Justin Ko's Blog

Stumbling upon the Cult of Razer blog, I was amazed to learn of the great sponsorship deal that was just agreed upon. The legendary Starcraft player Lim Yo-Hwan, or better known by his ID Slayers_`Boxer`, has just joined team Razer. For those who are not familiar with Boxer, Boxer is one of the players that essentially popularized Starcraft in Korea. He basically pioneered the way the game is played today and has also played a significant role in the success of Starcraft 2 by making a recent comeback. This commitment to e-sports prompted Razer to sponsor him. As we all know, Razer’s motto is “For Gamers. By Gamers.”. Now Slayers (Boxer’s Clan) will join other legendary teams such as WeMade Fox and Rox.Kis already sponsored by Razer. This effect of this sponsorhip can be seen through consumer behaviour and the last of the 4Ps.

By sponsoring Boxer in tournaments, Razer gets recognition where it counts the most, in the eyes of gamers. This appeals to the consumers affective attitudes. Boxer has won the hearts of many fans as being the pioneer for e-sports. He is the one that made gaming the sensation it is nowadays in Korea and around the world. Hopefully, this love for the game will drive the consumers to buy Razer products. In a way, by buying Razer products, the consumers are making a commitment to support gaming and the players they love. And of course, if Boxer advocates the use of Razer gear, then it must go good.

The original blog post can be found on the Cult of Razer blog here.

SteelSeries is known for offering a wide range of high quality peripherals with a focus on performance rather than flash or gimmicks. One of the greatest examples of this can be seen with the Xai and Kinzu. The Kinzu is a mouse made for the lower end consumer, who is considering buying a gaming mouse for the first time. The Xai on the other hand is geared towards the veteran high end user who wants the latest and greatest technology. This has allowed SteelSeries to capture profits from a wide range of gamers. A quick look at the STP strategy will really show this benefit.

The main segmentation techniques used are behaviour and demographics. There are essentially two types of gamers, the hardcore and the casual, with the latter unwilling to spend as much on products. However, both have a need to have good peripherals while gaming. If I were to convince my friend who is a casual gamer to spend $100 on a mouse, he will immediately decline. In this case, a $30 mouse will be much more reasonable to him.

After identifying these 2 users, SteelSeries developed a differentiated targeting strategy. The Xai was promoted as a high end mouse, while the Kinzu was promoted as an affordable alternative for everybody.

To position the brand, SteelSeries focused on simplicity in the design with maximum focus on performance. As such, both mice look identical, with the only difference lying in the components. Positioning the new products was relatively easy, as the Steelseries brand was already notorious for its good quality. In many consumers’ eyes, SteelSeries was already number 1 in performance and value.

“For gamers the Xai/Kinzu is a gaming mouse that provides simplicity and performance, unlike Razer which provides style and flash.”

Exponential growth is the dream of many companies as they fight for domination of the marketplace. And no other company has demonstrated this concept as well as Razer, a gaming peripheral company. Much like a mother mouse, this ever growing gaming company has released 6 new gaming mice just this past year. Over the past 2 decades, Razer has released a more than 22 gaming mice, each of which have seen its rise to stardom, and its fall off production. But with such an expansive portfolio, how does one keep track of it all? As we have learned in class, a tool such as the Boston Consulting Group matrix will be perfect to analyze which mice are bound for stardom and which are left in the dog house.

Stars: DeathAdder (black edition), Mamba, Abyssus, Imperator

Question Marks: Orochi, DeathAdder (left hand), BoomSlag CE, Spectre, Tron, Naga Molten, Naga Epic, Lachesis V2

Cash Cows: Death Adder V2, Naga

Dogs: Lachesis V1, BoomSlag, Viper, Diamondback, Copperhead, Krait, Habu, DeathAdder V1, Salmosa

The relative high abundance in the dog category is largely caused by the changing sensor technology. The outdated mice are still favoured among a few hardcore fans, but for the masses, state of the art mice are most appealing. The few mice that have stood the test of time due to superior build quality and ergonomic design make up the cash cows. Next come the new age mice and re-releases of the classic mice which form the question marks, as they show great potential. Lastly, the ever popular flagship mice of the company are the stars with a ever growing fan base on top of its already loyal following. With all these iterations of mice, I wonder why Razer’s logo is a 3 headed snake and not a doe.