Marketplace Live was created using the same deeply rich pedagogy of Web Marketplace. However, there are some notable differences between the two families of simulations.

Marketplace Live has been impressing instructors and engaging students in an entirely new way.

Marketplace Live is a unique simulation experience. This is in part because of Live’s visually-astounding multimedia content and fully-integrated 3D videos.  Live adds new depth to the learning experience through the use of videos and graphic animations. The animated storyline and realistic video characters reinforce business concepts in a way a spreadsheet cannot. Students get real world experience by seeing the plant manager’s reaction to productivity and hearing the customers’ needs and wants.

Web Marketplace Brand Design

Marketplace Live Brand Design

Read more about how Marketplace Live videos make a difference.

The videos build on the storyline of creating a business from the ground up. The graphically enhanced interface helps students better visualize and understand the key concepts reinforced throughout the game. The rich visuals of Marketplace Live add a distinct personality to the game. Live will give your students a lasting impression of their experience in business.

Web Marketplace Storyline

Marketplace Live Storyline

The videos and graphics are not the only differences between Web Marketplace and Marketplace Live.

Marketplace Live is a highly intuitive simulation experience. The ease of use allows students to focus solely on playing the game and making decisions, rather than having to learn and understand the software first.

Introduction to Web Marketplace Interface

Introduction to Marketplace Live Interface

In Live simulations, team members can make their game decisions together or from remote locations while simultaneously being logged into the same decision screen. Students can now view the same screen without having to huddle around one computer. This alleviates frustrations for students and improves the quality of their experience.

Web Marketplace Marketing Research Reports

Marketplace Live Marketing Research Reports

The email features have been improved significantly since Web Marketplace. Marketplace Live also boasts a real time chat window. Students seem to enjoy our updated communication tools, especially those students who do not meet in-person to make decisions. These features allow for easier sharing of files between team members, such as presentations and reports.

Web Marketplace Email Window

Marketplace Live Chat and Email Tool

The help files and student instructions within the game have been updated to improve the ease of use. This helps prevent instructors from having to answer any additional and unnecessary questions. The new help file also includes the addition a of search bar to improve the user’s time efficiency and effectiveness.

Web Marketplace Help File

Marketplace Live Help File

Lastly, the game design function is the same for both families of simulations. In fact, Marketplace Live requires no additional training for those instructors using Web Marketplace. Live is similar to Web Marketplace where it matters, and different where it makes an enormous difference.

Web Marketplace Design Game

Marketplace Live Design Game

To set up a personal tour or evaluation game of Marketplace Live, please email sales@ilsworld.com.

Below is a list of games currently available in Marketplace Live.  This set is followed by a list of games planned for release later this year.

At the bottom of the article are the explanations for the three stages of testing involved in the release of our simulations. If you would like to be notified when a game becomes available, please email Ashley Needham at aneedham@ilsworld.com.

In Production

• Introduction to Business and Strategy: Covers fundamentals and strategy issues of business. Designed for the strategy and/or business policy classes.

Introduction to Business and Strategy Demo

• Business Fundamentals: Exposes users to the fundamentals of business. Designed for the introductory courses in business.

Business Fundamentals Demo

• Introduction to Marketing: Covers the basic fundamentals of marketing. Designed for the marketing principles and introductory marketing courses.

Introduction to Marketing Demo

• Venture Strategy: Exposes participants to all aspects of business. Designed for the new ventures, entrepreneurship, business policy, and capstone business classes.

Venture Strategy Demo

• Strategic Marketing: Designed for the marketing strategy, marketing management and capstone marketing courses. It exposes the user to all of the aspects involved with modern marketing.

Strategic Marketing Demo

• Advanced Strategic Marketing: Designed for the marketing strategy, marketing management and capstone marketing courses. This simulation covers the same areas as Strategic Marketing, with more complex market research data, more regions and more options in brand design and advertising.

Advanced Strategic Marketing Demo

• Strategic E-Commerce: Strategic E-Commerce is designed specifically for the e-commerce courses. It illustrates the business concepts of the e-commerce environment.

Strategic E-Commerce Demo

• Strategic Management: Covers all aspects of business. Designed for the strategic management, business policy and capstone business classes.

Strategic Management Demo

• Business Management: Covers fundamentals of business. Designed for the marketing management, new ventures, capstone marketing and capstone business courses.

• Integrated Business Management: Designed for the integrative business courses. Provides the participant with a profound understanding of the entire business enterprise.

Integrated Business Management Demo

• Strategic Corporate Management: Created for the integrative business courses. Provides the participant with a profound understanding of the entire business enterprise in the global market environment.

Strategic Corporate Management Demo

• International Corporate Management: Designed for the integrative business courses. Provides the participant with a profound understanding of the global business enterprise in the international market environment.

International Corporate Management Demo

In Beta

• Strategy and Business Policy: Targeted towards the capstone course in business or a course with a heavy strategy component.

