Why are there so many kids hanging out in the park walking around looking at their phones? If you’ve been paying attention to news headlines and social media lately, you’re probably noticing that the Pokemon Go app has been released for less than week and it has taken over everything. If you aren’t familiar with the new app for Android and IOS, it is an Augmented Reality game that places Pokémon in the world around you. Users walk around and find the Pokémon near them trying to catch them all! What is new about this app is that it causes people to get up and move. Within this short period of time the app has taken off with an estimated 7.5 million downloads and growing, over 6 million mentions on Twitter and helping to boost Nintendo’s market value by $7.5 billion.

Here is a quick over view of how the app works. Once downloaded on their IOS or Android phone, people are able to walk around and “look” through their phone to try and find Pokémon. They are able to level up, train their Pokémon, and people often travel in groups because they are able to find more Pokémon when they are together. People travel to Pokestops to find Pokemon to capture and meet in groups at “Gyms” to battle their Pokemon.

There are Pokémon pretty much everywhere and you can attract even more to your location using what is called a “Lure”. The lure is location based, draws in Pokémon from the surrounding areas and has them group where the lure is. The lure also shows up on other people’s maps letting them know where the Pokémon are going to be! These lures have can draw massive groups of people from the surrounding area.

So why should builders care? Well, if you’re an adventurous marketer, you’re probably already thinking through the opportunities, what a creative way to get people out and walking through your communities, checking out your sales centers and amenities.

This weekend will be the first weekend since Pokémon Go has been available in the U.S. so you can be sure that people will be out and about looking for Pokémon, especially families. With families looking for Pokémon your homes are the perfect place for them to look. Setting up a lure at your homes will attract Pokémon and in turn attract people to your location. Once they are there give them a tour of the houses, the neighborhood, or maybe even set up a “safari” for people to come and hunt for Pokémon.

Each lure last for 30 minutes. You are able to buy a pack of 8 lures which will last 4 hours. Two packs of those and you can attract people to your location all day long. The currency within Pokémon Go are Pokecoin. A pack of 8 lures cost 680 Pokecoins and you can buy 2500 Pokecoins for $30.99. So for about 31$ you can attract potential buyers to your property all day long. Here is a breakdown of the costs for Pokecoins and Items within the game to get a sense of what options work best for you!

This app has gotten people up and moving like no other app has come close to. Jawbone fitness trackers found that users playing Pokémon Go got 62.5% more steps than average. With all of these people moving around and exploring their surrounding areas; now if your chance to make sure they come and find your properties! They started their journey looking for Pokémon, but they could find their new home as well.

And the Pokemon craze should get you thinking about other ways to use Augmented Reality within the new home market. Uses such as: viewing different faucets and fixtures within a model; walking around an empty lot but “seeing” how the neighborhood is going to look when finished; displaying real time data on a tour such as air quality, temperature and so on from room to room. The opportunities are endless and as technology continues to progress the home building industry will continue to change.

Pokémon Go is huge right now so it is the perfect time for your communities to join in! With all of these people out walking around looking for Pokémon it is the perfect opportunity to attract people to your homes. Be sure to contact BDX at info@thebdx.com for all of your Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality needs.