Automakers Should Get Going With Pokémon Go

How much better would Pokémon Go be if an automaker had developed it? The game that lets people hunt virtual monsters in real-world locations blends smartphones, GPS coordinates, position sensors and augmented reality – technologies that automakers are embracing for growth.

Prasad Satyavolu

An automaker likely would have tackled the game’s safety issues up front: suspending monster sightings and Poke Ball throws while a car is moving, while finding nearby parking and offering walking directions to monster and Poke Stop locations.

Lures and battle gyms placed at dealerships or pop-up locations would draw in prospective Millennial customers and tie into new model promotions and/or car-sharing program registration.

Partnerships with city, state and federal agencies would provide cultural and historical data at sites of interest. Affinity programs would deliver coupons.

RajR_profile2019.jpg

Automakers probably will have the opportunity to try some of these ideas, with Pokémon Go’s creators planning to sell corporate sponsorships. Yet, as attractive as it may be for automakers to hop in the Pokémon Go backpack, they must not miss asking the critical question: Where is our Pokémon Go?

In other words, Why aren’t we thinking more broadly about how to monetize our expertise in connected car, mobility, locational intelligence, etc.?” 

Car makers must cultivate an innate organizational vision to see the connected car in a different way – not as a collection of digital features, but as a gateway to a personalized experience.

Lessons from Pokémon Go

What automakers can learn from Pokémon Go is a new definition of “digital experience.” The game already is reshaping expectations about how the physical and virtual worlds may interact by providing users with a hybrid experience that seamlessly blends the two worlds. This hybridization, “reality plus,” is increasingly what people want from digital experiences.

This lesson must be applied to connected cars, too. Most consumers buy vehicles not just to enjoy the thrill of the road (although there will always be driving enthusiasts), but to enable or enhance a lifestyle – from outdoor enthusiasts who want to explore the backcountry in a 4x4, to a retiree embarking on a second career by taking night classes in the next town, to a busy family reconnecting with a day trip to the water park.

The car can amplify these experiences by seamlessly integrating the data around and beyond it, providing that family with a single view of its day: The parked car actively tracks the wait times for lines across different rides and intelligently optimizes and updates a customized ride schedule; acts as an information hub so all family members stay informed about each other’s locations inside the park and even suggests an optimal return time. The car enhances, and becomes an integral part of, the overall experience.

Yet most automakers continue to promote – and think of – their cars in terms of features: from mechanical to electro-mechanical to digital, power, model options and connectivity.

Frankly, most vehicles are now commodities on these terms. It will be increasingly difficult to earn a return commensurate with investments in connected car technology if an automaker cannot differentiate on experience. Essentially, it’s time to raise the car from the utility class to the experience class.

Pokémon Go Economics 101

Pokémon Go is a free download: part of the value it returns to creators and sponsors will be the data it collects from players. Data is the basis of the Pokémon Go Economy. Differentiating an experience requires gathering data from many sources, understanding its context and analyzing it to find insights and meaning to better deliver a more compelling experience that, in turn, will be analyzed and fine-tuned.

The “design” portion is another key aspect of the Pokémon Go economy. Design will go beyond aesthetics to encompass technology in, around and beyond the car, from intelligent transport systems to cloud-based data storage and analytics. Automakers will likely need to harness innovations from other partners and alliances to deliver seamless hybrid experiences, versus attempting to beat the pace of market innovation on their own. 

It won’t be easy for auto companies to cultivate this broader vision of where and how connected cars fit into consumers’ demands for experiences augmented with digital. It will be even harder to make it a reality. Yet, the focus on experience is critical when cars themselves are rapidly becoming commodities, and the traditional model of individual car ownership is being reshaped by new cultural and economic forces.

So, the question remains: What’s your “Pokémon Go” experience?  That’s the challenge (and opportunity) of the day.

Rajaram Radhakrishnan is Cognizant’s vice president and head of manufacturing and logistics, Prasad Satyavolu is the firm’s head of innovation-manufacturing and logistics.

Learn more on this topic at the WardsAuto UX Conference, October 4 in Novi, MI. Check out the agenda and our announced speakers from FCA, Bosch, Continental and other leading OEMs and suppliers.

Visit the conference website