Are you maximising Pokémon Go marketing?

If you’re like me then you would have been totally bemused at the sight of three people from McDonalds walking down Newbury shopping centre today all engrossed in their smart phones.

You’re probably equally bemused at the angst over a crashed game server or the stories in the press of some complete moron crashing their car because they were playing some game.

What you’re seeing is the phenomenon known as Pokémon Go. This is the mobile app version of the Pokémon trading cards from the mid 1990s. Perhaps if you collected Pokémon cards you’ll better understand how the virtual reality Pokémon Go game works and why it’s so addictive.

So there are crowds wandering the streets, hills, cliffs and even sewers looking for Pokémon, but some canny businesses are cashing in. If you’re lucky enough to have your business in the vicinity of a Pokémon gym then you’re in luck, you’ll have a steady stream of visitors although whether they’re your typical customer is another question.

It’s more likely that you’ll be lucky enough to find a Pokémon hanging around your premises in which case make the most of it. Shout out on social media that you’ve got a purple rat known as a ‘Rattata’ and amazingly people will come running to capture the Pokémon by throwing virtual balls at it. At least that’s what my friend Kelly did when she found a Pokémon on her Popadoodledoo market stall in Reading today.

You may well be as blasé as I am about Pokémon Go, but trust me with the school summer holidays just around the corner it’s going to be a cheap activity for many parents who’ll happily take their kids Pokémon hunting. Download the app and whenever you find a Pokémon in your business premises get all the tweeting, statusing hash tagging and social sharing you can out of it.

Publicising your local Pokémon certainly can’t do any harm, jumping on the latest hash tag might get you noticed and with millions of people playing Pokémon Go you might just attract a couple of new customers to your business.