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MKTG317

Identify and critically analyse both the reasons for the success of the Pokémon Go phenomenon and the impact that it has had on the Nintendo brand in the summer of 2016. Discuss what brand managers outside of the videogames industry can learn from this situation.

! This summer an intricate combination of factors caused a world-wide phenomenon. Pokemon go started as Nintendo’s second introduction into the smartphone games industry (Frank, 2016) and became an overnight success. Pokemon go broke records receiving more downloads in a week than any other app in the history of the App Store (Sarkar, 2016) - overall it has been downloaded over 500 million times since its launch (Grant, 2016). It managed to reunite avalanches of people on the streets, made headlines all over the world and unleashed the power of the passionate consumer. In perspective all Pokemon go was was an augmented reality (AR) game embellished with the Pokemon franchise. But for the consumer it gave a chance to rekindle their love for the Pokemon brand and it’s creatures (once again) as well as realising their life-long dream of becoming a Pokemon trainer. Augmented reality games have been made before - but never have they caused this scale of momentum. Many elements made this a successful phenomena: from nostalgia effects, to the inclusion of one of the most famous franchises, perfect timing), and to the fact that it was made available to everyone who had a smartphone, everywhere.# In this essay, I will discuss and analyse the causes for the success including: nostalgia, escapism, experience design, communities and novelty as sparks for the “Pokemon go” phenomenon. Consecutively, I will discuss the impact that the Nintendo brand has faced due to this occurrence. Finally, I will conclude by expressing a bird-eye view of what can be applicable to other industries from this case.# ! The essence of Pokemon Go lies on a revitalisation brand strategy. As a brand extension of the Pokemon Co. franchise its objectives were based on aspirational fulfilment and longterm reciprocal commitment. In this case their strategy involved “disruptive innovations” as Kapferer’s (2012) brand extension matrix shows. There were many possible causes for the success on this mobile gaming app, however in this essay I will discuss how nostalgia, experience design (AR) and communities had a huge impact on the phenomenon taking place.# Nostalgia has been recognised as a phenomenon for centuries (Shields & Johnson, 2016; McCann, 1941) and is characterised to have a positive affect (Shields & Johnson,2016; Holbrook & Schindler, 1991) on consumers. These “positive and emotional connections” (Shields & Johnson, 2016; Fournier 1998, Smit, Bronner, & Tolboom, 2007) shape the relationship of the brand and sum it up into past experiences. In the case of Pokemon Go it brought deep positive thoughts from the 90s Pokemon craze. It gave a chance to all the grown-up pokemon fans to reunite with “all negative emotions filtered out” (Hirsch,1992).Pokemon go is an expansion of the pokemon franchise, because as the far as the brand goes, there has not been significant changes, in fact, the brand essence is still intact which makes the nostalgia effect stronger (Shields & Johnson, 2016). According to Kelly (1998) brand essence is composed by the core values or “marketing DNA” of the brand. It is a challenging task to migrate a brand into a new and innovative fields and nostalgic consumers sensible to changes within (Brown, 2003), but the Pokemon Co. and every other company involved unpacked every aspect of the core beautifully: adventure, community and play.# This app was a source of escapism for many (Knight, 2016). A mode of distraction from stressful lifestyles, current political issues and conflicts, etc… This effect combined with nostalgic effects can be even more powerful as it can improve a negative mood, reduced feelings of loneliness (Shields & Johnson, 2016; Wildschut et al., 2006) — making it more of a success. The experience economy is an essential factor to the success of this phenomena. In a crowded marketing-driven world with consumer disorientation (Wiedmann et al, 2011) brands not only have to provide quality, but also need emotional characteristics (Jensen, 2005). These emotional characteristics can be translated in to the entrance of the experience economy (Pine & Gilmore, 1999) where you can create powerful meanings for your brand. The effect of experience translates into significant value (Pine & Gilmore, 1999) and in this case, Pokemon Go created meaningful value into placing the experience element into its core. The game used augmented reality to merge the virtual world into the real world within a smartphone, in a simple yet effective manner. It created customer-driven experience that was available to the vast majority of the population. In this user experience lied aspects such as the novelty, easiness of use, kawaii features (Knight, 2016), etc…# 1

