Scrabble Tries to Knock Off Its Knock Off

It may just be a game, but the lessons lurking beneath the impending release of a Facebook version of Scrabble should chill any media brand trying to assert itself into cyberspace. After a knock-off version of the ubiquitous game called “Scrabulous” took Facebook by storm last year, Hasbro and licensing partner Electronic Arts claimed copyright infringement and asked that the game be removed. Rather than press the claim actively, the companies just released their own online version of Scrabble into EA’s Pogo.com gaming hub and promise the Facebook version later this month. Like a lot of major media, EA/Hasbro tried to correct an impulsive and bad initial reaction to a digital threat with a more sensible one…too late. Rather than alienate the million of existing Facebook Scrabulous fans, EA seems ready to compete with the knock-off head-to-head. But it may be too little too late. According to a Washington Post article, another Hasbro licensing partner, Real Media, already tried releasing a legitimate Scrabble Facebook app into the overseas markets, but it failed to make a dent in the nearly half million Scrabulous players. In the upcoming U.S. version, the Post report, players will be hobbled by regional licensing restrictions so they can play only against North American opponents. EA and Hasbro have effectively boxed themselves into a losing box. Either they struggle to compete with a knock off of their own product or they demonize themselves on Facebook by forcing a take down of a favorite game. Like too many media companies, Hasbro mistakenly believes that consumers really love their authentic brand.

There is only one good strategy for a media company when it misses the boat this badly. They have to add value. Every good Scrabble player knows that you don’t just win with long words but with well-positioned words that hit double and triple score squares. EA has to offer a better experience, not just some semblance of “authenticity.” This is true of many media properties that finally get serious about the digital world. The odds are that users have already embraced an alternative, endemic version and they really aren’t waiting for the “real deal” to show up. The single greatest lesson of the Web’s “one-click-away” interface is that even the biggest brands need to re-build their equity here.