How Pokémon Go Has Grown and What This Means for Brands
Are you wondering what the marketing buzz is all about with Pokémon Go?
You may have noticed people walking — and hopefully not driving — while playing a very addictive game that is taking over social media.
So what exactly is Pokémon Go and how can this be a great lesson for businesses and marketers?
According to Wikipedia Pokémon Go is “a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company.”
This fast-growing technology is becoming a new trend as pointed out by “Augmented Reality” author, Greg Kipper, in a 2013 interview on CNET. “Augmented reality will bring to the world things beyond the graphical user interface,” He said. “With sensors, computational power, storage and bandwidth, we’ll see the world in a new way and make it very personal.”
With the release of the app earlier this month there has been an explosion of growth as seen in this chart by Blue Fountain Media:
While it may be tempting to write this app off as a new fad, there is a lot of potential as your brand can strike while the iron is still hot.
Currently MarketWatch reports that users are on the app 10 minutes and longer, which is more time than Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp. This means that as soon as it was released people were downloading and using the game.
Here are several ways your business can take advantage of this new trend and how you can create a viral brand strategy:
Research Your Target Market’s Connection
Is your community engaging in Pokémon Go? If so, you have a prime opportunity to reach them with clever email campaigns, advertising, and social media like this example from the Kansas City Royals on Twitter:
There are endless opportunities with a popular platform like this one. If this fits well into your niche start the planning process now to put some clever campaigns in place.
Be at the Right Place at the Right Time
Like any viral trend it’s important to understand the when, where and why of your community’s engagement online. For example, if you are selling a product that appeals to parents you will need to know the peak times they are searching for information.
Pokémon Go is appealing to a younger generation and was released just when school was out as pointed out by Jayson DeMers in an article on Forbes. He point out that the appeal also becomes broader as the 20 year old company also attracts an older generation ready to make an in-app purchase.
Appeal to Urgent Needs and Desires
What makes this new game app so appealing is that people can take it anywhere on their smart device without having to wear any special glasses or head gear.
Because the images focus on their daily activity users continue to explore the game as they have a personal connection with it. When your brand can get on this level with your community your product or service can become like gold to them very quickly.
Build on Your Existing Brand
If you have an established and well-known brand in place then a creative product launch may help provide an entirely new audience like Nintendo did.
As you have created a strong and recognizable social media presence your community will be more like to notice a hot new release — especially as the branding elements such as good design and a strong content strategy are in place.
Even though Pokémon itself is 20 years old the image has remained strong and is familiar to people. By tapping into the latest technologies such as live streaming or augmented reality your business can reignite your loyal following as well as attract new fans.
Provide More Opportunities For Customers
After hooking your leads and attracting them to what your brand has to offer it’s important to provide rewards, incentives, and sponsorship opportunities for large brands.
Keep this fresh with regular updates with a plan ahead of time of your marketing goals. This could become an opportunity for programs such as a paid membership for exclusive products or content, education courses such as what Business 2 Community offers, or a focused training program like the social media courses offered by marketing expert, Kim Garst.
Keep it Simple
Ease of use is important in just about every niche — Pokémon Go is incredibly quick and easy to download and start using. You don’t need any complicated instructions to follow or advertising hoops to jump through.
Another element that goes along with this is honesty and and transparency. When a customer receives something that they were expecting to get chances are they will recommend your company to other users. Tricky sales methods and complicated presentations can dwindle your sales and audience.
As new technology continues to push social media into new realms we as businesses owners and marketers need to find out how these trends can fit into our current target market. As we gather creative ideas we can use these platforms to grow our leads and conversions along with target market research that allows you to spot upcoming trends ahead of time.
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