Analysis: A marketing dream
A look at how Mecca Bingo capitalised on the Pokémon Go craze to boost traffic to its digital channels
The Pokémon Go phenomenon that gripped the world this summer was hard to ignore. The geo targeted game constantly topped the Twitter trending charts and was downloaded by over 100 million users worldwide. Even if you had no idea what a Pokémon is or does, there was no escaping the mobile app that put augmented reality on the map.
Marketers across all industries were looking to see how it could take advantage of the gaming appâs reach and popularity, with some companies actively encouraging players to head on down to their locations in order to play the game.
And Mecca Bingo was one of those firms that was able to capitalise on the gameâs success to drive traffic to its retail and digital channels.
Working alongside digital creative studio Smack, the operator created a social media campaign with prizes on offer that encouraged land-based players to take screenshots of Pokémon characters they encountered at Mecca bingo halls and share the images via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
âPokémon Go has taken the world by storm and is now officially bigger than Twitter and Tinder in terms of daily users,â Candice Nicolakos, social media manager for Meccabingo.com, said. âWe love the simplicity of the campaign. It rewards Pokémon Go enthusiasts for their help in discovering Pokémon hiding in our clubs.â
The Rank-owned operator aimed for 800 Facebook engagements for the campaign, but smashed its target by reaching 12,378.
Players from across the country were sharing images of Pokémon Go from within Mecca sites, with new and existing players heading down to the operatorâs locations after conversations sparked on social media created interest among fans.
The video content and posts created were Meccaâs best performing posts in terms of organic reach and paid for reach in the last quarter.
The campaign drove foot-fall to clubs, while it successfully reached out to a younger audience, a move the brand is actively seeking as seen with its Emoji bingo game launch last year.
The power of the internet and a craze shouldnât be ignored. Next time a mobile app sparks interest on social media, it may be wise to think about how best to piggy back off its popularity.