What We Can Learn from the Success of Pokemon Go

Pokemon Go is changing the world in front of our eyes. 

Last night I went to the downtown area of a local city and was overwhelmed by the number of people walking around catching Pokemon. In my head I've imagined others walking with their heads down, not conversing, and focusing intently on the game. What I found were groups of friends laughing and talking, strangers interacting, and a community coming to life. The first mainstream augmented reality game is here and it's got loads of benefits.

People are exercising more. People are interacting more. People are seeing more of their communities than they would have without Pokemon Go.

I think one of the greatest things I've seen happen because of this app in the last week is the inventive ways small businesses are riding the Pokemon wave. In downtown Atlanta, Taproom Coffee, hosted a special event yesterday. They were offering a popular local beer drink special from 5-7PM and they activated lures at all of the Poke Stops nearest to their establishment. This place is already popular enough in its neighborhood, but by activating lures (which attract Pokemon) they were encouraging new customers and an opportunity to establish a new customer base.

I've heard and seen other businesses running similar incentives, a local radio station was hosting an event and they were going to set up lures at Poke Stops, and even local churches were setting up lures. 

If Nintendo and the Pokemon Company can continue to innovate and keep players engaged with this game one month from now, two months from now...they're going to make a lot of money.

People playing (and making in-app purchases) + Businesses Buying Lures = $$$ for Nintendo & The Pokemon Company

No matter what, we're about to see a huge wave of augmented reality games and apps make their way in to the world.