Gotta Catch ‘Em All: The Pokemon Company (TPC) Board of Directors, 2016
The date is June 6th, 2016: one month before the launch of the groundbreaking mobile game Pokémon GO. The Pokémon Company (TPC) board awaits the launch with equal parts anticipation, ambition, and chaos. The app’s global launch raises the stakes, providing the company with the once-in-a-product lifecycle opportunity to either restore Pokémon to its 1990s place of honour in the zeitgeist, or serve up a brand-demaging disaster. Delegates will assume the roles of TPC’s diverse Board of Directors (BoD), depicting the most influential figures in and around the company, from executives to consultants, to influencers and more.
Board members will collaborate, compete, and strategize to secure server stability, manage real-time public relations crises, and protect user data. In the precarious post-launch period, delegates will protect the brand through real-world incidents, including technical failures and backlash from the global media. Every directive passed will directly affect the success of the game, and by extension, the company’s prestige and profitability.
Beyond Pokémon GO, the board will tackle the issue of reigniting consumer interest in the brand and its many products, and entertain collaboration with a group of investors who have proposed a one-of-a-kind Pokémon theme park. What attractions could such a spectacle include, and what location makes the most sense to host them? How can the app be integrated into the park experience to capture the interest of the tech-loving customer? Moreover, board members will tackle the major questions that permeate TPC’s daily operations. How can intellectual property rights be protected, staving off competitors who would infringe on their niche? How can marketing strategy balance nostalgia and reverence for Pokémon’s past, while positioning it for the new generation of gamers? And, importantly, what environmental, social, and cultural efforts must be made to ensure the brand’s sustainable future?
Rest assured, this is no average BoD committee. Pokémon cards will unlock a host of innovative procedural elements. When battles determine board appointments, and luck of the draw may determine the success of licensing agreements, adaptability and ingenuity are key. Opportunities are like Pokémon: you gotta catch ‘em all. Let the games begin.
