Move over Facebook, Pokemon Go has become the new place to market yourself as businesses start to incorporate the popular game into their marketing strategies.
Griffith University’s Start-up Entrepreneurs Club president Joshua Murchie says businesses are starting to use Lures as a new way to advertise.
“I have been watching and I’m interested in is how businesses and entrepreneur savvy peoplecan utilise this to increase sales,” he said.
“I already know of some directors of one of the big four accounting firms buying lures outside their offices and just watching how many people it attracts…. And it does attract!
“Could this be the new style advertising instead of Google, Facebook and radio? The main difference I can see is that these lures actually get people to physical locations and are an indirect and less blatant form of advertising that businesses can use to increase foot traffic and ultimately increase sales.”
IT senior lecturer Dr David Tuffley says the information the Pokemon Gogame collects about its users is where the value lies.
“Such information is pure gold in the digital economy,” he says.
“It allows marketers to craft direct appeal sales pitches based on the things you know and like. You need look no further than Facebook to see how the personal information that people provide is worth big money.
“Facebook owns all of those photos and videos and postings about how you spend your time, who your friends are, how you live your life. This information about its 1.65 billion users has made Facebook worth around 245 billion (US) dollars as a commercial entity.”
Dr Tuffley said as the growing army of players roam about the countryside collecting the“adorable and often elusive Pokémon”, the developers of the game (Niantic) are collecting detailed information about the players.
“Where did you go, when were you there and how long did you stay, who else was there when you got there and who arrived later,” he says.
“It will know what route you took to get there, and possibly what mode of transport you used. But it does not end there, Niantic will also potentially have access to your Google account with its email, Google Docs and what you might currently have on your Google Drive (G:Drive).”