When the Colonie Center, a mall in Albany, New York, realized that its atrium was the location of a PokeGym in Pokemon Go, it didn't try to fight back against the hordes of Pokemon masters. Rather, the mall saw the PokeGym placement as a business opportunity. For the next month, the Colonie Center's atrium will be bedecked with a giant pokeball logo and Pokemon banners, encouraging Pokemon Go players to spend as much time in the mall as possible.
From a business perspective, Colonie Center's move to create a Pokemon arena is a clever one. The more time patrons spend in a mall, the better it is for business, so capitalizing on the luck of a PokeGym on site makes perfect sense.
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Mall Gaming Attractions
- Malls are adapting to the popularity of gaming in public spaces and incorporating them as attractions to keep customers engaged.
- Augmented Reality Advertising
- Malls can use augmented reality technology as an advertising tool to attract customers and enhance their experience.
- Location-based Marketing Campaigns
- Businesses can capitalize on the location of popular mobile games like Pokemon Go as a way to attract customers and increase foot traffic.
Where This Applies
- Retail
- Retailers can incorporate gaming attractions and location-based advertising to create immersive experiences that keep customers engaged in their physical stores.
- Entertainment
- Entertainment venues, such as malls, can incorporate gaming attractions to attract customers and increase engagement with their space.
- Technology
- The development of new augmented reality tools and location-based marketing campaigns presents new opportunities for tech companies to work with businesses and create innovative solutions.
