Why do marketers and brand ambassadors try so hard in social media to get “fake internet points” or “15 seconds of fame”. The fame and value is fleeting unless we hit the holy grail of vitality, buzz-worthy, blanket worldwide free-keting.
One way to go viral is to ride a viral trend — today the trend is Pokemon Go. Here are some clever ideas around the world used to monetize Pokemon Go. For the first time, the glued-to-phones millennials are going outdoors, and the stay-at-home glued-to-computers gaming crowd and scavenger hunting the city. It is a prime time for small businesses to get noticed.
All the tool you need is a smart phone and a clever idea.
A clever idea can stick, make people laugh and remember your business. Your loyal patrons will now know that you care about their hobbies. If you think these are penniless jobless gamers, you are wrong. While a popular mobile game title can gross about $3 million dollar a month, Pokemon Go players logged about $3 million dollars a day for the franchise during lauch. They will be hungry and thirsty after chasing Pokemons for kilometers. It really takes a lot of effort to hatch a lousy egg.
Final price bill discount based on player levels. Example, level 3 free soda, level 5 free slice. Carefully, level 20 is no longer hard to obtain. Example 2, give an incremental discount of 10 cents per level.
Pokemon Go merchandise. Nothing can erase the image of a magikarp mask on a 6 pack jacked body. Cannot be unseen. Currently, you cannot order the Pokemon Go wearable device, so people are charging a premium for guaranteed pre-orders.
Market your location if you spotted a rare Pokemon. Players will go far and abandon their cars for a monster (as seen in the central park example).
Upgrade your kid’s lemon stand. A smart kid has been selling blue Doritos, red Doritos and yellow Lay’s, as well as lemonades served from colored bottles to play into the Pokemon team rivalry. Remember, these trainers are out there for cute monsters. Your kids can totally be sweet and melt many hearts. That lemons stand will win as long as it is near a Pokestop.
Encourage your employees and your employer to set up lures. Lures especially in a Bermuda triangle or a lagoon of concentrated Pokestops means heavy heavy foot traffic. “Location location location!” This game just turned your street into a hot spot. Set up lures by spending dollars in the app store means 10x return in revenue and tips!
A black board stand outside your bar that reads “Something clever about Pokemon that I don’t know. I am too old. Come in and get drunk”. Yes, we are adults and we play because it is a part of our sentimental emotional childhood. Just like Totoro. We may be 20 years behind the Japanese anime industry, but the US is the first place they chose to launch the game way before Japan. We are the jackpot.
Offer your restuarant / coffee shop as a place for the trainers to “charge up, cool off and catch ’em all”. It’s a hot summer out here. Iced cold drinks are great baits.
User testing bait using lures. The Down to Lunch mobile app team set up a lure on UC Berkeley campus to get users to try their app and give feedback. Startup hustle prime example.
Create a new meme worthy Pokemon Go banner. Schrödinger’s Pokeball: When the app freezes the Pokemon is both caught and not caught.
Youtube videos on top 10’s, cheats, history of Pokemon. Popular Youtube channels have been cranking out top 10 videos: cutest, most useless, unexpected, weirdest pokemon. Cheats, tips, even Forbes came up with an article 10 things I wish I knew before hand. Tips and cheatsheets have surfaced on Imgur and Quora.
Poking fun at Pokemon Go in your comic strip, graphic novel. Redoing the launching screen concept art, making fun of a enormous amount of zubats infesting the cit, poking fun of an useless magikarp can run away. Of course, the server crashes.
Doing Pokemon characters in your illustration. Pokemon Go character infographics, web comic series, Pokemon characters re-drawn as chibi , characters redone as zombies. You name it.
Artists draw landscape concepts in the style of Pokemon Go — the pale blue pastel with rough edges.
A zoo updated the profile of each zoo animal using Pokemon Go characters card UI and design. They know how to connect with their young animal-loving patrons.
Be nice to your new visitors if your house happens to be close to a Pokestop or a gym. You do not want internet mob to internet shame or reality storm
you.
Drafting a related Pokemon to gain publicity. A coffee shop uses a sheep Pokemon to market its sheep milk latte. Of course, copyright issues may occur.
(Not marketing but worth mentioning monetizing methods
Purchasing Nintendo stocks. It has fluctuated 10% up and down within a week.
Create a new mobile game. The game grosses $3 million dollar a day in the Apple App Store. Apple customers are known to spend more. Clearly mobile game is going strong.
Code a new website and API for Pokemon Go sightings. Flex that programmer muscle and get some Github stars and forks. Example: Pokemon Go Map
Copying the Pokemon Go game mechanics. Without a doubt, players think Pokemon Go has assembled known game mechanics into a whole new game play. Venture capitalists have already been pitched all kinds of Pokemon Go copycat games. Why not? Augmented Reality gaming just started. And apparently it doesn’t cost $3000 dollars for a headset.
Sauce: Reddit Imgur images and posts.
