Sponsored PokéStops and Gyms in Pokémon Go

Trainers in Pokémon Go are no strangers to PokéStops and Gyms, the places where a myriad of things take place, from earning items to initiating battles of different kinds. Typically, most of these mark places that have been submitted and approved through a process that has its roots even beyond Pokémon Go. However, there are a few of these that mark places - specifically, commercial ones - that wouldn't ordinarily pass muster for them. These are what are called Sponsored Locations, and they are intriguing places.

A Sponsored Location is easily identified on the map; for the particular case of a PokéStop, a marker appears on its pole, but tapping the location in question to check it out will surely reveal it, with a "Sponsored" tag up at the top. Sponsored Locations can be for a number of different things, like coffee shops, eateries, stores, and malls, though the first specimen is arguably a common one: three of those have recently popped up in my local area for a famous international joint, making them the first of their kind. Meanwhile, a faraway metropolis has a mall with a Sponsored Gym. The Pokémon Center in Singapore is a particular case of a well-known Sponsored Location. Thus, it's clear that these can come in various guises.

It is quite possible that the owner of a major business might consider applying for one, and it's possible through a page on Niantic's web site. Remarkably, though not surprisingly, there is a fee for application: USD 1 per day or 30 per month for a "standard" location (as a PokéStop) or USD 2 per day or 60 per month for a "premium" location (as a Gym). Though the program is reportedly in an "early access beta" for the U.S. and current situations are suspending the process to an extent, obviously some of the process still goes on as with the new Sponsored Locations in my area, and further expansions are definitely planned. More detailed information can be found on the page, which is more than I can really explain here.

There might be another reason why the process is being slowed down, and that's due to an initiative that also involves Sponsored Locations. The initiative is to help small businesses - a select number of them in a select number of countries - recover from current economic situations by promoting them with the facility for a year and helping them gain leverage once hard times have passed. Uniquely, the initiative also enlists people to make nominations (one per person, a method similar to putting out new PokéStops on the map) for selecting businesses. By now the nomination period has ended, but the initiative looks good regardless.

It seems tempting to call these Sponsored Locations as advertising, and they are, in many respects. But they are also really more than that. They are a way of making enterprises heard, particularly within the realm of an augmented reality-driven venue such as that of Pokémon Go. Of course, for those in it, it just becomes one of many places where neat actions can take place, and they cannot ask for much more than that. It also comes with a side effect of promotion and support for businesses that seek to thrive.

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