The Real Marketing Lesson Behind the Success of Pokemon Go
There are already some articles on the marketing lessons on Pokémon Go. An article in Business Insider suggests it’s about engaging in VR and AR. These communities have been around since literally the late 90’s, I don’t think that’s it.
Simplicity works in politics, marketing and industrial design. Humans hate complexity.
In fact, Pokémon Go is built on the Google Ingress platform from several years ago. It did not really 
create anywhere near the excitement that this game is on the exact same platform.
What Went Right This time and What is the Marketing Lesson?
- What went right — It’s really not rocket science. It’s part nostalgia and part simplicity, but really simplicity is the key here. Ingress was complex, geeky and had little to in the way of immediate gratification.
- What’s the Marketing Lesson? — Keep your messaging simple. Very simple. Your value proposition needs to be grasped in a matter of 2–3 words and it has to mean something to the customer.
Simplicity works in politics, marketing and industrial design. Humans hate complexity. Do you need to build a VR/AR game to duplicate the marketing success of this game? No. But you do need simplify your marketing proposition and message.
