Gotta catch ‘em all: invigorating Pokémon through an innovative brand extension

© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature Despite the success of similar and far more immersive games from lesser known brands, Pokémon Go burst into pop-culture by merging augmented reality technology with the much-adored Pokemon world. The strategy of (re)capturing new and old fans through a highly innovative brand extension has been successful, illustrated by the total distance walked in real life by its players through the game being further than the distance from Earth to Pluto. With the release of further AR gaming extensions from colossal brands already underway (see Star Wars’ Find The Force), how can we explain the success of Pokemon Go as an innovative gaming brand extension? Collecting data from a sample of extensive players of Pokemon Go, results yield intriguing findings into the favourable and unfavourable evaluations of the innovative extension, offering substantial insights to those seeking to expand or rejuvenate brand portfolios through innovative brand extensions

Explicating corporate heritage, corporate heritage brands and organisational heritage

Recently, considerable academic and management interest has focussed on corporate heritage and, in particular, on the corporate heritage brand notion. This article provides a thorough overview of the field and includes latest developments in the territory including the formal introduction of the organisational heritage concept. Drawing on the extant literature, the article explores five themes relating the broad corporate heritage field: contexts, foundations, fundamentals, advances and empirical insights. This overview also examines key constructs within the domain including corporate heritage brands, corporate heritage identity and organisational heritage. Both theoretical and managerial aspects of the field are addressed. Reference is made to recent empirical contributions and to prominent case study research from Great Britain and China, namely Shepherd Neame (Britain’s oldest brewery with an official founding date of 1698) and Tong Ren Tang (the renowned traditional Chinese medicine corporate brand dating back to 1669)