3 Marketing Strategies Pokemon GO Can Offer Small Businesses

It’s no secret that Pokémon GO has taken the country by storm. Whether you’ve been a fan of the brand for the last twenty years, or you’re simply trying to reach your goal of achieving 10,000 steps per day, this location-based mobile game has something to offer everyone – even small businesses.

Like any game with an instant surge in popularity, developer Niantic is 

The game uses your smartphone’s GPS location and camera to make Pokémon characters appear on your screen, as if they’re hovering near you in real life. The player (or “trainer” as users are called) must continue moving to different locations to find new Pokémon. Since the game requires walking to play and advance to the next level, trainers are deeply incentivized to travel greater distances, or head in a different direction they normally wouldn’t go. This provides marketers an incredible opportunity to appeal to current and prospective customers who are out catching Pokémon.

Here are three easy ways to think about the possibilities, and freshen up your marketing strategy with the help of this modern day cultural phenomenon.

1. Be sure Pokémon GO promotion is on brand and relevant to your target customers.

First and foremost, know your audience. Given the game’s widespread popularity, chances are good that at least a portion of your customers will relate to it. However, you need to make sure. Do not piggyback on this trend without deciding if it makes sense for your brand and your customers.

Listen to your customers online and analyze their behaviors by asking yourself:

• Is my target audience talking about the game?
• Does my target audience match the Pokémon trainer demographic?
• Have they expressed an interest, or irritation in the game?
• Have they not mentioned it at all?
• Does making a connection to the game in my communications make sense for our brand identity?
  
  

Answer these questions and keep them in mind when considering whether or not to add Pokémon Go into your marketing rotation.

Transform your business into a PokéStop.

So you’ve confirmed Pokémon GO is for you. Now what?

Since you already know how to grow your customer base, it’s time to engage these customers. The game provides an opportunity for small businesses meet prospective customers, right outside the front door.

The game turns local landmarks and businesses into Pokémon Gyms (where trainers go to train their Pokémon and battle other players) and PokéStops, where trainers can visit the location in person to stock up on items needed to advance in the game. You can transform your business into a PokéStop to increase foot traffic near your location. If you do, Yelp will also help customers know about it. In the latest app update, Yelp added a “PokéStop nearby” filter to help customers catch ‘em all. 

To attract trainers to your PokéStop, you can buy and drop Lures. Lures are modules that attract Pokémon to a PokéStop for 30 minutes and cost just $0.99 each. When a Lure is dropped, trainers flock to the area until it expires. 

Luring people to your business has a proven track record of success. According to TechCrunch, a pizza place in Queens, New York saw a 75% increase in sales by paying $10 to lure Pokémon to their location. Additionally, the Australian Red Cross Blood Service placed a lure at a PokéStop near their mobile donor center in Brisbane, which attracted multiple trainers. Out of those who showed up, 10 became donors – six of whom had never given blood before. This Pokémon turnout represented nearly a quarter of the mobile donor center’s collection target for the day. 

Create your PokéStop:

• Step One: Determine if your business or surrounding landmarks have already been claimed as a PokéStop. When you’re at your place of business, open the app and take a look: PokéStops look like little blue cubes, and Gyms are taller structures with Pokémon defending them.

• Step Two: If not already claimed, send a request directly to Niantic.
  
  

Here are some tips to let trainers know your business is in on the Pokémon fun, and how to engage users once they arrive. 

• Be aware that Niantic is undoubtedly overwhelmed with requests and may not be able to approve yours immediately. If this happens, make use of ones you do find. Stop by popular PokéStops to hand out some prizes or samples of your product. Or host a local event nearby, planting more Lure Modules to bring in more trainers.
• Post signs welcoming Pokémon trainers to stop by for Lures and deals.
• Announce via social media that the business will drop Lures during happy hour, increasing the likelihood that trainers will stop by to catch, then stay to hang out and make purchases.
• Consider offering a small discount on a purchase with proof of playing Pokémon at your stop.
• If you’d like to step it up from generic promotion, you can announce the business has picked a team. Trainers can join one of the following teams: Team Valor (red), Team Mystic (blue) and Team Instinct (yellow). Each team works together and competes against other teams to take over Pokémon Gyms. If you’re concerned about isolating prospective customers this way, feel free to continue offering incentives to any trainers of the game.
• Be cautious. Of course, remember to be respectful. The L.A. Times reported the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust was named a PokéStop. Once The Pokémon Company caught wind of that update, they shut down the stop. The company wants the game to remain fun for trainers, but respect the real world, and marketers should follow suit.

As good social stewards, your brand can encourage trainers to donate their Pokémon Lures for a good cause, though be sure to first check with the hospital to make sure Lures would be welcome. This is a good social responsibility move, and a generous way to participate even if you’d prefer your business not be a PokéStop. It’s a simple investment for your brand to purchase multiple Lures and make a donation that would be meaningful to many people. By sharing via social media that your brand is purchasing and donating Lures to a specific location, you can invite your customers to participate too.

These efforts have double impact, demonstrating the good will of your brand while also increasing brand awareness and engagement on your social platforms, website and brick and mortar locations.

So what do you think? Will any of these Pokémon GO suggestions make it into your marketing strategy? Let us know how it goes in the comments!