainable source of income, increased brand loyalty, brand awareness and content stakeholders.
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