Neil Lim
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Pokemon Go. But seriously, what is it?
Pokemon Go originally started out as an April Fool’s prank by Google back in 2014. It generated so much demand and buzz that Google eventually tasked Niantic Studios with creating the game. Using the lessons it previously learned from Ingress, Niantic used augmented reality to create Pokemon Go.
Using this technology, players (called “trainers” in-game) interact with their location to find and capture wild Pokemon. As players walk around, their avatar mimics their movements. The ultimate goal of the game? That’s to find and capture Pokemon (“Gotta catch ‘em all!”) such as Pikachu, Charizard, Venusaur and Blastoise.
How popular is it?
Various stats have already been compiled and Pokemon Go is a massively popular game that’s already taking the world by storm. Here are some interesting stats about the game.
Move over Tinder, Pokemon Go is the new IT app
Despite being only two weeks old, Pokemon Go has already been installed in more devices that Tinder. What’s even more compelling is the fact that Pokemon Go hasn’t even been released worldwide. So how does it stack up with an older social media network?
Pokemon Go is pretty close to Twitter’s DAU. Seeing as the data is a two weeks old, it’s safe to say that it has already taken over Twitter. What’s
Needless to say, the game is quite popular. Not only does it require players to walk around and explore their surroundings, it’s even forcing players to get some exercise and socialize with other people.
Are there any unique elements in the game?
Pokemon Go tries to stay loyal to the original 1990’s game and TV show, so it has locations dubbed as Pokestops and PokeGyms. These stops and gyms are located in various physical locations including churches, parks, coffee shops, monuments, landmarks and more. For businesses and establishments lucky enough to be considered as a stop or gym, players have been welcomed. However, there were a few unfortunate incidents such as the one in Auschwitz and the Vancouver Police Department.
What’s special about these stops and gyms?
These Pokestops and Gyms are places where players can capture Pokemons and battle each other for supremacy of their faction of choice. In the game, players get to choose between Team Blue, Team Red and Team Yellow – (meant to represent the original legendary Pokemons: Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos – yes, I watched Pokemon as a kid.) Winning against other players captures the select location for your team and grants you experience points.
Now onto the interesting part (and the reason why you’re reading this article.) Pokestops, aside from being a popular destination for players, can be amplified using Lures. Okay, I know it sounds like you’ll need to play the game but hear me out.
Using Lures can easily drive a large number of people to a single location. Take this story of an NYC pizza shop and how they increased sales by 30% by using a Lure.
Sounds great, eh? So how do you take advantage of it?
Lures can be purchased for about $10. This equates to about 30 points which you can then use to buy a Lure that lasts for 30 mins. During this time frame, any nearby Pokemon Go players will converge on this location in order to collect in-game items and the chance to capture elusive Pokemons. The increased foot traffic is an excellent way of promoting a business’ products. For example, players can grab a snack and a drink, while waiting at a coffee shop.