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As mentioned previously, the game involved the use of augmented reality (AR) within a mobile app and this has been done before. Specifically, it has been done before by the same developer that created Pokemon Go - Niantic Inc, with the game Ingress. Although there is a close and very committed community of ingress players, the game did not have the same impact as Pokemon Go despite their experiential features. We can say the fact that it featured the well-known and loved Pokemon creatures created a significant change in results. It created an even stronger sense of community within players globally as well as locally. Communities share a sense of belonging, maintain rituals and traditions and finally a sense or obligation according Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001). Pokemon Go made major news sites i.e.The Verge show and distribute their passion for the game. Platforms were even created by these communities as a result (e.g. https://pokefind.co). These sources of information where enhanced even further by the online communities on social media.# Nintendo is very closely linked with the Pokemon franchise and therefore is linked to Pokemon Go even if not developed by them. Within the first day of the craze Nintendo’s stock grew crazily, despite them only having ownership of 33% of the company (Rich, 2016). This demonstrates the direct link that the franchise has with the Nintendo. Nintendo is known for its consoles, innovative and fun games and character empire which includes the likes of Mario and Zelda. However in the past years, especially with the launch of the Wii U, they have seen severe losses (Titcomb, 2016). Pokemon Go has definitely marked a new stage for nintendo. Recently we have seen headlines such as “New 3DS XL sales up 361% in Japan as Pokémon Sun and Moon launch” (Calvin, 2016) - This exposure has not only impacted on sales but on the overall image of Nintendo. In some ways this phenomena is bringing Nintendo back to its core of loved characters mixed with innovative technology and bringing a halo effect with it. # ! Pokemon Go, was definitely an exception to the rule and too many factors were involved in the phenomenon to be able to replicate anything like it. However, there are some valuable lessons to be taken from this case. Firstly, the consumer is definitely in control and decides how far to take brands - if they are not satisfied and feel unheard they will just forget about it (Craven, 2010). As for how far consumers take your brand this will always be a mystery. Consumers are unpredictable (Watts and Haster, 2006). Secondly, as seen extensively in marketing literature revitalising and/or retro-brand strategies can be successful to win over consumers - especially if awareness and likability of the brand are high. It gives the chance of fulfilling positive emotions to old nostalgic users as well as bringing in new consumers. Examples range from the Mini Cooper cars to Polaroid cameras and Converse sneakers. Lastly, despite brand extensions or modifications being seen as a perceived risk, collaborations with experts can make it more reassuring. In the case of Pokemon Go - Niantic Inc. was a huge player in the success. They had industry expert knowledge in the area, specifically in the augmented reality which benefited Pokemon hugely.# ! In conclusion, Pokemon Go’s success was caused by an infinite amount of factors that led to world-wide social phenomena. Apart from leaving a whole generation reawakened by the brand it also won the hearts of many young consumers who are now excited to explore the world of Pokemon. Although, we have already observed how much exposure and sales Nintendo has received since the launch of the mobile app, we still have to observe how long this momentum of the brand carries on. Finally, there is much to learn from the success of Pokemon Go, it would be interesting to see what other brands come up with to keep up with the “boom”. # Word count: 1414#

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References. BBC (2016) Pokemon and the power of nostalgia. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/worldasia-36780797#

Hirsch, A.R. (1992) ‘Nostalgia - A neuropsychiatric understanding’, Advances in Consumer Research, 19, pp. 390–395.#

Brown, S. (2004) ‘O customer, where art thou?’, Business Horizons, 47(4), pp. 61–70. doi: 10.1016/ s0007-6813(04)00049-7.#

Holbrook, M.B. and Schindler, R.M. (1991) ‘Echoes of the dear departed past: Some work in progress on nostalgia’, Advances in Consumer Research, 18, pp. 330–333.#

Brown, S., Kozinets, R.V. and Sherry, J.F. (2003) ‘Teaching old brands new tricks: Retro Branding and the revival of brand meaning’, Journal of Marketing, 67(3), pp. 19–33. doi: 10.1509/jmkg. 67.3.19.18657.#

Jensen, R. (2005) ‘Sell me a Story’, Critical Eye, , pp. 2–5.# Kapferer, J.-N. (2012) The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking (new strategic brand management: Creating & sustaining brand equity). 5th edn. Philadelphia: Kogan Page.#

