What you need to know
- Previously announced, Niantic's Local Business Recovery Initiative is now live.
- Every Pokémon Go player can nominate one small, local business to receive a year of sponsorship in game.
- Business owners will receive in game marketing tools to promote their business and drive traffic.
Previously announced, Niantic is launching a Local Business Recovery Initiative to help small and local businesses recover from the shutdown and decreased traffic due to the global pandemic. Today, Niantic announced that its website for nominations is now live and ready for submissions. Each and every Pokémon Go Trainer can go to Niantic Lab's nomination page to nominate one small, local business for consideration. Nominations will be open through the end of July, with 1,000 businesses to be selected across Canada, Mexico, the United States, Japan, and Great Britain. Businesses must meet the requirements for Sponsored Locations, as well as having five or fewer pedestriant accessible storefronts. Businesses chosen will have access to all the online marketing tools of a Sponsored Location for one year, free of charge.
Every Pokémon Go player can nominate one business only and only through the nomination page. In addition to information about the business, players must also provide their reasoning for choosing their nominated business and how the business is important to the community. Nominations that include contact information for the business owner or marketing manager will be prioritized. Although the program is currently limited to 1,000 businesses across these five countries, Niantic has stated that it will considered expanding the program should the nominations exceed their expectations. Businesses chosen will have the option of starting their year of sponsorship when it is deemed safe to reopen with the earliest possible start in September.
