Gotta catch 'em all

For the summer of '16, Pokémon was unescapable. People worldwide, of all ages, classes, and colours united and flocked outside congregating in public places in droves, to catch their favourite pocket monsters thanks to the newly released Pokémon GO app; it was beautiful.

It was the closest thing to world peace that I've ever witnessed, but not all was well beneath the surface...

The Insight

The biggest complaints everyone playing the game (myself included) had was that is was notorious for draining battery life, and for eating up globs of precious data, rendering phones obselete for catching Pokémon.   

Insight: The smartphones that fueled Pokémon fantasies, had also become the thing responsible for crushing them

The Strategy

[BUSINESS PROBLEM] Best Buy is losing customers to online retailers that have undercut them with better prices

[CONSUMER PROBLEM] Problem is Pokémon trainers are frustrated with their smartphones letting them down mid-game

[INSIGHT] The smartphones that fueled Pokémon fantasies, had also become the thing responsible for crushing them

[SOLUTION] We need to give trainers the smartphone boost they need to game on

[CONSUMER GOAL] Helping to support their dream of becoming a Pokémon master

[BUSINESS GOAL] Solidifying Best Buy as the go-to place for all things tech 

The Idea

Come to the aid of Pokémon trainers when they needed their technology to work for them the most with a smartphone boost.

The Execution

We proactively pitched this insight and opportunity I uncovered to Best Buy, a client of ours at the agency who bought the idea on the spot (a first for this client).

I determined the hottest locations in the city to play the game to maximize our impact, and we launched two Poké Parties in Toronto and Vancouver. Best Buy 'blue shirt' employees were on hand at these events with games and prizes, but most importantly provided free wi-fi hotspots as well as mobile phone charging to keep the good times rolling.

We knew we had to strike while the proverbial iron was hot, so from initial insight to execution, we launched this initiative within 5 days. 

The Results

1. Most successful Best Buy experiential event at the time
   
   
2. Contributed to incremental sales of Pokémon merchandise, and mobile charging accessories
   
   
3. Multiple dreams of aspiring Pokémon masters were saved as a result of our efforts