Case study · Shorty Awards entry
Poké Palooza: Best Location-Based Experience
Client: Grand Bazaar Shops, Las Vegas Strip · Summer 2016 · 4 weeks. We brought the world's most popular mobile game into the real world at the busiest pedestrian intersection in Las Vegas.
The challenge
Gotta catch 'em all
"Pokémon Go is the most popular mobile game in history." — Business Insider. It was the top search worldwide in 2016, and PokéStops popped up at Las Vegas's most iconic spots. Grand Bazaar Shops — about 70 stores across two acres facing Bellagio's fountains, with an estimated 22 million visitors a year — wanted to turn that buzz into foot traffic.
The idea
A community around the trend
We built four weeks of Poké Palooza events that pulled players from the game into the shops, targeting locals who love Pokémon, everyone within a 2-mile geofence, trending hashtags, and visitors staying on the Strip. No other Las Vegas resort jumped on it first.
How we won
Four pillars of the campaign
Strategy
- • Best practices in social media
- • Series of events to build culture
- • On-trend, timely promotion
Innovation
- • Live social media content creators posting in real time
- • Dark social via private Facebook groups
Creative
- • The only Las Vegas Strip property to run this community initiative
- • On-site activations and retailer partnerships
Effective
- • 356,000 reached
- • 625% more check-ins
- • 28% more engagement
- • 5% more foot traffic
What we did
The playbook
- Four weekly on-site events with music, temporary tattoos, Pokémon characters and caricatures
- Facebook events cross-promoted on other platforms
- Ads on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
- Social polls on Facebook and Twitter
- Dark social posts by micro-influencers in private groups
- Live social media content creators posting during the events
- Partnerships with 20+ local and national retailers
- Press release distribution to local media
Every social check-in shown to our hosts earned a free $5 Starbucks gift card, and retailers from Starbucks to Alex and Ani offered trainers special deals.
The content
Posts, polls & dark social
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