Interesting lessons
to be learned from Pokémon GO.
You can
barely set foot outside at the moment without literally bumping into someone
(people of all ages, might I add) glued to their phones. They are not watching
videos or sending texts, as that was still the case last week.
They are
actually catching Pokémon, yes that game we played 20 years ago, that one. Pokémon
GO is the hottest app to be released in many months, since Candy Crush, Subway
Surfer etc., and has taken over phones by storm. As infuriating as it may be
for some employers to see the productivity levels of their employees decline,
the benefit for the staff personally is an increase in activity.
Nostalgia
The first Pokémon game was
released 20 years ago in 1996. I was 4 years old by that time. Even then, it
took over our play time. We would rush home not to miss Pokémon, which would
come on, on SABC 2. We would line up on the floor in front of the television
and not move for half an hour. This meaning, that those who enjoyed Pokémon
back then are the right age to enjoy it now.
Marketer, entrepreneur and
author, Gary Vaynercuk says: “I’m a big believer in nostalgic intellectual
property. It is one of the most underrated value propositions in business and
marketing. Nostalgic IP matters and it’s valuable and massively underpriced.
While it’s not nostalgic for me personally, Pokémon just celebrated its 20th
anniversary so you can easily see why it hits that 25 to 35-year old
demographic.”
Timing is everything
The game was initially
released in the US, Australia and New Zealand. It’s the height of summer in the
US and its school holidays in all these countries. That makes it perfect timing
for them to be running around catching Pokémon, collect items at Pokéstops and
conquer gyms. In South Africa, being in the middle of winter, we are not quite
as lucky. Fortunately the weather has not been terrible for much of the country
in the past week (the rain downfall only recently started), so Pokémon
enthusiast have been able to get outside.
Advertising
How much advertising did
you see for the game before its release? Probably not much. That is because
Nintendo and Niantic Labs, the app’s creators, likely realized a massive budget
is not necessary for an effective marketing campaign for this product,
particularly fort his demographic. All that was necessary was a nostalgic
connection with people who can relate to Pokémon – something Nintendo has in
spades.
Fun
Sometimes we all just want
to have a little bit of fun, especially as the world becomes an increasingly
dangerous place to live in for many people. Pokémon GO gives people the
opportunity to let loose and have fun with their friends. In a complicated
world, we sometimes need a distraction. This can be quite the compelling reason
to join the craze.
Community and competition
At level 5 of the game, the
players are given a choice of three rival fractions, Mystic, Valor and
Instinct. This allows players to support their own team and root for the demise
of others in the same way sports fans feel about their teams. This sense of community
is incredibly important for people to feel connected to the game and strive to
achieve better results.
Finally, the game is
extremely easy to get involved in, and somewhat addictive as well. All players
really need to do is walk around with their phone in hand, which everyone is
doing anyway, and what for vibrations which alert them to the presence of a Pokémon.
We can all learn a lesson
from the convenience of the game.
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