EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Angry Birds developer Rovio’s meteoric rise has been fuelled by a fierce focus on a single product combined with a flexibility about how it monetises that product. “We’re all about Angry Birds right now, so we’re not concerned about it [overshadowing anything else] at all. We just want to make Angry Birds as big as possible, so you could say that we’re all in Angry Birds right now,” Rovio chief marketing officer and Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka told Mobile World Live at last month’s Nokia World event in London.

Rovio’s approach for monetising Angry Birds has been flexible, dictated by the use patterns seen on different mobile platforms. Vesterbacka explained that paid downloads “work great" with iOS, with ad-supported free apps and freemium versions – in which users pay for upgrades to the game – also proving successful. In contrast, free apps tend to work best on Android.

“We don’t have a religious belief in any particular monetisation model – we’re actually doing a mix of everything and we really look at what works best in any given ecosystem and so far we’re very, very profitable so it’s worked out pretty well,” he said.

A recent Angry Birds innovation that Rovio hopes will spread its appeal further is the Magic Places collaboration with US book retailer Barnes & Noble. When Angry Birds users walk into a Barnes & Noble store new features within the game are automatically launched.

“Angry Birds Magic Places is something we’re really excited about because it’s a great example of how you can combine virtual and physical,” Vesterbacka said, adding that there are plans afoot to expand Magic Places to new venues and markets. “That’s going to be a big theme with us going forwards – combining the virtual with the physical,” he said.

And Rovio has plans to boost its presence in developing markets, including China, where Angry Birds is approaching 50 million downloads. With the addition of Angry Birds to Nokia’s Series 40 mid-tier platform, Vesterbacka expects uptake in China to accelerate rapidly. “Our goal is to be the leading Chinese entertainment brand next year,” he said.

This typically ambitious target ties in with Rovio’s ambition to eventually have 1 billion Angry Birds fans, “people we can talk to, communicate with, have a dialogue through our game.” Vesterbacka said the expansion of the Angry Birds merchandise business will be a key element in developing the brand globally.

View the full interview with Vesterbacka here.