Local industries get creative in luring Pokemon Go fans

(marketingmagazine.com.my) – By: Malati Siniah

Last Saturday Pokemon Go fans in Malaysia, Singapore and 15 other countries in Asia woke up to a pleasant surprise.

The game which got more downloads than Tinder and more users than Twitter was made available in the local market.

While last week we reported how Hotlink and Grab were teaming up to reward Pokemon Go fan’s with free rides, this week we are highlighting how the different industries in Malaysia are getting creative on their Pokemon Go promotions.

Here is what a quick search on the #pokemongomalaysia hashtag on Facebook revealed.

– Education

It was a double win for INTI International University with both its Subang Jaya and Nilai campuses being listed as a Pokegym (a stop for players to engage in Pokemon battles) and the game launching on the weekend of their Open Day.

“We had prepared for it weeks ago once we knew the game was going to be released and once we knew it was released , we activated the campaign. It was fortuitous that it timed very well with our Open Day.” Timothy Johnson – Senior VP of Marketing, INTI International University & Colleges told MARKETING adding that ironically one of the Pokegym was located at their Library,

The game according to Timothy contributed to a 50% increase in walk in traffic on their open day last week.

KDU University’s snapshot of its students going crazy over the game coupled with its cheeky caption of ‘Suddenly everyone is a photographer!’ got over 500 shares on Facebook.

– Retail

Located in an area with a high student population, it is no surprise that Sunway Pyramid would jump on the Pokemon Go bandwagon. The mall’s announcement that it was releasing ‘lures’ (an in-game item to attract Pokemon to a particular location) was wildly received by netizens with the post receiving over 2,000 shares.

A representative from the mall shared that they had been receiving an increase in foot traffic since the game launched and picked key retail outlets in the mall to drop their ‘lures’.

– F&B Outlets

Japanese restaurant Tokyo Kitchen enticed fans by giving them a 30% discount on their salmon sashimi if they caught a ‘magikarp’. Within a day of posting the announcement on Facebook had gotten over 3,000 shares.

The BIG Group thought of a creative way of taking its game offline by introducing its very own #‎BIGBokemon‬’s which is hidden its retail outlets including Plan b and Ben’s.

Lucky customers who find the ‘Bokemons’ have a chance of winning daily prizes and even a grand prize of up to RM 1,000.

– Telco

In its social contest UMobile is giving away attractive prizes including an iPhone 6s to its lucky fans that caught and shared the telco’s ‘Pokemon of the day’.

– Media

To better connect with its listeners offline BFM will be hosting a Pokemon Go meet up today to enjoy the games together and to be featured in a video by BFM.

Spotted any other Pokemon Go promotions we missed? Let us know!

The 5th Malaysian Chief Marketing Officers (CMO) Conference is a full day journey into the minds of some of the sharpest and most inspiring minds in the business.

The market is in a state of flux. Media fragmentation has gone wild. Digital is exciting but also a minefield if handled wrong. Marketers need stamina, focus and a scalable approach to strategies. ROI has never been more confusing.

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• Loh Keh Jiat – CMO, Digi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd
• Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz – MD & CEO, Hong Leong Islamic Bank Berhad
• Sulin Lau – Head of Marketing Services, Maxis
• Cyril Dhenaut – Head of Marketing, KFit
• Timothy Johnson – Senior VP of Marketing, INTI International University & Colleges
• Eric Wong – Marketing Director, IBM Malaysia
• Srikanth Ramachandran – Executive Director, Moving Walls
• Spencer Lee – Head of Commercial, AirAsia Berhad
• Bala Pomaleh – CEO, IPG Mediabrands
• Rachel Lim – Co-Founder of Love, Bonito
• Edward Ling – Sales Manager, Waze Malaysia

• Santharuban T. Sundaram – Group Marketing Manager, Etika Holdings (formely Permanis)

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