Much has been written, spoken and considered on the topic of Pokemon in the weeks since it launched. It’s plumbed some extraordinary highs and lows – from improving fitness and social skills worldwide; and boosting Nintendo’s share price to its highest value in many years, down to thieves in the US using the Lure module to encourage players into areas where they can be robbed; and NSW’s finest sending out the Riot Squad to keep the peace in Rhodes.
On the face of it it’s just a mobile game that happens to have achieved higher levels of engagement than Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat in terms of time spent daily. Add to that the fact that its business model for in app purchase has helped it drive greater revenue from in app purchases than all the other apps together, within just seven days. Then add in the partnership with McDonald's in Japan and the creative way many retailers have been using Pokémon Go to drive footfall and purchase in store. That makes it a compelling proposition – despite the fact that the game has suffered some outages related to its speed of growth and data just out of the US which suggests the gamer numbers have plateaued – at a cool 100m users globally.
Yet for me, the most telling aspect of this roller coaster is the speed and scale of Pokemon Go’s disruption and the implications for marketers.
Consider this: in just three weeks Pokémon Go will have achieved what many brands strive a lifetime to reach - one of the best prompted brand awareness scores for a sub brand. It’s impressive. Their success has come from their ability to tap into the power of technology and combine powerful consumer insights around status, competition and the power of collection of Pokemon as a driver of engagement.
Some may suggest that it’s just a fad – others that it has longevity and its business model has legs. Either way, I see the Pokémon Go phenomenon as the face of modern digital marketing ~ one that brands should be taking careful notes from.
Why? Well for starters today’s Pokémon Go is just the first version, showcasing the value of combing data with collaboration. The next challenge for Nintendo and Niantic will be how to develop version 2 and beyond and which functions to prioritise but I’m confident that as the product reaches v2 and v3 we’ll see stronger commercial models with meaningful integration with brands and partners, making full use of the data and insights. Think about the McDonald's deal. Its partnership with Pokémon Go is sure to be their first step and it’s not just about how to sell more burgers. They’ll be using the partnership to gather more customer data to arm themselves for future marketing activities. Watch this space.
And for other brands? Well I’d suggest you should be paying close attention and using Pokemon as a learning module. It showcases the potential of speed and scale of digital disruption that is possible today. So consider what your organisation can do either working alone or collaborating to develop new modern approaches to integrating data and technology.
After all, if a 20-year-old game can be reimagined to such great effect, enabled by mapping and AR, then imagine how your organisation might be able to disrupt the market with speed and scale. Just remember to start with the consumer, use technology as the enabler and act like a start-up.
Vijay Solanki, IAB Australia CEO