1. Brand Analysis By Christian Gregertsen Images: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b2/Blizzard_Entertainment_Logo.svg/375px-Blizzard_Entertainment_Logo.svg.png

2. Company Profile Blizzard Entertainment Subsidiary of Activision Blizzard Founded in 1991 Located in Irvine, California 2,700 Employees Data: http://www.blizzard.com/us/inblizz/profile.html Images: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b2/Blizzard_Entertainment_Logo.svg/375px-Blizzard_Entertainment_Logo.svg.png | http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2626457869_eb4f9aab39.jpg

3. Ownership Blizzard Entertainment is a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard is publically traded on NASDAQ under stock sticker ATVI. Data: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/dynamic_charting.aspx?selected=ATVI&symbol=ATDTV&symbol=ATVI&timeframe=1y&charttype=line

4. Annual Revenue $1.2 Billion USD in 2007 Up 58% from 2006 Driven by continued momentum in World of Warcraft as well as its release of the first World of Warcraft expansion “The Burning Crusade”. $760 Million USD in 2006 Images: http://adsvalue.com/images/Google_AdWords_Red_Arrow.jpg

5. Product/Brand Portfolio Data: http://www.blizzard.com/us/ Images: http://www.demonsoflight.net/AreaGiochi/Download/Immagini/starcraft-logo.gif | http://lastshepard.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/index-world-of-warcraft-logo.jpg | http://www.lightreborn.com/FanSites/war2logo.gif

6. Target Market Target Market Casual Gamers to Hardcore Gamers. Demographics Quantcast.com [results for Blizzard.com] Biased towards Males [56% Male] Biased towards Teens [28% 12-17/44% 18-34] Mostly Caucasian [81% Caucasian] Quantcast.com [results for WorldOfWarcraft.com] Biased towards Males [51% Male] Biased towards Teens [29% 12-17/43% 18-34] Mostly Caucasian [81% Caucasian] Psychographics Interested in Multiplayer Gaming. Interested in Technology. Interested in Online Communities. Data: http://www.quantcast.com/blizzard.com#demographics | http://www.quantcast.com/worldofwarcraft.com#demographics

7. Branding Components Logo -----------------------------------------------------------------------^ Color [blue] -> The color of the sky, often associated with depth, stability and leadership. Words Owned -> Blizzard, Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming. Type -> Wordmark. The logo is protectable. It is unique as well as Trademarked and Registered. It is also actively used. Branding Laws: Law of Advertising [Followed]: Showing ads on TV in order to maintain the brand. Law of Color [Followed]: Blue represents leadership. Blizzard is the leader in online gaming with over 10 million subscribers in World of Warcraft alone. Advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKAU18LUPZs Data: http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html | http://www.logodesignsource.com/types.html

8. Mission Statement Blizzard Entertainment does not have a mission statement. Corporate Philosophy: Focusing on creating well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences and maintaining an unparalleled reputation for quality. Data: http://www.quantcast.com/blizzard.com#demographics | http://www.quantcast.com/worldofwarcraft.com#demographics Images: http://www.blizzard.com/images/inblizz-header.jpg

9. Archetype The Creator Motto: If you can imagine it, it can be done. [Blizzard imagined and created online worlds] Goal: To realize a vision. [Blizzard realized the vision to become the number one provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming with over 10 million subscribers to WoW alone] Strategy: Develop artistic control and skill. [Blizzard models virtual 3D worlds, characters and item models through their skilled art team] Data: http://www.brandhouse.com/Web/EN/Archetypes/The+12+archetypes/The+Creator Images: http://www.americajin.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/ss631.jpg

10. Brand and Customer Stories Blizzard uses celebrities to advertise “customer” stories through the television media vehicle: Steve Van Sandt (Silvio): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXeyYdGoLCU Mr. T: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bsOKH3_DNo OzzyOsbourne: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT8maUTzE48 They are effective because celebrities influence the general public. If they are playing then the people who watch the commercials want to play as well. Blizzard users customer stories in order to promote sales of their games. A lot of people sign up for their games from word of mouth because they have friends playing the games. Blizzard helps promote this by giving “friend passes” with retail copies of their games, letting the purchasers friend try out the game for 10 days before purchasing.

11. Brand Community and Interactivity Blizzards lets users post their customer stories at the [http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/index.html?sid=1] The community forums are an effective tool for the customers to get customer service, report bugs, get technical support, discuss their games with other players, make suggestions to Blizzard, and talk about their achievements. The communities are very important. They give customer feedback to Blizzard so they know what changes they need to make in order to improve their product. Images: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/images/wrath/en_US/header-forums.gif

12. SWOT Analysis Images: http://www.blizzard.com/images/inblizz-header.jpg

13. Sources Anonymous, (2008). Blizzard entertainment - Company profile. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Blizzard entertainment Web site: http://www.blizzard.com/us/inblizz/profile.html Anonymous, (2008, December 7). Nasdaq stock market charts - Free stock charts - stock interactive charts. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Nasdaq Web site: http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/dynamic_charting.aspx?selected=ATVI&symbol=ATDTV&symbol=ATVI&timeframe=1y&charttype=line Anonymous, (2008). Blizzard entertainment. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Blizzard entertainment Web site: http://www.blizzard.com/us/ Anonymous, (2008, December 7). blizzard.com – Quantcast audience profile. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Quantcast Web site: http://www.quantcast.com/blizzard.com#demographics Anonymous, (2008, December 7).worldofwarcraft.com – Quantcast audience profile. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Quantcast Web site: http://www.quantcast.com/worlfofwarcraft.com#demographics Anonymous, (2008). The creator |brandhousea/s. Retrieved December 7, 2008, from Brandhouse.com Web site: http://www.brandhouse.com/Web/EN/Archetypes/The+12+archetypes/The+Creator