4 Reasons Why the Pokèmon Go Craze is GREAT for Entrepreneurs 

App developers around the world are sure to be in awe of the Pokèmon Go craze that has excited people around the globe. No one could have predicted the volume of interest in a gaming app even if they had the best predictive data of all time. The game has nostalgia, challenge, and a little bit of new technology all rolled in to one. This seems to be a winning combination!Here are some recent facts about the game:

1. Initial release date was July 6, 2016.
2. The game was developed between a partnership with Nintendo and Niantic.
3. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokémon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in ten languages, and made seventeen feature films over the past two decades.
4. Pokèmon actually means Pocket Monster.
5. In less than a week after its release, Pokémon GO is reportedly bigger than Tinder in the US.
6. According to SimilarWeb the Usage Time of Pokémon GO is taking up a lot of its user’s time. On July 8th, the app was being used an average of 43 minutes, 23 seconds a day. This is higher than other popular apps like Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, and Messenger.
7. In less than a week, Pokèmon Go has had 6 million mentions on Twitter. (Adweek)
8. According to Spreadfast, the most popular cities for the game are Culver City, Calif.; Houston; Chicago; San Antonio; and Manhattan were the buzziest locations, according to the company.
9. Several brands have been caught tweeting about the game. Check out tweets from Southwest Airlines, KFC France, Sprint, Walmart captured in the article from Adweek.
10. Nintendo has sold more than 277 million Pokemon games to date, over 21.5 billion trading cards in 10 languages, and made 17 feature films over the last 20 years. Time will tell how Pokemon Go matches up to those numbers. (Pocket-Lint)

If you are confused on how to play and the terminology being used, Pocket-Lint has the best write up I have seen to date. Spend a few minutes here to get a better understanding.

If you are an entrepreneur, here is why you should pay attention to this phenomenon:

1. Follow The Eyeballs – As Gary Vaynerchuck says, you have to figure out how to Day Trade Attention and at this moment, the world is paying attention to this game at the moment. This is one of the best news jacking opportunities that a business owner can jump on at the moment. Remember to add the hashtag #PokèmonGo to your post.
2. Promote!  Promote! Promote! – You can create a promotion around the Pokèmon brand and get awesome reach without having to pay to boost your post. Many are advertising the fact that they have a Pokèmon stop near their business.  The discounts that they are giving to patrons are extremely creative and a lot of fun. This type of promotion is a great way to introduce yourself to a new audience.
3. Market Research – The Pokèmon craze gives you a sense of what those around the globe are finding interesting.  Game play, nostalgia, mobile, getting outside, learning about a variety of landmarks, and the list could go on and on. Take note of how you could apply this to your business. Do you have an app that you are creating? Can you incorporate some of these elements in to your app? Can you add some sort of game play to a promotion that you are running? Now is the time to think out of the box and capitalize on this new platform that is only going to grow.
4. Stand Out From The Crowd – Pokèmon Go is one of the first virtual reality mobile games that have been successfully created. This is the first of many more to come. To date, we are already seeing some copy cat apps trying to ride the wave. If you feel something in your gut, go for it.  Pokèmon Go actually started from employees at Google working on their side project.  Ultimately, Google decided to let them go because they thought that it would be better for the growth of their company to be a stand alone.  As they say, the rest is history.

Pokèmon Go is actually celebrating 20 years.  Be sure that you check out their celebratory website and post your favorite memories from Pokèmon over the years using the hashtag #Pokemon20.

Take a look at this video from The Verge that will really take you back through the Pokemon history.