If you haven’t heard of Pokémon Go in the last month or so, you’ve really got to watch the news or talk to a millennial once in a while. It’s huge right now and it could, potentially, be a great marketing tactic for you to exploit.

What is Pokémon Go?

Pokémon Go is a game that you download on your phone. Just go to the app store and snag it. It’s unique in that it uses the the camera on your phone to create a “real world” game.

Here’s a quick example:

As you can see, it’s an “augmented reality” game. It superimposes the gaming elements (characters, icons, scores, etc) onto your view of the real word, creating a composite experience.

The main objective of the game is to catch Pokémon; but to do so, you have to walk all over the place. As a result, people are out-and-about hiking, walking through the streets, exploring and trying to catch Pokémon with their friends.

So why on earth would this game matter to remodelers?

According to Sarah Perez of TechCrunch:

Pokémon Go has quickly become one of the most viral mobile applications of all time. The game is now the biggest ever in the U.S.; it has now topped Twitter’s daily users, and it sees people spending more time in its app than in Facebook, according to reports from various tracking firms.”

With this unprecedented explosion, businesses all over the globe are trying to find ways to capitalize on the game’s popularity. And with all these people hitting the streets and getting outside remodelers should be, too.

But what are some possible ways remodelers can use this to their advantage? Here at Builder Funnel, we’ve come up with a few possible use-cases or experiments.

1. Remodeled Home Tour + Lures

Within the game, you can purchase something called a Lure. A Lure will attract Pokémon to your location for 30 minutes, and you can purchase a Lure for only a dollar. By attracting Pokémon to your location, you’ll attract lots of players too.

With that in mind, some remodelers hold remodeled home tours where they hold Open Houses on scheduled days and times. Let’s say you had an open house on Saturday from 10 am – 2 pm. Purchase several lures, buy some cookies, lemonade, and bottled water. Throw up a sign that says Pokémon players welcome.

You’ll attract a lot more people to your location. You may be thinking that none of these people are your target market. That’s probably pretty accurate. Most of them won’t be, but a few might. What you’re really going for here is a branding play and a possible PR play. If you get enough people to your location as well as talking about it online, you could attract a news station or a journalist. By embracing the Pokémon Go wave, you’ll build some goodwill in the community by offering snacks, drinks, and some interesting news.

2. Showroom + Lures

For those of you that have a showroom of any size, you can take the same approach by buying some refreshments and dropping lures on Friday afternoons. Maybe even make it a Happy Hour. If your office is in a good location near other businesses, you could certainly attract some young professionals playing the game and getting out of work a bit early.

3. Leverage Hashtags

If you’re experimenting with either of the options above, make sure to put some signage up that tells people to use your hashtag. For example, you might use #LibertyRemodeling. As more people come to your location and share the Pokémon they are catching on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (yes, people share the Pokémon they catch), they’ll use your hashtag which can attract some good online attention for your business.

Is it Worth the Time and Effort?

So, is this all worth it? It’s too early to tell, but here’s the way I look at it. Let’s say you want to try to draw people to your showroom on a Friday or Saturday afternoon for 3 hours. Buying six lures will ensure you have full Pokémon coverage. Cost: $6.

Buying some drinks, cookies, and snacks will make people happy once they get there. Estimated Cost: $30-50.

Putting up some signs saying Pokémon players are welcome and giving them a hashtag will ensure you get some online buzz. Estimated Cost: $75 for printed signs (or $5-10 for markers and signs from Office Depot if you really want to be frugal).

You’re looking at $75 – $150, and there’s a good chance you’ll attract two to three dozen people to your location. And you’ll probably have refreshments leftover.

We don’t know how long this Pokémon craze will last. But to me, it’s worth experimenting with a few times just to see what happens.

What about you?

Have any of you already tried to leverage the game yet? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section! If you haven’t tried anything yet, what do you think of my ideas above?