46 CHAPTER 2 BRANDINGmost important being that the original brand loses its meaning and clear positioning.^17
Another disadvantage is the risk of cannibalisation. A new product may cannibalise the company’s
other products instead of taking market share away from the competition, the net result of
which could be that the line extension is not very profi table. An unsuccessful extension can
also harm sales of the parent brand.^18 Finally, too many line extensions can lead to over-
choice, confusing consumers about which option would be ideal for them, the end result of
which could be that consumers put off their choice or become less satisfi ed with their fi nal
choice (with too many options around, choosing means losing... ).^19Take some angry birds, green pigs and a castle, program a game, and cash in. That seems to be the story behind the
immensely popular ‘Angry Birds’. ‘Angry Birds’ was developed by Rovio, a small Finnish developer of computer
games, and started its career in 2009 as an iPhone game. The concept is simple, but also bizarre. With a catapult
you shoot angry birds to a castle in which pigs that stole the birds’ eggs are hiding. In mid-2011 the game had been
downloaded 700 million times and played by 30 million people worldwide. The new ‘Angry Birds Space’ in which
the birds circle around planets was downloaded 20 million times within a week after its launch.
In 2010 Zynga, the company that developed and marketed, among others, ‘Farmville’, offered $2 billion for Rovio, but
the owners refused. Their plan is to become ‘much bigger than Disney’. They made a series of animated ‘Angry Birds’
cartoons of 2^1 / 2 –3 minutes each and are planning a full movie by 2014. Moreover, they opened the first Angry Birds
Amusement Park in Tampere, Finland, and plan to open more of them across the globe. The game is also available
on Facebook where different kinds of players are reached. Rovio and Samsung agreed to install the game on
Samsung TV sets. In 2010 about 25 million plush birds were sold. The brand is the most counterfeited one in China.
What is the successful recipe behind the game? First of all, the game is based on a well-known and popular idea:
conquer a castle. The weird birds are the heroes of the game and therefore lend themselves to all kinds of exten-
sions, such as movies, cartoons, amusement parks and merchandising. Once a critical mass of players picked up
the game, it featured in the top lists of downloaded apps, and therefore got a lot of visibility and momentum. With
the increasing penetration of smart phones, so-called ‘casual games’ have become a huge market. Casual games
are simple games that people play on mobile devices as an easy and short pastime.
Will the success of ‘Angry Birds’ continue? Analysts predict that, like any other fad, it will continue to be suc-
cessful for some years, and also because of its extensions into other activities and products, but will then fade away
and be replaced by the then latest thing. Others believe that, since ‘Angry Birds’ is now part of the lives of so many
people, it will continue to appeal to the nostalgic feelings of these players for a long time.^20BUSINESS INSIGHT
Angry Birds conquer the skiesBrand extension , o r brand stretching , occurs when an existing brand is used to market
products in a diff erent product category. Examples are Harley-Davidson footwear, Armani
underwear, Godiva ice cream and Nesquick cereals. Th e basic rationale behind brand exten-
sions is the same as the one behind line extensions, i.e. limiting the risk of failure of new
product introductions by capitalising upon the image and reputation of a successful existing
brand, and at the same time trying to save the huge advertising expenses of launching a
totally new brand. Research indicates that brand extensions tend to be more eff ective than
new brand introductions in the sense that they capture more market share and require less
advertising.^21 However, the risks of brand extensions are great. First of all, if the brand image
does not fi t well the new product category or the new market segments the new introduction
may not be successful.^22 Bic tried to launch a low-price perfume and failed. Th e same thing
happened when the company launched Bic underwear. Research, however, shows that an
incongruent brand extension can overcome initial negative responses if the extension isM02_PELS3221_05_SE_C02.indd 46M02_PELS3221_05_SE_C02.indd 46 6/5/13 2:59 PM6/5/13 2:59 PM