Calvin, A. (2016) New 3DS XL sales up 361% in Japan as Pokémon sun and moon launch. Available at: http://www.mcvuk.com/index.php/ news/read/new-3ds-xl-sales-up-361-in-japan-aspok-mon-sun-and-moon-launch/0175826.#

Knight, S. (2016) What Pokémon, Japanese Schoolgirl Punks, and Cocaine Have in Common. Available at: http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/18/ what-pokemon-japanese-schoolgirl-punks-andcocaine-have-in-common/#

Cattaneo, E. and Guerini, C. (2012) ‘Assessing the revival potential of brands from the past: How relevant is nostalgia in retro branding strategies?’, Journal of Brand Management, 19(8), pp. 680–687. doi: 10.1057/bm.2012.16.#

McCann, W.H. (1941) ‘Nostalgia: A review of the literature’, Psychological Bulletin, 38(3), pp. 165– 182. doi: 10.1037/h0057354.#

Craven, R. (2010) Why your customers have more power than ever before. Available at: http:// www.businesszone.co.uk/decide/scale/why-yourcustomers-have-more-power-than-ever-before#

Muniz, A.M. and O’Guinn, T.C. (2001) ‘Brand community’, Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4), pp. 412–432. doi: 10.1086/319618.#

Curtis, S. (2014) Smartphones overtake handheld consoles as gaming platform of choice. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/videogames/10606986/Smartphones-overtakehandheld-consoles-as-gaming-platform-ofchoice.html#

Pine, J.B. and Gilmore, J.H. (1999) The experience economy: Work is theatre & every business a stage. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.# PokéFind (n.d.) PokéFind - Pokemon go map. Available at: https://pokefind.co#

Fournier, S. (1998) ‘Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research’, Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), pp. 343–353. doi: 10.1086/209515.#

Rich, L. (2016) Who Owns Pokemon Go? Available at: https://pokemon-world.com/who-ownspokemon-go/#

Frank, A. (2016) Here’s why we’ve stopped playing Miitomo — and how Nintendo could win us back. A v ai l ab l e a t : h t t p : / / w w w. p o l y g o n . c o m / 2016/5/13/11671370/miitomo-review-nintendomobile-app.#

Sarkar, S. (2016) Pokémon go isn’t strongly affecting Nintendo’s bottom line, company says. A v a i l a b l e a t : h t t p : / / w w w. p o l y g o n . c o m / 2016/7/22/12257546/pokemon-go-nintendorevenue-financial-forecast#

Grant , C . (2016) Po k émo n go has been downloaded 500 million times. Available at: http:// w w w. p o l y g o n . c o m / p o k e m o n - g o / 2016/9/7/12836898/pokemon-go-downloads-500million#

Smit, E., Bronner, F. and Tolboom, M. (2007) ‘Brand relationship quality and its value for personal contact’, Journal of Business Research, 60(6), pp. 627–633. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.06.012.# Titcomb, J. (2016) Nintendo reports huge loss as Wii U sales collapse. Available at: http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/07/27/ 3

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Wiedmann, K.-P., Hennigs, N., Schmidt, S. and Wuestefeld, T. (2011) ‘The importance of brand heritage as a key performance driver in marketing management’, Journal of Brand Management, 19(3), pp. 182–194. doi: 10.1057/bm.2011.36.#

nintendo-reports-huge-loss-as-wii-u-salescollapse/# Video Game Sales Wiki (2015) Pokemon. Available at: http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/ Best_selling_games_worldwide#

Wildschut, T., Sedikides, C., Arndt, J. and Routledge, C. (2006) ‘Nostalgia: Content, triggers, functions’, Journal of Personality and Social P s y c h o l o g y, 9 1 ( 5 ) , p p . 9 7 5 – 9 9 3 . d o i : 10.1037/0022-3514.91.5.975.%

Watts, D. and Haster, S. (2006) ‘Marketing in an Unpredictable World’, Harvard Business Review, .#

Annex: The extension of brand management.# Kapferer, J.-N. (2012) The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking (new strategic brand management: Creating & sustaining brand equity). 5th edn. Philadelphia: Kogan Page.

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