Strategy and Business Policy Demo

Read more about the Strategy and Business Policy game

In Alpha

• Extended Integrated Business Management: Designed for the integrative business courses. Provides the participant with a profound understanding of the entire business enterprise. Extended version can be set from 8 to 12 decision rounds, with each round taking three to three and a half hours to complete.

• Extended Strategic Corporate Management: Designed for the integrative business courses.Provides the participant with a profound understanding of the entire business enterprise in the global market environment. Extended version can be set from 8 to 12 decision rounds, with each round taking three and a half to four hours to complete.

• Extended International Corporate Management: Designed for the integrative business courses. Participants deal with changes in the economic and political situation, which are reflected in shifting demand, exchange rates, and tariffs between regions. Extended version can be set from 8 to 12 decision rounds, each taking 4 to 4 1/2 hours to complete.

***In Production: Game is out of the testing phase and all bugs have been fixed. It is available to instructors at regular price.

***In Beta: Game is in the last phase of testing. There may be minor bugs, but most should be fixed. It is available to instructors at a discounted rate, usually 50% off regular price.

***In Alpha: Game is in the initial testing phase. Bugs are being fixed. Game is not available to instructors.

Compare these undergraduate and graduate games to find which is the best for your course.

Players sometimes ask why they are limited in targeting segments for the first quarter.

Students are only able to target two segments during the first decision round. Certain levels only allow for one segment.  The first quarter’s decisions are factored into the calculation of the balanced scorecard. More specifically, the segments chosen as the primary and secondary targets are used to calculate the “Marketing Effectiveness” and “Market Performance” scores for the balanced scorecard.

The “Marketing Effectiveness” score is based on the company’s ability to satisfy the needs and wants of the targeted segment(s).

The primary segment choice should be listed as number “1.’ The secondary segment choice as number “2.” All other segments should be set to “0.” It is OK to rank any and all segments if it helps the team set its priorities. However, only the top two segments are used in the balanced scorecard calculation.

The full calculation details are listed in the <Performance Report>, <Balanced Scorecard> section of the <Task List>.

Note: At any time, students are able to sell to any and all segments. However, a team’s “Marketing Effectiveness” and “Market Performance” scores are based only upon the segments selected as the “primary” and “secondary” segments.

Ideally, students should focus on achieving superior performance in their targeted segment(s) before moving on to other segments. If a firm tries to focus on too many segments early in its development, it will tend to dilute the effectiveness of its marketing efforts.

Clearly, the revenue generated from any sale, no matter the segment targeted, will improve the financial position of the company.

by Martin Klima

Making the business decision process more intuitive

In recent years, the emergence of new technologies and the increase in Internet bandwidth has allowed new opportunities for the use of rich visual environments in business simulations. Marketplace Live boasts an entirely new interface with visually rich decision screens and revised reports.

In critical decision areas, such as product design, students can now see a realistic visual representation of their products. The changes occur in real time as they go through the process of designing their brands.

Similar visual elements were added to many of the decision screens throughout the simulation. For instance, students can preview the advertisements they design before deciding on market placement.

Visualizing key business concepts

The benefits of a visually rich simulation go beyond just making the game more intuitive. The animated graphics and video content help students visualize the important business concepts. For example, complex ideas, such as expanding fixed plant capacity, are clarified when the game illustrates how an increase in fixed capacity translates into adding sections to the factory. Animations convey business principles simply, whereas text can be boring, convoluted, and time-consuming.

Assuring the learning points are retained

The addition of visual content further improves what we believe is the most important advantage of experiential learning – knowledge retention. We created a unique learning experience that allows the learning points to be easily understood and internalized. The engaging and interactive business story ties the entire simulation experience together. The game features realistic and interesting characters in common business situations. Managers, employees, potential consumers, and current customers make an appearance in the simulated business world.

The simulation results are still presented in a traditional format. However, students also experience their decisions through life-like animations. For example, if their firm struggles with poor customer satisfaction, they will view the reaction of an unhappy customer ’face to face.‘

If the students’ executive decisions cause havoc in their China factory, they will have an irritated plant manager on the phone to let them know. If they fail to react to a competitor’s pricing and it hurts their demand, a clever employee will be quick to point out the executives’ mistake.

Such realistic experiences resonate with students on a more personal and emotional level. This greatly increases knowledge retention.

Adding visual hints pointing to main problem areas

The videos are tailored to each company’s specific situation in a particular quarter. The video may catch workers asleep on the job; this may prompt the company to look at issues with employee productivity. It may feature a frustrated sales person unable to close a sale, pointing to a serious stock out problem. It may show a dismayed accountant who has just learned that way too much cash is tied up in inventory. This suggests to the team to pay more attention to inventory planning.

This audio-visual approach helps students to quickly pinpoint problem areas in their company’s performance. The queues and alerts are not dry program warnings. This is a realistic business situation.

The videos add another fun element to the simulation. As well, they increase the students’ involvement and engagement in the learning process.

Read more about the differences between Marketplace Live and Web Marketplace.