According to recent data, revenue from browser games in China have estimated to be 313 billion RMB in the first half of 2013, which is a growth of 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is not surprising then to find out that many game developers today face the same challenge struggling in the industry: they are unable to maintain enough profit to survive with their one or two well-known products in an oversaturated market.

Browser games are understood to have limited life cycles due to the advance in technology in our society and the competitive market. Therefore, rather than bringing in many new products every year and hoping to capture a small piece of the market share, it is perhaps more important to extend the product life cycle of these existing and recognized browser games that are already at their maturity stage. In order to do so, developers would need to frequently modify their games in order to provide new values that match the dynamic and unstable thoughts of customers. Since the game users are the only source of revenue, companies should focus on word of mouths to establish a positive image and increase customer familiarity in order to stand out among all competitors. They should also take in consideration of the long-term costs and benefits because companies often get trapped in the dead end of trying to capture more profit in the short run and neglect the fact that they need to improve the quality of their existing products.

Perhaps new trend will soon develop and people will eventually shift their focus away from games. However, as of right now, playing browser games are still many individuals’ favourite leisure activity across the world. Companies should seriously consider exploring new strategies of extending the life cycle of their current products and hope to once again, be the lead in the industry!

“Raise your hands if you are Sure!” was a catchy tagline that the brand Sure used in the 80’s for its deodorant products. However, with the growing presence of its competitors such as Axe, Sure has been slowly priced out of the market and has switched owners in the recent years due to the low profit margins. Now the company repositioned its products and is trying to come back into the deodorant market with a more feminine design of the packaging that directly targets female consumers.

Their new design of the packaging is definitely more physically appealing to me. It gives an impression of freshness and eternity. These newly designed bottles do stand out and can probably capture the group of people that are deeply attracted by simple but powerful, bright physical features. However, people are worried about the fact that Sure will lose many loyal customers, especially the male customers whom they did target before. The risk associated with the change in target market and logo is generally perceived as high and costly.

In my perspective though, it is a smart decision for this company to reposition its brand. The image of Sure nowadays is neither strong nor well-known. It has fallen behind compared to its competitors such as Dove and Secret who have a solid presence in the market. Therefore, from a psychological point of view, changing its existing image would be the key to success for Sure, and the first step is to select a more focused target market and a better and more meaningful logo design. The new and brighter image that Sure introduced coincides with its positive ambition to recapture the market’s attention and hopefully will change customers’ impressions about the brand.

Source: http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/once-gender-neutral-sure-now-going-ladies-153402