AJ O'Leary

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Gotta Brand ‘Em All: Pokémon Go, Augmented Reality, and the Power of Smart Branding

This article was written on July 14, 2016, and may no longer reflect current industry trends or statistics.

Tech’s latest Race for the Next Big Thing seems to have a winner in augmented reality. Niantic Labs and The Pokémon Company have a mega-hit on their hands with Pokémon Go, as players are drawn to augmented reality tech’s power to display their favorite Pokémon amidst real-time, real-world environments on their phone screens without requiring pricey and weird-looking equipment.

Pokémon Go fans might be shocked to learn that this isn’t Niantic’s first attempt at an online role-playing game powered by augmented reality. Ingress, a game nearly identical to Pokémon Go in look and function down to its special portal locations, failed to capture even a fraction of the attention surrounding Pokémon Go upon its release four years ago.

Why, then, is Pokémon Go living Ingress’ best life?

The answer is simple: Branding is a powerful thing.

When an exciting new piece of technology becomes consumer-ready, developers and marketers can get so caught up in the mystique surrounding their own press releases about “shifting the paradigm” that they believe every old key to success and profitability no longer applies. In Pokémon Go’s case, however, consumers know what they like, and they like the presence of an old, familiar brand in their shiny new game.

The presence of a strong, respected brand in a game takes a heavy storytelling burden off the game developer’s shoulders, freeing up resources to be dedicated to delivering a worthwhile gaming experience capable of attracting a large user base. Would you be as interested in playing Pokémon Go if you’d never heard of Pokémon before, had no emotional attachment to it, and had to spend large amounts of time learning the mythology? Probably not, which is why Ingress failed where Pokémon Go succeeds.

By taking an established and promising, if not overwhelmingly popular, gaming concept in Ingress and attaching the Pokémon brand to it, Niantic captured the hearts and minds of children interested in all things Pokémon and young adults looking to revisit happy childhood memories. What’s more, Pokémon Go’s immense popularity leaves the door open for additional branding opportunities, as shown by news of an upcoming partnership with McDonalds.

Game developers and tech pioneers, take note: Your creation might be the greatest thing since sliced fruit, but it never hurts to bring a few familiar faces in to take you to the Promised Land. As shown by Pokémon Go, smart branding, exciting tech, and pure fun are a golden trifecta worth celebrating.

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