How Can Pokémon Go Help Your Marketing?
So – how can Pokémon Go Help Your Marketing? Well to start with it’s trending. Pokémon Go is now available to download in the UK, on Android and iPhone! It’s already one of the most popular downloads in the Appstore. A day after release it has over 5000 positive reviews. (60% of US Android users who have installed the app are using it daily).
As you walk, you get alerts about the location of creatures, PokéStops and Gyms. You get a few PokéBalls and accessories to start, so you can capture Pokémon and level up. You can also visit PokéStops to restock for free, and buy in game upgrades. The most important of these are Lure Modules.
Lure Modules
You can buy Lure Modules in game. They work by attracting Pokémon to a PokéStop for 30 minutes. Unlike the ‘Incense’ item, all players can see and capture the Pokémon. The idea is that PokéStop owners can use the Lure to attract people to the location.
L’inizio Pizza Bar in New York spent $10 on Lure Modules and claims their sales jumped 75% over one weekend. Players were drawn in by the Pokémon and stayed for the pizza.
As Redditor Override9636 calculated:
“$100 gets you 170 lures and 85 hours worth of increased traffic. If you’re a bar in a college town/city, this is the greatest investment you can make right now.”
Marketing Opportunities
PokéStop at Iconoclad, in Utah,
Before they released Pokémon Go, Niantic released Ingress. It’s a popular multiplayer sci-fi conspiracy thriller designed for mobile. They have sold promoted in game locations to brands like Zipcar, Mitsubishi and AXA. Niantic have confirmed that they will also be offering sponsored locations in Pokémon Go.
Niantic investor David Jones told Business Insider there is huge potential for advertising on “Pokémon Go.” He suggested that food shops could sell berries, pharmacies cures, and sports shops tie in as PokéGyms.
It’s worth finding out if you happen to already be a Gym or PokéStop. Plenty of shops in the US have been (for free) and have experienced surges in passing trade. Cool consignment store Iconoclad got into the spirit and advertised themselves as a place to get PokéBalls. Coolhaus, a gourmet ice cream shop, even set up a special Pokémon event, to attract trade; for the cost of a free Facebook event and a couple of lures, they gained new customers and foot traffic.
Players have reported choosing restaurants on the basis of who has the most lures. Pokémon bar crawls have been organised to capture creatures, people purchasing drinks along the way. Even fabric and homeware stores have experienced higher sales thanks to Pokémon. Due to children being distracted while their parents shop.
Pokémon Marketing for Non-Profits
PokéStops and PokéGyms are usually landmarks; this means there is great potential for non profit orgs as well as regular businesses.
While some more solemn attractions have asked players to steer clear, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art embraced the opportunity, screenshotting the Pokémon next to various artworks and blogging about it.
Religious institutions have also gotten in on it; one Church in Birmingham, City Road Methodist, became a PokéStop and have begun offering tea, and advertising services to the PokéPilgrims.
Pokémon Marketing Tips:
- Find out if you are a PokéStop or Gym.
- If you are, advertise it!
- Purchase Lure Modules* to attract customers.
- Advertise any rare Pokémon on your property.
- Set up a Facebook Event centred on Pokémon.
- If you are mobile, plan your route to tour PokéStops.
- Provide mobile charging stations for customers.
- Give discounts or freebies to Gym ‘owners’.
- Offer discounts to players who use lures near your business.
*(Remember that Lures will only work if you are, or are close to a PokéStop).
These Redditors and small business owners are also discussing fantastic Pokémon Go marketing tips.
Are you planning to use Pokémon Go to market your business? Tell us in the comments below!
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