MxMIndia

Tag: Pokémon Go

  • Dream Theatre boss Jiggy George on how brands can benefit from Pokemon Go, whose syndication, licensing & merchandising rights he owns for India & S Asia

    Ready, Set with Pokemon Go!

     

    By Anuka Roy

     

    Have you heard someone recently shout, “Yes! I have caught them all” or a person almost bumping in to you while walking, because they were glued on their smart phone? If the answers to the above questions are yes, then you might have got a hint by now. But if you have no clue about what is being written, well, we are talking about the location-based game, Pokémon Go. It is developed by American software company Niantic, that requires players to walk around neighbourhoods, to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokémon, which appear on the screen as if they  were in the same real world location as the player.

     

    Now, that we have introduced the game that has been creating buzz all around, let us try and understand it from the Indian perspective. Dream Theatre has renewed its master Licensing Agreement for Pokémon in India with The Pokémon Company for Content Syndication and Licensing & Merchandising for India and South Asia. The company has rights for TV/digital syndication, consumer products, promotions, publishing and home entertainment. Dream Theatre is a leading licensing representation company and manages the licensing programmes for Pokémon, DreamWorks Animation, Rovio, Twentieth Century Fox, FIFA 2018, Real Madrid, AC Milan for India and South Asia, among other brands.

     

    Said Jiggy George, Founder and CEO of Dream Theatre Pvt Ltd, “The game is just unique and phenomenal but the most important thing is, it is not about the gameplay, where a lot of people will come and do the same thing. The fact is, it is all about Pokémon. It is an intersection of different generations. From a kid’s perspective there is resonance for the brand; a massive nostalgia is there for the early jobgoers who grew up on a Cartoon Network generation many years back. Then there are gamers who have no idea about Pokémon, which is a minority, who just love the gameplay. But what you see today is an intersection of pure love for the brand Pokémon meeting a superb gameplay,” about the latest trend of the game. He further adds, “At our end we had already done a fair bit of launches in merchandise in kids across several categories. But what this has done with Pokémon Go is to open up this market for adults- adult apparel, merchandise essentially in categories like accessories, electronic accessories for phone and computers and things like that.”

     

    Dream Theatre is working closely with Disney to relaunch the show on Hungama TV from Season One onwards with a 360-degree plan in October 2016, giving audiences a chance to follow the series from the genesis. Viacom 18’s Voot is its VOD partner. Speaking about the relationship, George said, “We have a relationship with Pokémon which is across various businesses. We have rights for Content syndication. So, we place content for Pokémon on VOD,digital, television etc. We also have rights for consumer products, for promotions, for publishing, for home entertainment and this relationship are in India and South Asia. We just got our contract renewed which goes on for the next three years.”

     

    The trend-shift has made it a good proposition for companies, brands as well as retailers, given the higher purchasing power ability of the older audience and the product possibilities across categories.  With this resurgences, Pokémon is one of the first brands in India to see appeal cut across both kids and adults. “I believe that FMCG brands could use it as a tool to run promotions to increase sales or build loyalty to their consumers. Retailers, who are going to be stocking a lot of products for Pokémon, will definitely see secondary sales. You will also see retail based promotions which will allow more audience to come in to the stores. I think it would be a mix between promotions, product and content,” he said.

     

    But in the past we have noticed that trends fade away soon due to the ever-shrinking attention span of our consumers. What is his take on this regarding Pokémon Go?  “People know this character, they grew up on this character and there is nostalgia. Secondly, this is not a casual game. This a gameplay which is very different, hooked up to Google Maps and it is almost like a treasure hunt. That engages people for a very long time. By October this year, you will see tons of products at retail. We come from a market where we are a follower market versus the kind of market that starts up with a trend. The game play is very different and it will engage for a long time. And, there is enough content, whether it is on VOD with Voot or if you look at the Disney universe there is content which will grow in next three years,” said the Founder and CEO.

