Rovio eyes more brand partnerships
Brand extensions of Rovio’s Angry Birds characters through merchandising, licensing and product placements have helped the developer double sales to €152.2m (£129.1m) in 2012 as its strategy to move beyond the video game arena gathers pace.
The video game developer reported a 101 per cent year-on-year sales increase in 2012 thanks in part to its burgeoning entertainment offering and in-app advertising. Its mobile games continued to prove popular last year with the company its games were downloaded more than 1.7 billion times.
Rovio is increasingly looking beyond its video game products for future growth and revealed more than 45 per cent of its revenue now comes from merchandise sales rather than game sales. In 2011, that proportion was 30 per cent.
It marks a key year for the business that saw it double its headcount to 518 and set up its New Business Ventures unit to expand its brands into merchandising and through movies and television, including the launch of the new Angry Bids cartoon series.
Rovio chief executive Mikael Hed says the company will “continue to strengthen” its position in the entertainment space by creating a new IP and exploring third party brand partnerships.
Earlier this year, Rovio formed brand advertising partnership team to spearhead its push for new revenue hires. It hired former Apple mobile executive Todd Tran to led the unit, which will responsible for creating brand partnerships outside the mobile apps, such as through merchandise, licensing or placement.
It also means the business is now less reliant on third party mobile ad networks for the display ads that appear inside its apps.
Hed adds “Rovio has grown from a phenomenon to a very successful global business. In 2010 we set out to build an entertainment company and after last years performance we are on a strong path to achieve our goal.”