Angry Birds being built 'for a hundred years'

Angry Birds' evolution into a marketing juggernaut is part of a concentrated effort to make the brand last, according to chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka.

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Angry Birds has quickly exploded from a silly time-waster to a global juggernaut. Rovio chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka recently said at the Pocket Gamer Connects conference that this is the result of a conscious effort to promote the brand beyond games, and that they're "just getting started."

"If you're serious about games you need to be serious about marketing and branding," Vesterbacka said, as reported by Mobile Entertainment (via GameSpot). "We're not building Angry birds for a hundred days but for a hundred years.

"Mario is a great role model for anyone in games, it's been built for almost 30 years now. Hello Kitty is 40 this year and Mickey Mouse was launched in 1928 as a black and white cartoon and that company is now building theme parks based on the character on every continent. We launched an iPhone game in 2009 and now 45 percent of our business comes from physical products, including drink--we're giving Coke a run for their money. Our friends at Disney are still a bit ahead but our trajectory looks good. We're just getting started."

The original Angry Birds has already spawned seven sequels across several platforms, along with tons of merchandise and even a cartoon series.

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From The Chatty
  • reply
    January 22, 2014 11:00 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Angry Birds being built 'for a hundred years'.

    Angry Birds' evolution into a marketing juggernaut is part of a concentrated effort to make the brand last, according to chief marketing officer Peter Vesterbacka.

    • reply
      January 22, 2014 12:36 PM

      Did they really just say that Angry Bird's drinks are giving Coke a run for their money?

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        January 22, 2014 1:18 PM

        Never underestimate a kid with a fixation...

        I see adults limiting themselves all day long, but they usually give in to their kids just so they shut up already... So yeah, it's pathetic but I guess it's believable.

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          January 22, 2014 1:22 PM

          Makes birthday and christmas shopping for the nephews easier, though.

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            January 22, 2014 2:05 PM

            You realize we were talking about the drinks? Otherwise I guess this is one way to make them happy, but I would definitely stick to toys...

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          January 22, 2014 6:04 PM

          I wouldn't say believable since Coca Cola is in every store known to man and more than half of all restaurants and I've yet to see an angry birds beverage.

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      January 22, 2014 3:07 PM

      if mickey mouse hasn't even made it to 100 yet, good luck with that angry birds

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      January 22, 2014 3:48 PM

      This whole thing is a lightning strike. I want to see them repeat it.

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      January 22, 2014 4:03 PM

      Disney is "still a bit ahead"?

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      January 22, 2014 4:06 PM

      Are they trying to make me dislike them, is that part of their foolproof plan for world domination

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      January 22, 2014 5:49 PM

      [deleted]

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        January 22, 2014 11:00 PM

        New franchise with a lot of stupid characters....make a shitty kart racing game. Who thinks this is a good idea, Mario kart works but it's honestly a genre where people actually care enough to want or pay attention to any competition.

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      January 22, 2014 11:36 PM

      [deleted]

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