Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

It was hard not to get swept up in the sensation of Pokemon Go this week.

You likely either saw people out playing it—holding up their cell phones as they walked or ran down the street—or you heard people talking about it on social media. Pokemon Go fever came on fast—the free app almost instantly became the most-downloaded free iPhone app and the top-grossing iPhone app in the U.S.

It reminds me of the fervor that surrounded the early days of Twitter, when real-world tweet-ups happened regularly among the tech-savvy early adopters who “got” the social network long before it became mainstream. This is perhaps fitting, given that Pokemon Go has just surpassed Twitter’s 65 million active users.

Naturally, many  national media outlets covered the phenomenon. Anything that got typically reclusive gamers out walking, running and biking was sure to make national news.

Soon, businesses and brands began to take notice, too. So what about brand managers—can they, or should they, join in the Pokemon Go craze? Yes, but only if you can do it well....