Pokemon Go has businesses chasing a trend

Last week Atlantic Station’s executives and image people invited in unofficial Pokemon Go aficionados who are organizing local events.

I listened as the crew from @PokemonGoATL – a grocery produce manager, an unemployed executive assistant, a game developer/community manager and a McDonald's manager — patiently explained how the popular Atlanta development could turn the Pokemon craze into community gatherings and, let's be honest, money, for local shops and restaurants.

“We like the idea of doing a public scavenger hunt,” one of the Pokemoners said. “It encourages people to stay and be at the location.”

Later, an excited Pokemon invitee, scanning her smartphone, blurted out: “There’s a Magmar hanging out at the IKEA.”

Another offered more good news: “Something in your square is spawning something regularly.”

Like a lot of other people, Atlantic Station’s folks are trying to grasp the nuances of what’s happening.

“We don’t completely understand how the ‘lures’ work,” Scottie Knollin, the development’s social media person, admitted to the invitees.

You and me both, brother.

We know the basics: Pokemon Go is a game app that's the latest twist on a Pokemon franchise that's been around for nearly 20 years. Using a little magic known as augmented reality, it overlays collectible digital creatures on the real world that players see through their smartphone cameras. Kids to 20-somethings to even gray-haired boomers are traipsing (and sometimes trespassing) through communities looking for creatures and game goodies.

The stock price has doubled for Nintendo, which invested in the game’s maker, Google-spinoff Niantic.

Lots of other businesses are scrambling to fathom the game’s potential. Will it last long? How effective are ‘lures,’ which allow you to pay real money to temporarily increase the number of creatures in one spot? What other ways can they connect with fans who swarm anywhere the game has stashed virtual Pokemon or other stuff?

Atlantic Station tenants have noticed increased foot traffic.

“We don’t want to come across as trying too hard,” Knollin said. “But we know it’s something we need to capitalize on.”

King of the hill

Have a scavenger hunt and maybe a king-of-the-hill contest, the @PokemonGoATL people suggested. Show a movie after the event. Offer discounts and freebies at local businesses. Play up the game’s team loyalty aspect. Host gatherings closer to winter holidays. Do tie-ins to help nonprofits.

“We would be happy to write up a proposal and give you something to look at,” said Vic Holden, a 32-year-old produce manager from Marietta who started the @PokemonGoATL Facebook page.

They hope to pin down a date in August, after the organizers finish helping with a Pokemon Go bar crawl and in between meetups in a Roswell bar and elsewhere. They’ve been sought out by other businesses, news reporters and organizations seeking panel speakers.

Not bad for folks who are just fans, not employees of Pokemon’s maker.

Holden launched the @PokemonGoATL page in September after hearing news that the app would eventually roll out. He only met his three compadres — Caity Cooperrider, Victor Potter and Chris Stauffer — during a gathering at Marietta Square two weeks ago in the early days of the craze. They agreed to help out.

“I like Pokemon, and I wanted to play with a lot of other nerds,” Holden said. He told me, “I wasn’t really thinking about the potential for making money.”

It’s a consideration now, though. He’s nabbed the name on Instagram, Twitter, Gmail and Snapchat. He’s forming an LLC.

The dream, they said, starts with helping a lot of people get to know each other through the game. Initially at least, they’ll volunteer to help organize gatherings, sans pay. They hope to generate enough interest to eventually sell tickets and sponsorships to organized competitions and, if they’re lucky, turn it into full-time paying work.

Chances?

“One in five million,” Cooperrider said.

Not going away

Holden is more optimistic. “60 percent,” he said.

Either way, they told me, this Pokemon Go thing isn’t going away.

Hundreds of existing creatures from Pokemon games have yet to be added to the app. It also doesn’t yet include trading creatures, a component of Pokemon’s earlier success.

Expect more businesses to find ways to get in on the game. Some big ones, I’m sure, will become official sponsors. And the game’s maker could allow small shops and eateries beefier ways to pay to attract more people.

Meanwhile, some fans have contemplated how they can make money off the game, themselves.

J.T. Percival told me he has walked more than 100 kilometers in the last two weeks playing the game. He’s spent $5 for in-game purchases. He also bought a battery charger (the app takes a lot of juice). A 27-year-old from Canton who travels around taking care of office plants (as in horticulture), he’s collected a healthy stash of Pokemon creatures. Eventually he wants to find a way to sell some to friends.

“Now,” he said, “wouldn’t that be cool.”