The reason to move away from ‘lite’ or demo versions was driven by a desire to increase revenues and conversion rates, but also to “ease the pain” for publishers wanting to be part of Orange’s embedding programme. Using a wrapper solution around full versions allows publishers to reduce overheads and implementation time as no time or effort needs to be spent on creating bespoke demos – something which is beneficial given the usually tight timelines associated with preloading. Moving away from demos and instead using full versions was also identified as a key benefit to Orange as this reduces testing time and overheads.
Like many global operators, Orange implements a centralised preloading process and distribution chain, where any item preloaded on Orange’s signature devices needs to work in any Orange country out of the box. Orange’s key requirement was thus to find an efficient enabling solution which also allowed for a single wrapped SKU capable of billing across all Orange territories, removing the need for country-specific versions of devices and games.
Finally, flexibility in terms of pricing and retailing were identified as key success factors, where Orange needed a solution which allowed for in-application billing, Try and Buy, multiple pricing options and the ability to vary pricing over time and markets depending on local operator needs and customer and handset demographics.
Flexion has been able to satisfy all Orange requirements. Flexion automates preparation of preloaded games and the Flexion wrapper auto-localises on start-up to handle the wide variety of languages, currencies and billing logic that exist across the multiple countries. Turnaround times for testing and error management have been reduced and local Orange operators are free to choose the options that best fit their customers. Flexion-enabled games have been preloaded on all Orange signature devices since 2010 and will now be extended to non-signature devices going forward.
“We were of course thrilled that Orange chose us to power their preload programme and we have worked in partnership to make this programme a success. Orange is the first global operator to launch Flexion and their requirements gave us the chance to implement the full capabilities of the Flexion platform,” said Jens Lauritzson, CEO of Flexion. “The mobile landscape is changing as some consumers are becoming very content-savvy, while others are just entering the market. Therefore the ability to offer retail solutions such as multiple price points, as well as increased exposure to content, is imperative to grow the market further.”
Jean-François Rodriguez, Director Games and Transmedia, Orange Group commented: “We chose Flexion as the enabling partner for our Signature Preload programme based on their proven track record. Orange has always taken a proactive approach to games retailing and has seen consistent growth within the segment. Using wrapped full versions of games for preloads was the natural next step for us and will allow us to grow the penetration of mobile games even further.”
Jens Lauritzson concluded, “Orange Global has made a very sensible decision in unifying how their content is distributed through our Flexion solution. We expect to see more global operators act on a global scale for mobile content. And by doing so they will increase satisfaction for subscribers, offer content providers the chance to make money, as well as increase profits for themselves.”