How Pokemon Go is helping brands find new clients and business

If you happened to be at Fiona Solitairesrsquo outlets in Bandra or Vashi last week you would have noticed something odd mdash youngsters walking in showing attendants that they had crossed level 10 on Pokeacutemon Go andwalking away with a discount on their purchasePokeacutemon merchandisePic courtesyDream theatreThe jewellery brand recently launched a more affordable range starting at 2000 to tap the younger market And its 33yearold founder Parag Agrawala Pokeacutemon Go player himself found an ingenious way of drawing in the right customersPuppets used in Cold Feet Sock Puppet Troupersquos showI was out catching pokeacutemon one night when I noticed a lotof young people also out onthe streets doing the same Thatrsquos when I realised the marketing potential here We created the Pokeacutemon Go offer for Raksha Bandhan week and sent out SMSes to high data users at nighta significant percentage of whom we guessed would be players of the game says AgrawalAjewellery brand offered discounts to select Pokeacutemon Go playersThere was a 200 per centrise in footfall compared to the same time last year and 70 per cent of them ending up buying jewellery from us he sharesPokemon Go is now a global sensationBusiness bugAnd Agrawal isnrsquot the only one who has caught onto the marketing potential of the game which became an overnight sensation following its release on July 6 2016 in the USA Australia and New Zealand in the first week app usage was double that of Facebook Although still not officially launched in India everyone from kids to adults have found a way to download and play the game using Virtual Private Network VPN servicesParticipants of the PoGo Bar CrawlThe global phenomenon soon exploded in Mumbai too with fans banding togetherfor pokeacutewalks There were others too running with the theme a little differentlyFor instance Eshita Dharia 23 and Pawan Shahri 22 founders of Latenight Mumbai chose to combine the concept of a bar hop and a pokeacutewalk at the PoGo Bar Crawl held on August 7 which required participants to visit seven venues mdash six bars and a restaurant mdash between Lower Parel and Breach CandyThe response was fantastic We had 200 attendees The event received a lot of publicity and even the venues that were part of the crawl did well that night says Dharia It was a winwin for everyoneTwo weeks later Ashwin Choithramani and Raihaan Attawala of the Cold Feet Sock Puppet Troupe put togethera quirky and fun Pokeacutemonthemed sock puppet show at The Hive in Khar charging an entry fee of 200 About 30 people attended the show which isnrsquot any more than usual The difference was that these were all new facesI think we jumped on the bandwagon too late If we had done this a few weeks ago we would have likely had a full house says ChoithramaniNot just a fadDoes the craze seem to be dying down now Jiggy George founder and CEO of Dream Theatredoesnrsquot believe so The company represents Pokeacutemon in Indiasyndication licensing andmerchandising and according to George the demand for all things Pokeacutemonrelated is only risingKids who grew up watchingthe show on TV 200311 are now hooked on the game This interest in the brand hasalso resulted in demandfor adult merchandise in apparel accessories mobile and computer accessories The brand has seen overa dozen new deals across new categories being inked with more in the offing says GeorgeHe adds Once the game is launched officially in India which should happen in October there will be plenty more to come Niantic the maker of Pokeacutemon Go has come up with a pricing strategy for brandsThe strategy hersquos talking about refers to how local businesses would be able to apply on Nianticrsquos website to be a Pokeacutestop or Gym on the game and attract a bigger audience Pokeacutestops are where users can stock up on apparatus required ingame and Gyms are where they battle virtually of course players from other teamsOnce this is done brands could pay to activate a lsquoLurersquo which will attract pokeacutemon in the area to the spot for 30 minutes bringing in players who are in the neighbourhood eventually resulting in revenue generation for the brand Itrsquos a marketing revolutionJason Rodrigues a 21yearold student at the Institute of Hotel Management IHM in Dadar has already had this brainwave His research topic is about eateries using Pokeacutemon Go as a marketing tool He is already in talks witha restaurant and cafeacute in Bandra thatrsquos game to experiment We shall try it for a month and by the end of it we will know if the move worked says RodriguesIf these indications are anything to go by we need to prepare for yet another big wave of Pokeacutemania