• by Mary C. Long , Columnist, August 25, 2016

Who knew collecting Pokémon via a mobile app could transfix people into doing what marketers always want people to do — get up, out, and engage with a brand while having fun? But entertainment marketers should know leveraging new fads like Pokémon Go are the way to go now.

It's all fair game

It wasn't so long ago entertainment marketers had to rely on things like banner ads on websites, tents at music festivals, young women in tight t-shirts handing out free samples of drinks at sporting events, and pre-roll ads before a good web series. But these outdated tactics were all about pushing things on your audience instead of, well, hanging out with them, which made connecting a challenge.

That’s all changed. Now the best opportunities for entertainment marketing are thanks to the “Me Generation.” Brands just need to get creative about what constitutes "entertainment." And they need to put consumers first. 

You need to be listening

Audiences are talking on social all the time, possibly even about your brand. With social listening software, brands can use psychographics to get into the heads of those they most want to reach and find out what they’re interested in. 

But it's not just about the audiences you already know about. According to NetBase, marketers shouldn’t limit themselves to who they think is already interested. "When you expand to include sentiment data and other aspects of your audience’s interests, you learn so much more."

For example, if your audience includes a large segment of people who love a specific TV show, type of soda, animal, etc., you can now extend your social listening and messaging to all people who like those same things. Because they may also like your brand. And if they don't know your brand yet, you can get to know them by talking about the things you know they already love.

Make campaigns social-worthy

It's also important to give people something worth sharing on social media, by creating an experience that's pic-worthy. Take the new ice cream museum in New York City. A pit of sprinkles, like the ball pit at Chuck-E-Cheese, has attracted the old and young alike. 

An ice cream break might not seem like entertainment in the traditional sense, but it becomes entertainment when it's an "event." Taking a picture in a pool of rainbow sprinkles and posting it on Instagram is a status symbol. We’ve been here, have you? 

Finding a brag-worthy way to broadcast your brand’s message is just one way to capture your audience, and build in organic amplification of your messaging to boot. 

If your audience loves it, so should you

If you're short on ideas, social media will tell you what your audience wants, even if it wouldn't be your first thought when pitching campaign ideas. You may not personally be a fan of the latest craze, but it's not about you. If you want consumers to care, it's always got to be clear what's in it for them. So be sure you offer up something they can't resist in your messaging. 

Better yet, look at what consumers are already wild about and find a way to make it worthwhile for your brand. Does the Pokémon craze make sense to you? It doesn't matter; if your audience loves it, you should embrace it in any way you can. Unless it's completely counterintuitive to your company's core principles, or damaging in some way, anything your target audience is passionate about is fair game. 

Create your own trends 

You don't have to wait around for a trend to come along, either. You can go retro and bring back a trend from another era, or create your own. Anything that resonates with consumers works. Entertainment is no longer limited to TV, movies, music and the like. Gaming, shopping, dining out — all can qualify depending on how you use them in your campaigns. 

The most important thing is creatively capturing your audience's attention, just as it's always been.