Your kids play it. Your coworkers play it. Even your grandma knows what it is (and probably plays it). Pokémon Go has become the gaming phenomenon of the summer. It has been out in the US for only a month and already lured 20 million active users. Here are three ways businesses can tap into the popularity of Pokémon Go to catch all of the potential customers.
1. Check out Pokéstops or Gyms
Pokéstops are places in Pokémon Go that allow users to collect items such as eggs and more Poké Balls to capture more Pokémon. Other places may be designated as gyms; places where users can go to train their Pokémon to become stronger and fight others. In order to collect the items or use the gym, users must be at or within a close distance of the Pokéstop. Originally, businesses were able to register to become a Pokéstop but due to the overwhelming amount of requests, Niantic who produces Pokémon Go, had to stop accepting them. Businesses can still use Pokéstops to their advantage because most pokestops are public venues such as a park, beach, near a statue or water fountain. Hosting events at these locations can help draw a higher attendance to your event. You can also check to see if your business is a Pokéstop. Creating a promotion or deal with the mention of being near a Pokéstop can help generate awareness of your brand to a new audience.
2. Lure them in
Another way to use certain venues to your advantage is to put out a lure. In the game, lures are what users can put out to increase the rate of Pokémon generation in the area. Lures last for up to 30 minutes and for $100 a business can buy 21 eight-packs of lures. That’s 84 hours of generating Pokémon for potential customers to stop by and try to catch. Using lures can entice new customers to want to hang around longer in the midst of their Pokémon hunting journey. Many restaurants and other small businesses have found success with buying lures and have seen an increase in sales.
3. Become a sentimental brand
If you’re not into gaming or it doesn’t really align with your brand, there is something else to take away from the Pokémon Go craze. Of all of the other games that use augmented reality technology, Pokémon Go tapped into the sentimentality of the brand which helped the game achieve its popularity. All of the kids that traded Pokémon cards or watched the show are now adults with buying power. In this age of remakes and reboots, pay attention to what pop culture brands are making a resurgence, how they relate to your target market and how your brand can tap into that.
Although it may seem like another fad, Pokémon Go is starting to roll out in other countries so it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.
