Here's Why Target Has Giant Pokeballs In Their Lots

If you've visited one of 400 Target stores across the U.S., featuring giant Pokeballs, you might be wondering why they're sitting out there. Well, Target decided to paint their bollards red and white as a way to lure in potential Pokemon Go players for a photo op, as well as to hopefully get them to buy some goods.

Target has made an official announcement over on the their website indicating that the Pokeball-motif for the bollards is part of their promotion of all things Pokemon, including the games, back-to-school gear, batteries for your phone and Nintendo handhelds to play the games on.

The 400 stores featuring the Pokeball bollards are said to be great for photo opportunities as kids can pose by the bollards and show much of a fan of Pokemon they really are. According to Rick Gomez, the senior vice president of marketing at Target, they wanted to create something extra special for gamers in the wake of Pokemon Go blowing up over the summer and becoming a worldwide phenomenon.

Target felt as if the bollards signified a renewed interest in the brand that they've been catering to for more than 15 years. They wanted to use the 1,200 pound balls to lure in fans of either Pokemon Go or Pokemon in general in hopes of getting them to buy dolls, toys, backpacks, clothing items, collectibles and games.

In fact, they have a special display featuring nothing butPokemon gear at Target stores throughout the month. This even includes apparel and gear for kids and adults alike.

Additionally, they're fostering the growth of a hashtag called #TargetRun that features people posting up photos of them with their Pokemon paraphernalia, especially if it involves interaction with the bollards painted as Pokeballs.

The whole Pokemon thing seems to be a little late to the Pokemon Go party. Reports are already indicating that the game is fading away in terms of popularity, even though it's still trying to reach more countries and regions around the world.

Pokemon Go came onto the scene hot and heavy, and with a lot of strong user engagement, but it's fading out just as fast as it started. A lot of businesses were quick to jump onto the train by popping lure modules at their location to lure a bunch of Pokemon to the store, enabling a lot of activity and a gathering of folks that sometimes translated into customer sales.

In the case of Target, I don't really see how painting the bollards into the theme of a Pokeball will really help lure in more customers, but they've already managed to add them to 400 stores across the United States, so it's too late for them to turn back now.

As mentioned on their corporate website, the themed promotion centered around Nintendo's Pokemon brand will last for a whole month, so if you plan on snapping a photo with the bollard before they go back to being a boring old red, be sure to act fast before it all goes back to normal.

In other news, some dude tried to lie to the cops, and said he got robbed playing Pokemon Go, but here's the real story. >>