Jakarta Post

Marketing Lesson from "Pokémon Go"

Marketers can see the magic of Digical by understanding the success of Pokémon Go.

By Laura Beaudin and Jean-Pierre Felenbok

Published on October 19, 2016
min read


This article originally appeared in the Jakarta Post. By now, you’ve probably heard of the mobile gaming phenomenon that is Pokémon Go. Perhaps you’re even among the tens of millions of people who downloaded it at a record-breaking pace, making it the biggest mobile game in US history. The app taps the geo-positioning and camera functions of your smartphone, and encourages you to walk around your city looking to catch virtual Pokémon—short for “pocket monsters”—that pop up in seemingly random places. But their locations are hardly random: The game’s developers looked at years of Google Maps and other location data to find interesting and intuitive places to harbor Pokémon. And, not surprisingly, there are sponsored locations as well. Companies and marketers around the world are already working hard to tap into the game’s runaway success, which has demonstrated the unique ability to drive real-world foot traffic. In Japan, birthplace of the Pokémon franchise, McDonald’s became the game’s first big sponsor, converting each of its nearly 3,000 Japanese locations into PokéStops, real-world spots where users can load up on items to play the game, or Pokémon Gyms, where users can fight virtual battles with each other and gain strength in the game. Read more at the Jakarta Post. Laura Beaudin is a partner in Bain & Company’s Customer Strategy & Marketing practice, leading the practice’s Marketing Excellence work, based in San Francisco. Jean-Pierre Felenbok is a partner based in Jakarta.

This article originally appeared in the Jakarta Post.

By now, you’ve probably heard of the mobile gaming phenomenon that is Pokémon Go. Perhaps you’re even among the tens of millions of people who downloaded it at a record-breaking pace, making it the biggest mobile game in US history.

The app taps the geo-positioning and camera functions of your smartphone, and encourages you to walk around your city looking to catch virtual Pokémon—short for “pocket monsters”—that pop up in seemingly random places.

But their locations are hardly random: The game’s developers looked at years of Google Maps and other location data to find interesting and intuitive places to harbor Pokémon. And, not surprisingly, there are sponsored locations as well.

Companies and marketers around the world are already working hard to tap into the game’s runaway success, which has demonstrated the unique ability to drive real-world foot traffic.

In Japan, birthplace of the Pokémon franchise, McDonald’s became the game’s first big sponsor, converting each of its nearly 3,000 Japanese locations into PokéStops, real-world spots where users can load up on items to play the game, or Pokémon Gyms, where users can fight virtual battles with each other and gain strength in the game.

Read more at the Jakarta Post.

Laura Beaudin is a partner in Bain & Company’s Customer Strategy & Marketing practice, leading the practice’s Marketing Excellence work, based in San Francisco. Jean-Pierre Felenbok is a partner based in Jakarta.