On July 6 and 7, 2016, Niantic and Nintendo started rolling out a new augmented reality app named Pokémon Go. Within a couple of days it was a hit. Children and adults nationwide started downloading and enjoying with this new scavenger hunt-like game.
It is so popular that people are sometimes crowding parks and other places, chasing their favorite Pokémon characters so as to capture them. Local companies can take advantage of this phenomenon by buying”Lures” to lure players in their stores. Here is how to do that, together with a couple of caveats.
Pokémon Go permits you to create an avatar and explore your place to be able to capture Pokémon.
Pokémon Go is a free app that is available on Apple’s App Store and, for Android apparatus, in the Google Play shop. Installing the app is relatively straightforward. When you initially start the app you will have to set up and pick a character. You can customize your character’s sex, hair color, clothes, and some other specifics. The entire idea of the augmented reality game is that you walk around the real world, using the app running in your mobile phone.
As you move from location to location, you will find out where Pokémon characters are by taking a look at a map. When you are close to a personality, your phone’s camera turns on, and the app superimposes a computer-generated picture of one of those characters on your camera’s view. You get”points” for shooting these characters: then you complete your virtual”game board,” known as Pokédex.
Pokémon Go has populated the global map, using an algorithm to put characters in certain locations. I have seen the map and played the game. It’s apparent that popular locations generally have more characters.
And other places, such as rural areas and less frequented locations, will not have any personalities. In the Dallas area, where I reside, I quickly learned, based on a couple of my buddies’ Facebook posts lately, a particular city park has many personalities. When one Facebook friend visited that park, he saw a great deal of people walking around, taking a look at their phones.
Using ‘Lures’ to Attract Prospects
Here’s where this gets interesting for local companies: Pokémon Go users are trying to find characters, on a digital scavenger hunt. Pokémon Go has enabled us to buy”Lures,” that will entice Pokémon Move users to come to a specific location. Therefore, a local company, like a restaurant, retail store, or an event can buy”Lures” known as”Lure Modules” from the app, and draw these users to its place.
Buying a package of eight Lure Modules now costs 680 Pokécoins. One Lure Module costs 100 Pokécoins. Pokécoins cost $.99 for 100, and 14,500 Pokécoins for $99.99. A Lure Module attracts Pokémon into a PokéStop (a local company place, by way of instance ) for thirty minutes.
Here are a few suggestions about ways to attract consumers to your place using Pokémon Go.
- Utilize social media (like facebook, Twitter, Snapchat) along with your site’s site to announce Pokémon Move promotions. Ideally, these ought to be declared a day or two beforehand, giving your clients and social networking followers enough prep time to visit your organization.
- Purchase Lure Modules to lure Pokémon users to your PokéStop, which can be located at your company. You, basically, can lure prospects for your company for $1.19 per hour, as clarified recently by Inc. magazine.
14,500 Pokécoins / 680 = 21 eight-packs of Lures
(21 * 8)/2 = 84 hours
$100/84 hours = $1.19 per hour
Lure Modules can be bought with Pokécoins to attract Pokémon into a place.
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Buy Pokécoins with real cash.
- Provide a special incentive. Restaurants, for instance, can offer a complimentary dessert or appetizer. Ask patrons to show you that they are using the Pokémon Go app to qualify. Think of another advertising, for example 10 percent off, or other incentive.
- You might not have to provide any particular incentive — only using $100 to entice the app’s customers to your company might be sufficient to increase foot traffic.
Works Best in Larger Cities
According to my research, local companies in larger cities often have a much better chance to use the Pokémon Go app to lure shoppers. Local companies in cities smaller than roughly 100,000 individuals may not have many Pokémon Go players yet, or they may be unable to purchase Lure Modules on the app. Download and test the app to find the amount of activity in your area.
Beyond this, find out if your company was designated as a”Fitness Center” or PokéStop already. Install the Pokémon Proceed app in your phone and you will quickly know. Pokéstop or Gym places are pre-determined by the app’s makers. They tend to be areas where Pokémon Go users flock to so as to capture characters. PokéStops and Gyms tend to draw a whole lot of foot traffic.
Firms like food trucks can easily find near PokéStops and Gyms. If you can market your merchandise near a PokéStop or Gym, you might see far more foot traffic to your organization.
Pokémon Go app is probably a fad that will last a couple of weeks, months, or even years. However, what is important is to search for alternative ways to advertise your neighborhood business and attract more customers. Be nimble, be quick. For only $100 and just $1.19 an hour, Pokémon Go can cause more customers.