     

  • It's a global sensation since it launched on July 6. Here's a report by Ansible, the mobile marketing division of IPG Mediabrands…

    Why should Brands care about Pokemon Go

     

    It’s been a rage since it launched in some parts of the globe on July 6. Although not officially available in India, Pokemon Go has caught on in a big, big way here too. Here’s a report by Ansible, the mobile marketing division of IPG Mediabrands that talks about how the relevance of the all-new platform for brands…

     

    The Trivia

    Pokémon Go is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game, developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company as part of the Pokémon franchise. It was released worldwide in July 2016 for iOS and Android devices.

    •Pokémon Go has quickly become a phenomenon in less than a week

    The game encourages players to explore their cities, driving real-world traffic for local businesses

    •A mass audience is falling in love with augmented reality (AR), opening the door for brands to leverage AR technologies to reach consumers

     

    Pokémon Go was launched on July 6 and became a viral sensation with a week. The new mobile game leverages GPS and cameras on smartphones to simulate the Pokémon-catching experience from the older games in the real world.Mercurial Rise

     

    Scope for Brand Associations

    1. PokemonGo players must leave their homes and explore their neighbourhoods and cities, following a digital map that leads them to various characters and locations. Niantic just announced that they are willing to create in-game sponsorship opportunities soon.

    2. For now, the game is monetized by in-app purchases by users. Because the game gets users out into the world, there are marketing opportunities surrounding the game

    3. While the camera-enabled AR experience built around location services, creates the game’s most share-worthy moments as social feeds. Facebook and Twitter include almost non-stop screenshots from the game in the last week.

     

    How can Brands Leverage

    •Brands without physical locations will have a tougher time capitalizing directly on the latest Pokémon craze.

    •There would be more opportunities to get in front of Pokémon Go players through in-game ads or sponsorships,

    •This is a good time to think about ways for augmented reality to drive new opportunities for your brand. AR can be a great way for customers to envision your products in their lives and to launch digital experiences from signage or product packaging. What we can do now through a smartphone is just the beginning.

     

    How can Retailers Leverage

    •The nature of Pokémon Go demands players go outside and walk around. Already, there are stores and cafes seeing a spike in foot traffic because their locations are hotspots in the game. The New York Times reported that one bar in Harrisburg, Va., has started offering discounts to Pokémon Go players on a specific team, while a tea shop in San Francisco offered a “buy one get one” deal to Pokémon Go players.

     

    If one of your locations is lucky enough to be at or near an in-game hotspot known as a PokéStopand you’re willing do a little work and make a few in-app purchases, you can drive even more traffic and sales. L’inizioPizza Bar in Queens used that strategy and boosted sales by an incredible 30%, spending

     

    Some FAQs by Brands

    Q. Can my brand buy [insert game feature] for sponsorship?

    A. No, not yet but we are watching this space and the CEO of Niantic says they are working on it.

    Q. Can I use guerilla marketing techniques to get my brand into the game?

    A. Not really but see below for a way to use guerilla marketing to get foot traffic in the real world.

    Q. What are lures and what is crowd-luring?

    A. “Lure modules” are an item in the game that attract Pokémon to a PokéStoplocation for 30 minutes. Anyone in the area can take advantage of the lure and they usually attract crowds of players. The lures last for 30 minutes and, if bought in increments of $100, cost $1.17 per hour.

    Q. How do I turn my retail location into a PokéStop or Gym?

    A. Gyms are destinations players to battle with other players’ Pokémons, whereas a PokéStop is a checkpoint that players pass by for a few seconds to get free loot. So far, Niantic has full control over the creation of PokéStops and Gyms.

    Q. How does incense work?

    A. Incense works similarly to lures, in that it attracts Pokémon, but these should not be used by brands as they only create extra Pokémon for the user deploying them, not for other users in the game. They are not tied to a location the way lures can only be used at PokéStops.

    Q. Can I buy lures to add them to my store?

    A. Lures are purchased in the in-game store with Pokecoins, which are purchased with real money.