Tapping Into Pokemon Go For Your Fitness Business

By Alicia Boulton | July 29, 2016

Pokemon Go is by far the biggest example of gamification, which means you apply game psychology and mechanics to non-game situations like in this case walking and running.

In the rare case that you may not know what Pokemon Go is all about, it is an augmented reality game played on your smart phone. The purpose of the game is to catch Pokemon creatures, some more unique and rare than others. In order to catch them players are encouraged to walk and each time a Pokemon is near they will be notified on the phone. The camera function is then activated and the Pokemon arrives in your real environment captured by your camera and places the imaginary creature in it. To catch it, the key is to throw Pokeballs to it, when you catch the creature successfully it is entered into your Pokedex, think of it as a collection book you can show to all who want to know.

If you want to gain additional terminology fast, the best place to check is the Pokemon Go website. In the meantime, I would already recommend to download it onto your smartphone, so you have first person experience when you delve into the resource I am sharing. It is free to play. The resource I share on the Active Management Member’s Hub will give ideas on how to make it work for your fitness business.

The strength of the game is that it taps in childhood memories of those born in the 80’s and 90’s, a memory especially a nostalgic nice one of playing a favourite game is what a lot of us want to re-kindle at any given opportunity. The other motivators that are attracting players of all ages to join in to play are the curiosity factor because it is a new trend, encouragement in the game with early wins and potentially encouragement from people they know to join in. What keeps people playing is the element of surprise, because you never know where a Pokemon is going to pop-up next.

From a fitness business perspective, you could see this as immediate competition or you could join in with the fun. The great thing is that all ages are getting out and they are engaging in exercise, which I guess is what most fitness businesses are also wanting to achieve.

The creators of the game are also open about the fact that they will be adding the opportunity to sponsor a Pokestop (a place where you can gain ammunition) and Pokegyms (battle grounds where teams meet to win more power and to battle for ownership). Currently this function is not yet available, but it will be coming out in the near future. If you are making the choice to opt in to the fun and create Poke-real events in your area, then this could be a good way to draw attention.

In the resource I share on the Active Management Member’s Hub I will share how the motivational psychology works and how that can be applied to other fitness plans you run. I will explain how to join in with the Pokemon Go craze and to organise structured business building events around it.

An will be running our very first ‘Virtual Roundtable’ on the Member Hub from 5th August to the 15th August. This is your chance to ask An’s advice and ask any questions relating to Gamification in your business.

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