Keywords Studios: Competitive Analysis

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Yes, you were discussing the average contract length ranges.

The contract length for tasks such as game translation can span a couple of months, depending on the volume of words to be translated and the number of languages involved. However, with open contracts or retainer contracts with central services groups, where there's a constant inflow of content, these contracts can last for several years. In fact, some of the larger service providers have multi-year deals, ensuring a steady flow of business over the years. Once you secure a contract with one of the big AAA developers or publishers, it's your business to lose. As long as you deliver good service, meet the requirements, and remain competitive on price, the chances of being replaced are quite low. There's a certain longevity to these central services of larger groups.

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I'd like to revisit the topic of live games and how they've changed dynamics later. But for now, let's focus on the actual customers. You were in charge of business development at PTW. You had various service lines to sell. Who at the publisher are you approaching? You mentioned a central services organization. Could you walk me through the process of how you would approach a company like Electronic Arts if they were not already a client?

The art director's influence is significant. They can tell the outsourcing manager who they want to work with. Unless there's a contractual or legal issue, the outsourcing manager typically has to listen. They're not in charge of the art quality on the project, the art director is.

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That's interesting. Let's stick with the art example. You offer art services and have made contact with the outsourcing manager for art and the art director. But you are PTW, and you offer many other services. How do you approach others in your organization when you want to cross-sell?

The reality is, once you have a master service agreement with any of these companies, it becomes much easier to add a Statement of Work (SOW) for another service line. This fact alone makes you more appealing to the outsourcing manager, as they don't need to go through a legal review, which can be a significant bottleneck. Some companies have months of backlog in legal review, which could potentially invalidate that.

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