It comes as no surprise that Rovio is eager to build a strong retail presence. The company is, after all, already selling a million T-shirts and plush toys each month. Bloomberg reports that the makers of Angry Birds are now eager to setup a partnership with Starbucks Corp. The idea is simple: grow beyond the digital space and add more variety to its portfolio of products.
The Angry Birds smartphone game has seen over 350 million downloads and Rovio wants to capitalize on this phenomenal growth further. Leader boards in stores is just one option for promoting Angry Birds in a bid to transform the digital reach into a real-world behemoth. What are we looking at? The fad of Angry Birds shoes, socks, pillows, rugs and what not syncs perfectly to help Rovio diversify its line of products and reach more customers.
Senior Vice President of Rovio, Wibe Wagemans, summed the entire strategy in his statement:
It’s tying in the real world with the virtual world. Retailers get new customers who’ve not been to their stores yet, and repeat customers.
The partnership with Starbucks, the biggest operator of coffee shops in the world, is one important step in gaining traction amongst customers. This is done by encouraging them to play the game in store on their device with their scores being spotlighted.
Starbucks is yet to comment on the deal but the company seems to acknowledge how big Rovio is and how it plans to meet the needs of its customers. We will definitely be hearing about this a month or two ahead.
