Indian advertisers hooked to Pokemonia, and prospect of talking to an already engaged audience; while Niantic may or may not allow entry of brands into the gaming experience, Pokemon Go brings focus back on Augmented Reality and its great potential
BY TEAM IMPACT
People ambling through parks and alleys with a phone in hand, stumbling before cars or waking into buildings is a common sight in countries that have access to what we can safely call the most popular game of all times: the Pokemon Go. For others, finding the pocket monsters is instrumental in driving team spirit, encouraging physical activity outdoors and creating social engagement. So compelling is the game that soon after its release, it managed to top all popularity charts to become a blockbuster hit among mobile phone users in the 31 countries in which it has been launched. With clever use of augmented reality, this app has revolutionized gaming, pushing every hitherto holed up gamer out of the confines of his home. Not only has it taken Twitter, Facebook and every social media platform by storm, but also become the subject of conversation from bus-stands to boardrooms. In the process, brands have also perked up their ears and dreamt of ways (no action can happen until Pokemon Go’s legal launch) to cash in on the mass obsession.
In India, one can’t legally download the Pokemon Go app, but that hasn’t deterred brands from pouring their hearts out about possible association with the likes of Lizardo, Charmeleon, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Caterpie, Jigglypuff and Pikachu, and to what extent they are hopeful about ‘catching’ consumers via Pokemon Go once it is launched.
ALREADY IN THE GAME
In India, you are likely to find a Pokemon in the unlikeliest of places - people who have managed to get access to the pirated version of the app claim to have found many of the 151 characters of Pokemon in temples, cafes and even cemeteries. That only begins to spell out the kind of potential it has for brand associations, especially for retail stores, coffee chains, etc., where a Pokemon character could be hiding and could attract consumers.
Even as India waits for the official launch of the app, brands have made use of the conversations around it on several social networking sites. Godrej Security Solutions has tweeted an image of how cops can use Pokemon to lure thieves to prison cells and Ola asks you to hop onto their cabs to catch Pokemons, a hilarious spoof of the film Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam by AIB replacing Jaya Bachchan with a Pokemon face and the melodrama that follows when Shah Rukh finally spots the Pokemon. Other brands that have engaged with audiences with their Twitter posts and ads are Amul, Freecharge, IndiaMART, Zomato, Animal Planet, Quikr, Red Bull, etc.
According to a research by Blueocean Market Intelligence, there were around 70K conversations on social media in India on Pokemon Go since the game was launched on July 6 this year. In fact, social media has been the go-to-platform to seek and share the APK file to download the game unofficially in India, even as Pokemon Go memes, strolls and other funny tweets flood Twitter. The game craze has become a sort of marketing whitespace for a few companies, like those selling power banks, and a lot of promotional content has been observed on social.
WHAT IS POKEMON GO : Pokemon Go is a locationbased augmented reality mobile game developed by the American software company Niantic with the Pokemon Company for iOS and Android devices. The game allows players to capture, battle and train virtual creatures called ‘Pokemons’. There are 151 Pokemon characters with fancy names. While the game has not been officially launched in India, many have downloaded it through a pirate site that gives access up to Level 5.
HOW TO PLAY POKEMON GO : Once you have downloaded the app on to your phone, your goal is to search for virtual creatures called Pokemons which are scattered throughout the real world. But you have to be physically close to a Pokemon’s location to be able to see it on your mobile screen. Pokemon Go uses augmented reality technology – the game overlays the creature image on top of video from your phone’s camera, so it looks as if the creature is floating in the real world.
GLUED TO POKEMON : Users across the world are spending more average time per day on Pokemon Go (43 mins) than they were spending on WhatsApp (30 mins), Instagram (25 mins) or Snapchat (23 mins), according to a report by SimilarWeb, a market intelligence company.
According to Unny Radhakrishnan, Chief Digital Officer, Maxus South Asia, “Pokemon Go per se may or may not become a fad, more likely the former. So, it is not about what would brands do with this new shiny thing. What Pokemon Go has done is bring AR back into mainstream conversations. Developers and marketers will now explore possibilities of AR in creating consumer engagement programmes. In the short term, as the Pokemon Go fever peaks, brands might use tactical methods to drive footfalls to designated areas or leverage some possibilities with virtual currencies.”
For example, though dating apps in the USA are already capitalizing on the Pokemon Go craze by organizing Pokemon Hunt with the loved one, companies in India are still cautious about associating with the revolutionary gaming app when it is officially launched though they are now having fun. One just has to wait and watch where the hunt leads.
WHAT Marketers SAY
Pokemon Go offers a crazily virtual interactive opportunity and that could be a big game-changer. While the possibilities are immense, brands need to be careful and use it responsibly. At the end of the day, it’s a game, and it should be handled like that. You don’t want it to become an addiction which leads to unfortunate incidents. But, it is definitely an opportunity as some very interactive work can be done. However, Niantic (developers of Pokemon) may not be open to revenues from brand endorsements.
Sunil Kataria,
Business Head India and SAARC,
Godrej Consumer Products Limited
“The Pokemon Go app has huge potential for engagement with youth but we will be able to explore the possibilities of partnership only once the app is legally available in India.”
Kedar Teny,
Director Marketing & Digital – McDonald’s India (West & South)
“Pokemon Go is already a rage and I have been trying to download it myself. My staff told me that I can change the country in the settings on phone and download it, but I want to download it legally. When the moment comes, it is definitely going to take this country by storm. As far as gaming is concerned in this country, Chota Bheem is number one and we have associated ourselves with Chota Bheem by way of integration with Real, our juice brand. So, if Pokemon Go offers a good opportunity, there would be associations with it also. It seems like a very good game, because it is played outdoors and would probably work in favour of the brand, especially because of its use of augmented reality.”
Rajiv Dubey,
Head - Media, Dabur India
“I woke up with the world going ballistic over Pokemon Go, reached office only to see our office folks trying to download it on their phones through some khufiya link. Suddenly normal tea and smoke breaks became full-fledged Poke' walks! As a brand we've always been fun and quirky, we've seen topicality work wonders for us, so we had to jump on this bandwagon. With other news like Parineeti's recent weight loss and Baba Ramdev's controversial cover also gaining traction, we found a way to fuse it all in a way that was hilarious, topical and relatable. We shared content on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram and saw a healthy level of engagement on all!”
Vimoha Bagla,
Creative Head, TrulyMadly
“We are exploring new ways of engaging with audiences, including virtual and augmented reality, as part of the mobile gaming suite that we announced in our media monetization plans. But we can't say much more at this point.”
A Spokesperson,
Mondel?z International
“Pokemon Go may or may not become a fad, more likely the former. So, it is not about what would brands do with this new shiny thing. What Pokemon Go has done is bring AR back into mainstream conversations.
Developers and marketers will now explore possibilities of AR in creating consumer engagement programmes.”
UNNYRADHAKRISHNAN
Chief Digital Officer, Maxus South Asia
