Yes you’ve heard correctly, Pokémarketing. 2016’s latest gaming craze, Pokémon Go has become one of the biggest trends the world has seen in years. 2016 has seen its fair share of worldwide trends and fads, yet this one blows them all out of the water. The app has more daily users than Twitter and Tinder, has caused car accidents, had employees fired and even had presidential nominee Hilary Clinton speak about it.
You’ve probably seen crowds of strangers congregating in popular local hangouts; you may have even lost friends or family members to the enticing world of Pokémon; and if you’re anything like me, you’ve held several Pokémon Go interventions with the ones you hold most dear. There is no denying that the game is addictive, and a positive aspect is that it encourages players to get out and about and even meet new people. Naturally as with any new trend, it has been explored in every possible way by businesses and media. A clever marketing tactic has been created called, Pokémarketing, which utilises the hype created by the game to draw attention to a brand or business.
To understand just how your business can capitalise on Pokémarketing the basics of the game need to be understood, so bear with me. A real life map style layout presents a person’s surroundings with indicators where to find Pokémon, Pokéstops and Gyms. The game centres around various real life locations called Pokéstops, where players can congregate and collect Pokéballs in order to catch Pokémon. These Pokéstops can be local landmarks or businesses and can be seen from quite a fair distance, which makes them extremely populated areas with gamers. But, there is no way to control where a Pokéstop can be located – it’s totally random. Are you still with me? Because this is where the clever businesses come into play (No pun intended).
Some businesses are lucky enough to have Pokéstops located at their stores. At a Pokéstop, users can pay to attach time limited Lures which draw Pokémon to the location, and in turn, bulk gamers. Clever business owners from all around the world have profited from the increase in business to their stores. For example, a pizza store in Manhattan paid $10 for lure modules which saw a 30% increase in food sales and a Californian café offered a new lure module for every 15 coffees purchased.
As well as luring customers (literally) at popular Pokéstops, businesses are utilising Pokémon Go marketing in a comedic and catchy way to increase audience.
Woolworths gives customers tips on Pokémon hunting
Virgin Mobile offers customers free phone charging
Doughnut Time promotes its limited edition Pokéball doughnut
Air NZ promoted it’s Pokémon catching Snapchat story on its Instagram page
Top Deck travel blog post – “Epic spots to catch Pokémon around the world”
So before you dismiss the idea of Pokémon Go, try it and utilise it in your next marketing campaign. Or, locate your closest Pokéstop, it might be on your shopfront!
