Using Pokemon Go in a Local Marketing Campaign

How to Make the Most of the Hottest Craze in Gaming

Pokemon Go is the biggest gaming craze of the year. This augmented reality game is played on a smartphone and involves walking around your environment to capture Pokemon, which are hidden all over the map. The game has already exceeded 15 million downloads in only a few days and it has become more popular than Instagram and Twitter.

While Pokemon Go has been great for improving the health of gamers by getting them out of the computer chair and onto the streets, but did you know that you could also use it in your local marketing? There are actually huge opportunities for local retailers to use Pokemon Go for marketing.

Here are some ways that you could use Pokemon Go in your marketing campaign:

First of all, download the game yourself so that you are aware of how it works.

Find out if your business is a Poke Stop or Poke Gym. A Poke Stop is a place where players can acquire items that allow them to capture and train the monsters. Poke Gyms are where people can use Pokemon to win over the location for their team. If your business is a Poke Gym or a Poke Stop, make sure that you advertise this on your social media!
Place physical signage outside of your retail location letting gamers know that Pokemon Go players are welcome.
Consider offering special offers for Pokemon players. For example, Lost Heaven restaurant in Melbourne offers 30% discounts for Pokemon Go players if they can show that they have caught some of the rare Pokemon such as Golduck or Magnemite. It also offers 10% discounts for less rare Pokemon.
In the game every player picks a team – red or blue. You could offer discounts to one team or another.
Make sure that there are plenty of electrical sockets available for customers to charge their phones, as the game can be a battery hog.
Set up a “lure”. When you place a lure within the game you will draw more Pokemon to your location, which also means more customers!
Pokemon Go users are generally web-savvy, so promote the special deals your business is offering on social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with Pokemon Go related hashtags.

These are just a few of the many ways that you can use this extremely popular game to promote your business and cash in on the Pokemon craze!