Every so often, a new fad takes the world by storm only to fade away just as quickly. But occasionally, one of those fads turns out to actually be a game-changing cash cow for those who pick up on its potential early. Pokémon GO is that game changer.
How the Game Works
The mobile app just launched about a week ago, yet Pokémon GO downloads are through the roof. Twenty-somethings everywhere are using the app to bring back memories of the original Pokémon craze that swept the late 90s. The augmented reality game works like this:
1. Users see the real world map on their phone with a game overlay that allows them to interact with real locations within the context of the game.
2. Using their phone’s GPS to track their location, users follow prompts on their phone to look for Pokémon characters hiding for them at various locations.
3. After going to that location and tapping a button to pick up the character, users can then go to other locations, identified by the game as PokéStops (where players get bonuses) and gyms (where players train their characters and battle), to interact with other players.
How Businesses Are Capitalizing
Courtesy: Fox 13
It would seem this is nothing more than a silly game that at least prompts people to get out and stretch their legs. But the fact is, there are a myriad of potential business applications. While businesses can’t just make their location a gym or PokéStop, they can REQUEST their location become a gym or PokéStop. And while waiting for it to be approved, they can purchase in-game “lures” to attract Pokémon characters to nearby gyms and PokéStops, thus driving foot traffic to their approximate location.
IconoCLAD, a clothing store in Salt Lake City, Utah, found out they were a gym and put out a themed sign welcoming gamers and spotlighting their merchandise.
According to a New York Post story, a pizzeria purchased a few lures for just $10 and instantly spiked their walk-ins 75%.
But this is just the BEGINNING.
How This Changes the Game
Keep in mind, this game is just DAYS old. There are several ways local businesses can exploit this potential now, and more ways will come later. Inc. did the math showing a business can purchase lures for just $1.19 an hour, bringing in tons of Pokémon GO characters and the customers who chase them.
1. Businesses who are near a Pokémon GO landmark can give away badges or personalized mementos for the experience free with purchase. Think theme-park souvenir. And with the kinds of crowds currently being shown across YouTube, the potential is huge.
2. Local restaurants can offer discounts or free appetizers to players in the area, attracting them into their stores to buy a meal.
3. Some retailers might consider going mobile, taking a truck or van with branded signage as well as merchandise to hot spots to take advantage of, and interact with, the crowds.
4. Take it to social media by keeping track of the Pokémon GO characters sighted in your area. Stores can encourage social engagement by incentivizing their fans to post screenshots of their game play captured from that location.
5. Purchase Incense (an in-game purchase that benefits users in the area) and advertise your location has it, to attract nearby players in droves.
Future Potential
But the real power of this week-old game is the spin-offs that will inevitably come. The Pokémon is out of the bag, and new, immersive, augmented-reality, location-based game experiences are sure to come from this with a full fleet of marketing tools.
Something this popular is bound to be replicated by others. In the first week since launching, Pokémon GO has been downloaded on twice as many phones as Tinder ever was, 60% of players play every day (on par with Twitter’s app usage already), and the game’s engagement rate is twice that of SnapChat.
- Imagine being able to harness this engaged traffic by sponsoring a landmark/location or paying to be a destination in the game.
- Imagine sponsoring characters with linked branding (think NASCAR, but with hyperlinks).
- Imagine in-game prizes actually being coupons or discounts for the locations they visit.
This unique, location-based, social genre of games will combine successful elements of numerous marketing platforms. Pokémon GO is not just a new game; it’s a new genre, and a new way to think as a business or marketer. And we have yet to fully grasp the future potential of this interesting phenomenon for local business.
Share any additional ideas you foresee in the comments!
