7 valuable marketing lessons that Pokemon Go 'teaches' to marketers

If you still haven't heard about Pokemon Go yet , maybe you - a marketer - is somewhere outside of Earth. Because these days it is not surprising to hear about millions of people around the world "sticking" to the phone screen, passionately hunting a certain cartoon character in a mobile game based on on virtual reality and "high-five" technology, even screaming with joy every time "catch" a "uncle" (me too).

Everyone knows - that's right - Pokemon Go is an attractive and popular game as much as a movie blockbuster. However, different from other mobile titles, thanks to being built on the most modern AR technology, the Pokemon become more vivid on the screen interface with the scenery is real life images. The player cannot sit still and have to move to search for and capture these characters. According to the report, on average every day, American players spend about 43 minutes playing Pokemon Go, more than the time they access Instagram and WhatsApp social networks. It is estimated that within 2 days, the "father" of Nintendo has collected about $ 7.5 billion - an incredible figure for a game that has just "entered the game" into the mobile gaming market. The dynamic is currently playing games of all kinds.

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However, temporarily put aside all aspects related to Pokemon Go, such as how to download, play , upgrade or experience . What I emphasize here is how a mere game of duty is also a animal training that has achieved such a spectacular success after only a few days? The answer is in the extremely smart marketing campaign that any marketer should learn to apply for programs promoting their company image and products in the future.

1. Developing a good brand can almost sell anything

The actual Pokemon is based on a Google map-based game called Ingress - all activities in the game take place in the real world. Have you ever heard the name of this game? Maybe, but it did not achieve great success because when it comes to Google - most people think of the name "search giant" but not a game developer - the brand is not received. format.

In contrast, Pokemon - a name that appeared 20 years ago and stands firmly in the minds of millions of gamers worldwide. The design, quality and character charisma of the video game series (and anime) have created a strong effect, so even if only one name is mentioned, it will make millions of fans sob.

Pokemon Go is good, but without the "Pokemon" brand, it will never shine.

2. The timing is really important

Pokemon debuted at the beginning of the summer and in the middle of the season (July 6), it officially landed on the store. This is a time when most students in schools (including primary, secondary and university) have been absent from school, start a long vacation and almost everyone wants to find a reason for themselves. to go somewhere far, or at least go out - get out of busy work.

How to imagine if Pokemon Go launches in the middle of winter? In a snowstorm? There was never that and I was 100% sure that all the time, from the test to the official launch - there was nothing called coincidence or randomness here.

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All were released by the publisher - Nintendo carefully selected and calculated. An ideal time with an overarching view. Until now, Pokemon have been 20 years old and fans - generations that when this cartoon character first appeared on the market are still children who are now adults with the age of 20 years plus - has tremendous purchasing power.

3. These days, Social Proof is everything

In a world where social networks are everywhere, highly spread and "instant" connectivity is possible, Social Proof is everything. We do not buy products unless we have heard someone give a positive review of it: it can be a compliment of design or quality. We dare not speak up in a meeting unless someone is "brave" to become a pioneer of giving his or her opinion. In a straightforward way, people tend to trust their predecessors, particularly those who have used certain products or services and have reviews about them. These ideas come from subjective but cause a certain influence on the majority of people who are reluctant to try.

"Social Proof" or "Informational social influence" is a behavior in marketing, which can be understood as a psychological phenomenon when people seek confirmation. , assuming and simulating from the actions of others in an effort to reflect their own behavior in a certain social situation. This effect is often prominent in unclear social situations where people are unable to identify appropriate behavioral mechanisms and they are motivated by the assumption that the surrounding people seize the situation better. .

With Pokemon Go, Social Proof is even more clear - you see people becoming happy and excited when playing this game almost any time you encounter it, it is difficult to control the action of downloading it to the computer.

4. Personal identity creates loyalty

There are many elements of identity that make Pokemon an addictive super product, all of which comes from giving users a sense of belonging and loyalty. First it is nostalgia: something of 20 years ago - attached to you - when you grow up, grow up with Pokemon characters and this is also a way for each person to feel the emotions. was there when I first experienced this game in the late 1990s.

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I remember when Pokemon appeared in 1996, I was 10 years old. Now, I have 30 and myself and other people of the "millennials" generation (people born between 1980 and 2000) feel warm but have a little ambiguity about Pokemon when things have been " Stealing "our souls - once again appeared in a different world.

The second thing is loyalty. In the game, you have to choose one of the 3 factions and be able to identify strengths - each Faction's weakness is the best way to attract more players, just like how football fans invest for My favorite team.

5. You do not need a monumental advertising campaign

How many ads about Pokemon Go before the official launch date? Almost very little. In comparison with cinema blockbusters such as the Dawn of Justice or the Civil War, both were "released" with loud media posters as urging viewers to buy tickets quickly to enjoy them in theaters.

Pokemon Go is not invested much in advertising because, in fact, it is not necessary - or because the Advetising Executive (the person in charge of advertising) understands that the success of the game depends on the Viral calculation and the marketing I have proposed or they really don't expect Pokemon Go to make a breakthrough.

My guess is most likely the first reason, but in general, the thing to emphasize here is that you don't need to spend a huge budget on advertising to become an excellent marketer. You only need to connect with customers.

6. "Rewards" for customers who continue to care about your product

If you want to increase customer loyalty, you need to "reward" users for their continued investment in your product.

In Pokemon Go, players will receive bonuses and trophies when leveling up, going to the gym, catching a new Pokemon and even walking - the feeling of being happy to hunt a rare Pokemon or win in one Stressful battles were enough to keep the user "plowing" the game much longer - even though the game was somewhat somewhat unattractive.

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For customers who are still loyal to your product or service, there are always plenty of ways to give them rewards and that is the strategy to keep users longer - what you have been it will be paid off by the purchasing power, the amount of goods sold and the revenue generated from them.

7. Low learning curves will create higher adoption rates

Another aspect of Pokemon Go's success is the low comprehension curve. Although there is no playing guide or help, however, it is easy to understand the basic information about this game. You can delve into strategies, but all you need to feel the fun of Pokemon Go is to walk, hold your phone, and notice the vibrations of the device (every time the phone Vibration is Pokemon will appear).

Perfectly designed websites, e-commerce platforms, applications and products are the ones that always welcome the users and are easy to connect with them - that is the lesson you also Can learn from the spectacular development of social networking applications like Instagram or Snapchat.

Good use of these lessons and you will see both our Customer Acquisition and Customer Retention indexes are significantly improved. However, please ensure the highest product quality because even when applying the above marketing strategies that Pokemon Go itself is a disaster, it cannot be "scratched" against other games. .