Neopets, Inc.

Infobox_Company
company_name = Neopets, Inc.
company_
company_type = Subsidiary (Owned by Viacom)
foundation = February, 2000
location = Glendale, California, USA
key_people = Kyra Reppen, Senior VP, General Manager
industry = Internet
revenue = $30 million USD+
num_employees = 150+
homepage = [http://www.neopets.com/ www.neopets.com]

Neopets, Inc. is the company that owns the popular online-based virtual pet game, Neopets (under Viacom since 2005). The site was made on November 15, 1999 by Adam Powell and Donna Williams. The company itself was founded in February 2000 by Doug Dohring.

History

Neopets is an online virtual pet site Adam Powell and Donna Williams launched on 15 November 1999. [cite web |url= http://www.neopets.com/aboutus.phtml|title=Neopets - About Us |accessdate = 2007-04-27 |quote=The site was launched on November 15 1999.] Powell was responsible for the programming and database, and Williams the web design and art. The site grew by word of mouth and by Christmas, they received 600,000 page views daily and sought investment to cover the high cost of running the site.cite magazine |last=Kushner |first=David |authorlink=David Kushner |year=2005 |month=December |title=The Neopets Addiction |journal=Wired |volume= |issue=13.12 |pages= |id= |url=http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/neopets.html |accessdate=2007-09-09 |quote= ] The same month, Doug Dohring was introduced to the creators of the sitecite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2001/tc20011212_9434.htm |title=Real Profits from an Imaginary World |accessdate = 2007-08-08 |first=Arlene |last=Weintraub |date=2001-12-12 |work=BusinessWeek Online |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.] and, along with other investors, bought a majority share in January of the following year. Neopets, Inc. was incorporated in February 2000 and began business in April. The website made profit from the first paying customers for an advertising method trademarked as "immersive advertising", touted as "an evolutionary step forward in the traditional marketing practice of product placement" in television and film. [cite web |url=http://demo.neopets.com/aboutus/page06.html |title=Immersive Advertising |accessdate=2008-06-09 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050419030507/http://demo.neopets.com/aboutus/page06.html |archivedate=2005-04-19]

On June 20, 2005, Viacom stated that it had bought Neopets, Inc. in a deal that has been valued at approximately $160 million. [cite web |url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1147093.cms |title=Viacom agrees to buy Neopets |accessdate=2007-04-27 |publisher=Reuters |quote=Viacom Inc has agreed to buy children's web company Neopets, Inc in a deal valued at $160 million, the media reported on Sunday.] They planned to focus more on banner ads instead of immersive advertising, seeing it as an opportunity to tap into the large player base of Neopets. [cite news |first=Matt |last=Myerhoff |authorlink= |title=Viacom adopts NeoPets and their millions of owners |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m5072/is_27_27/ai_n14811960 |work=Los Angeles Business Journal |publisher= |date=2005-07-04 |accessdate=2008-06-13 ] According to Viacom, Dohring, the current CEO of Neopets, Inc., along with other Neopets, Inc. senior managers, will continue to hold their positions after the acquisition has been completed. After being bought by Viacom, it was then handed over to MTV. [cite web |url=http://news.com.com/MTV+acquires+virtual+critter+site+NeoPets/2100-1030_3-5753858.html |title=MTV acquires virtual critter site NeoPets |accessdate=2007-05-04 |last=Sharma |first=Dinesh C. |date=2005-06-20 |publisher=News.com |quote=MTV, which also owns runs Nickelodeon and Nick.com, said the addition of NeoPets.com to its portfolio will boost its presence in the online entertainment segment for children and young adults.] Kyra E. Reppen, who was a vice president and general manager at nick.com, was appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager of Neopets in September 2006. [cite press release |title=Kyra E. Reppen Named Senior Vice President & General Manager, NeoPets |publisher= |date=2006-09-25 |url=http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/669114/kyra_e_reppen_named_senior_vice_president__general_manager/index.html |accessdate=2008-07-10 |quote= ] Doug Dohring and other executives left in late 2006 after a transition to a new management team. [cite web |url=http://www.dohring.com/corporateexecs.shtml |title=corporate executives |accessdate=2008-07-10 |year=2008 |work= |publisher=The Dohring Company] Adam Powell and Donna Williams went on to create Meteor Games, LLC. using what they learned from Neopets. [cite news |first=James |last=Lee |title=Neopets founders launch new studio |url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/neopets-founders-launch-new-studio |work= |publisher=Eurogamer Network Ltd. |date=2008-07-02 |accessdate=2008-07-10]

Scientology business model

In a December, 2005 feature story in Wired magazine, Doug Dohring, explains how he brought the Scientology business model, known as the "Org Board" and created by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, to Neopets. Dohring had previously used Hubbard's business "technology" or "Admin Tech", as it is termed, to catapult his Dohring Company to one of the largest market research firms in the United States. While Hubbard claimed that the Org Board was a refinement of one used by "an old Galactic civilization" that lasted 80 trillion years, according to Dohring it offered down-to-earth prescriptions for success. "He created a management technology that's very powerful," Dohring says. [ [http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.12/neopets.html?pg=2&topic=neopets&topic_set= Wired 13.12: The Neopets Addiction ] ]

Merchandise

With the success of the website, Neopets, Inc began producing a wide range of related merchandise, including plushies, stickers, cereals, and video games. The products are sold at specific mainstream outlets, including Wal-Mart, Target, and Limited Too, and selected online retailers, such as Zazzle. In September 2003, Wizards of the Coast released the "Neopets Trading Card Game", a collectible card game based on the online characters and settings of the site. Two video games, produced by Sony Computer Entertainment have also been released for the Neopets site. The first, "", is a PlayStation 2 game released in November 2005. The second game, , was released March 14, 2006 for the PlayStation Portable.

Neopets, Inc has also created specific lines of toys and plushies for promtional distribution in kid's meals at fast food restaurants. The first occurred in 2004, with toys and a Neopets TCG card being distributed in each kids meal. A second release followed in 2005 due to the promotions success. [cite web |url=http://www.toymania.com/news/messages/6928.shtml |title=Neopets Plush at McDonald's |accessdate=2007-05-08 |date=2005-07-08 |quote=] These toys have been also been released at the McDonald's in Australia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. In September 2008, a Neopets promotion began at Burger King, with plush toys and plastic figurines, being included in each kids meal. The toys also come with a a box, stickers, and a virtual prize code redeemable on Neopets. [cite web |url=http://www.neopets.com/shopping/catalogue/?category=16 |title=Neopets promotion at Burger King |accessdate=2008-09-07 |publisher=Neopets ]

References