Grab business opportunities by the PokéBalls!

Tips and ideas from the 30 year old Pokémon Master

It’s a hot Saturday night on L.G. Smith Boulevard (Aruba). Tourists and locals alike are out and about dining, partying and searching for ways to unravel from a busy week full of emotional drama in the media. Between innocent civilians being shot by the police in the U.S. and a Catholic priest preaching hate and ignorance towards a minority group in search of their human rights in Aruba, I find myself among a group of Pokémon Trainers (teenagers) on their journey of becoming Pokémon Masters.

Pocket Monsters

(Pokémon for short) are fictional creatures that are caught by Pokémon trainers for the purpose of catching, training, battling and becoming the very best. Created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995, Pokémon started off with 2 video games and grew into a worldwide franchise sensation of card games, video games, 
tv animated series, apparel and to anything a consumer can imagine of purchasing. It is without a doubt that with the launch of Pokémon Go, the augmented-reality game version of Pokémon created by Niantic for iOs and Android phones, has millennials and Gen Z running around the streets living the dream of catching them all.

Trainers can search for Pokémon anywhere in real life with Pokémon appearing from their smartphones. They can engage in gym battles located in popular hotspots or redeem items such as pokéballs and medicine potion for healing their battle wounded Pokémon at “PokéStops”, hidden around monuments and highly congested areas. While the app is completely free, it does provide in-app purchases for those determined of becoming a Pokémon master in their respective factions. Upon reaching level 5 in the Pokémon Go world, trainers must choose between joining team Instinct, Mystic or team Valor.

So you may ask, why on earth is a 30 year old, University of Aruba undergraduate (Bachelor of Commerce) young entrepreneur doing loafing around with teenagers? RESEARCH OF COURSE! In the half hour to forty-five minutes I spent with this youthful generation playing Pokémon Go, I’ve come to gain a great deal of insight and knowledge on their behavior and interest of the game which I myself also have. The game is ADDICTIVE; you have to keep moving to find different types of Pokémon and items to aid in your journey. In the in-App purchase options there is something called a “Lure Module” which can be purchased and then placed on PokéStops to attract Pokémon for a set time of 30 minutes per Lure model set. The great thing about these lure modules is that everyone in the area of that particular Pokéstop with a placed lure can benefit of the Pokémon that would appear. Isn’t that awesome? These teens come together and share their knowledge and experience to other trainers and socialize. Finally something for the Aruban Youth to do other than go to the cinemas or eat out. No wonder we have an obese climate here on the island (purely subjective).

This is the part where you readers were waiting for. How can a businesses utilize such an interactive gaming app to their advantage?

Simple. If you own a business or run an organization that caters to millennials and Gen Z that love Pokémon, just follow and educate yourselves on the growing trend! Other companies abroad are already making use of this opportunity as seen in the images.

So if you happen to have a café/bar or restaurant or any place that caters to this particular audience, offer them discounts for being on a particular team to drive traffic into your business. Pokémon trainers take their teams seriously, once a team is chosen, there is NO turning back! Team Instinct for example focuses on trusting your inner instinct, electronic companies can give this team discounts for making the right choice to purchase at their particular store. The blue team, team Mystic is all about evolution and science, book stores, tech places, here’s your chance to reel your target in. And last but not least, team Valor, with their red colored logo exuding nothing else but Power. Do I see an opportunity for nutrition, supplement shops and gyms? Hell yes! Other than that, if you’re lucky to have a Pokéstop on your venue, purchase some lure modules, announce on Facebook that you’ll be placing lure modules on your particular Pokéstop and blast the hell out of it on ads, targeting your audience that LOVES POKÉMON.

Keep in mind that these teens can spend hours at a time waiting for a specific Pokémon to pop up, they will get thirsty, they will get hungry and they are open for socializing, make use of the moment. You can be in any type of industry that focuses on this target group, just place the right ingredients and make it happen, it’s all about trial and error. Don’t forget to keep monitoring Pokémon Go and it’s surrounding 3rd party apps for any evolving trends and possible business opportunities.

So yes, there is a big chance you might see me in a random location with a bunch of teens exchanging knowledge, socializing and learning all things Pokémon, all in the name of RESEARCH!!