Tag: Pokemon

In October, Twitter announced it was shutting down Vine, its app that lets users create and share 6-second looping videos. However, the company has now announced it won’t actually pull the Vine app from the app store but instead transition it to a new, low maintenance app called Vine Camera. The videos recorded using the new app can be saved to your camera roll or posted directly to Twitter, following a similar strategy to Facebook-owned Instagram. Whilst it is fairly common for under-performing products to simply get closed down entirely Twitter have kept Vine partially online. It will be interesting to see if Vine Camera takes off in the New Year. But before we say goodbye to 2016, Google take us through a trends overview for 2016, from Pokémon to Donald Trump, and TrendWatching tell us what trends to look out for in 2017.

HEADLINES

• Facebook are to trial users blocking certain ad content types from their newsfeed
• Ikea have renamed their products based on Google ‘problem’ searches (handily, the products also solve them)
• AirBnb are looking to expand into offering flights on their platform

INSIGHTS

• How Pokémon is more popular than Trump – Google showcase their trends overview for 2016
• There is future in sharing. Twitter test new designs to ‘share’ on the platform, moving away from the current retweet option
• Is Vine back from the brink? The app is to relaunch as ‘Vine Camera’ in January, without community support

COOL

• One big positive in 2016 – here is a novel way for technology to deliver a pint quicker than the average bar
• Unwanted Christmas gift? Burger King will trade it for a Whopper
• It won’t be lonely this Christmas (but it may be unsettling), with a very friendly AI from Gatebox

DEEP READS

• How tweeting when you are ill is helping to map out the spread of germs
• Introducing Waymo – how a self-driving Google project is now its own Alphabet entity
• Trendwatching have identified their top trends for 2017

… AND THE OMD FWD TOP 3 FOR 2016

• The Deloitte Mobile Report – There’s no place like Phone
• How Facebook announced its live video format would sit at the top of the Newsfeed
• KitKat, who have lost their EU trademark on the four-finger shape just before Christmas, gave students a break from revision by launching fetching holograms of a popular boy band

See you in 2017! Please share anything you spot interesting over the seasonal period with #OMDFWD

Pokémon Go continues to top headlines as it expands into Japan and launches the game’s first sponsorship deal. In partnership with Pokémon, McDonald’s has turned 3,000 of their fast food branches into Pokémon Go “gyms”. With further deals in the U.S and Europe expected, it is likely that McDonald’s partnership with Pokémon could be an incredibly lucrative way to drive customers to the chain. In other news from APAC, Uber has announced they have reached their two billionth customer, just sixth months after hitting their first billion. CEO Travis Kalanick has said that 147 Uber rides started at exactly the same second in 16 countries to tie for the record-breaking billionth trip. The largest portion of those rides – 54 – happening in China, an indication of Uber’s growth in this country. With such tremendous growth and innovation being seen from both Pokémon and Uber we look forward to seeing what the next six months holds for these brands. As ever, please share anything you spot with #OMDFWD

HEADLINES

• Verizon buying Yahoo’s core assets for $4.83bn
• Pokémon Go launches first official brand partnership with McDonald’s in Japan
• Unilever buys 4-year-old e-commerce and subscription business, Dollar Shave Club for $1bn

 INSIGHTS

• 5 things to know about AR and VR
• How the world’s biggest eSports promoter uses Facebook Live
• Uber’s growth is still rapidly accelerating

COOL

• Three ways Pokémon Go is doing a lot of good
• Birchbox testing Snapchat for customer service
• Macy’s piloting in-store Artificial Intelligence to help with your shopping

DEEP READS

• 11 video game trends that will change the future of industry
• How VR will be used to drive empathy
• How Dollar Shave Club built a $1bn e-commerce and Subscription brand in 4 yrs

and finally…last one to check-in gets the middle seat

Almost overnight Nintendo’s Pokémon GO (PoGO) has taken augmented reality, a viable technology to create immersive and incredibly desirable customer experiences, from a niche market to  a mass.

Pokémon GO is already outstripping Tinder on app installs. It has more daily active users than Twitter with people spending 43 minutes a day on average playing it, having a higher dwell time than WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat. Pokémon Go is seeing more than double the industry average retention rate with 7 out of 10 people who downloaded the app returning the next day.

It has already been dubbed ‘a cultural phenomenon’ and a saviour for Nintendo. The demand for Pokémon GO saw Nintendo’s shares surge by a quarter in value on Monday.

The tidal wave of participation has already inspired other businesses to become part of the show.

Entrepreneurs are building new revenue streams. Gamers are offering 1-4 hour ($20 per hour) shifts so the gameplay doesn’t have to stop while you are at work. If you are pressed for time, Pokémon Taxi services are at hand to take you to Pokémon stops and locations. Maybe we will see a UBER-Pokémon Go partnership. 

Huge Cafe in Atlanta is across the street from two Pokémon Go ‘PokéStops’. They have paid $49 to buy in-game “coins” that can be traded in for 40 in-game “lures”. These can be ‘attached’ to PokéStops and work as smoke-signals to attract Pokémon and users. Each ‘lure’ works for 30 minutes and attracts rarer and more powerful Pokémon to the area, and in turn gamers.

Here are five reasons why you should start thinking about Pokémon Go brand opportunities:

[ctt template=”1″ link=”39g_7″ via=”yes” ]Total shares of ‘Pokemon Go’ online content rose by 535% in a 4 day period @OMD_EMEA[/ctt]

That means publishers and clients with relevant content have already captured some of the 11 million+ shares from consumers. Considering this looks set to be a consistent source of ongoing traffic, there is a massive opportunity that exists for brands!

[ctt template=”1″ link=”fT8Zr” via=”no” ]#PokémonGo on Facebook shows continuous growth– 21K players have shown interest in events & page likes have increased +131% over the weekend[/ctt]

Have you considered Facebook content around Pokémon to put your brand into the conversation?

[ctt template=”1″ link=”3DiRF” via=”no” ]#PokémonGo opens up a new world of location-based marketing – did you know 10,000+ people are interested in the ‘London massive lure party’? [/ctt]

A quick search on Eventbrite also shows everything from a Pokémon 5k run to bar crawls. The creative potential seems only constrained by our imagination and the time to start thinking about it is now.

[ctt template=”1″ link=”HB6UT” via=”yes” ]#PokémonGo appears to lend itself (if done well) to non-gaming topics like travel, dining and fashion @OMD_EMEA[/ctt]

For example, Pokemon Go fashion by Cosmopolitan reaches 70.6k shares & restaurants are also being impacted.

[ctt template=”1″ link=”9qOAb” via=”no” ]Google Trends monitors a breakout of search queries for ‘Pokemon Go Tips’ rising 140% in the first 24 hours to over 5,000% by the 5th day[/ctt] Could your brand fill the demand / supply content gap with something that speaks to your audience?

There’s plenty of traffic and social shares going on – #gottacatchemall!

What does this cultural phenomenon mean for your brand? Need more information or interested in exploring Pokémon branded opportunities – contact us at [email protected]