The Pokémon Company: Brand Ideology

The nature of the Pokémon games and series seems to imply that the company focuses primarily on children as their target market and for the most part in their early years, which is true. However, the statistics show that their biggest segment of consumers is above 18. This is so because over the years Pokémon has grown, as a brand, alongside its audience. The makers and managers of Pokémon have demonstrated a skilful understanding of their audience while taking calculated risks to continually appeal to them. Nintendo revealed that its 2016 role-playing video games, Pokémon Sun and Moon, on Nintendo DS had more players in their 20s and 30s buying the games than previous versions. Notably, that’s approximately the age group of those who were children when the Pokémon franchise first launched 15 years ago. 

Pokémon is the first

traditional gaming brand to embrace and fully jump into mobile and a fresh game genre, both geo-based gaming as well as augmented reality. So while it may be the technology that lures a younger audience to buy the franchises’ products, it is the emotional captivity that is ensured and maintained in all of the Pokémon movie series and video games, that the adulting fans of the franchise are attracted to. 
Every new video game or anime series is made in line with the major concept that is followed. For example, the 2016 augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go has tapped into the memories and triggered a sense of nostalgia. While hardcore fans have been playing the ongoing iterations of Pokémon Nintendo games throughout the years, Pokémon Go revived the spark amongst more casual enthusiasts. The game had over 800 million downloads worldwide as of May 2018 and generated $104 million in that month alone, proving Pokémon's mass appeal and wide brand recognition. The franchise has since been able to renew the spirit of its fans and the nostalgia around its products. By opening up a popular franchise, essentially for free under the freemium model, to the masses, The Pokémon Company was also able to expand beyond the confines of its core audience. It was popular and accessible.

Even the concept behind the anime series involves a constant evolution of characters and the storyline through a rough division of the sequels (to the 1996 role-playing video games Pokémon Red and Green) in generations. The main Pokémon video games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga, and trading card games are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins. Every year an anime film is released in Japan. Every now and then, there is a throwback to previous generations. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! are 2018 remakes of the 1998 role-playing video game Pokémon Yellow. There was also a movie released on the 20th anniversary of the franchise and was a retelling of the series protagonist’s beginning, and ranked in over $34 million worldwide, surpassing any Pokémon movie prior.

This diversity in content is how the Company offers fans a continued stream of alternatives and options, within the same franchise, keeping their affinity to audiences ever-refreshing and expanding.