April 18, 2017
Interview Conducted by: Kevin Ray – Egyptian Theatre Intern
Philip is the owner of The Gaming Goat in downtown DeKalb that is sponsoring the free showing of Pokemon 2000 on Sunday, April 23rd at 2:00pm. I had a chance to interview him this week about the upcoming showing of the movie held at the Egyptian Theatre.
Kevin: Why do you think Pokemon has stood the test of time?
Philip: They have a lot of different products like the TV show, video games, and trading cards. There are a lot of people who do not partake in any of that, but are still huge Pokemon fans. The reason is that Pokemon has become such a cultural phenomenon because there is so much that can be done with it. It has touched on so many different aspects of life.
Kevin: What does Pokemon mean to you?
Philip: It is a fun way to connect with people of all ages. It also gets other people connecting with each other that would not normally interact.
Kevin: How long have you been in business?
Philip: We have been going for about three years. First it was a corporate location, and then the gaming goat corporation sold me the store. They gave me special financing on that to enable me to own the store. I have owned the store for two years now. In the time that I have owned the store we have added video games which has been a fast growing product category for us. There are a lot of people coming in for that, and a lot of people selling us collections. We have all of the games from the gaming systems like Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii.
Kevin: Why did you partner with the Egyptian Theatre for this show?
Philip: One of our biggest things is doing what makes sense. The Egyptian Theatre is only a block away and it is non profit theatre. It is a beautiful venue, and they were really awesome in enabling us to provide this for our customers. They made it really easy, no hurdles to jump through or anything. We are paying the royalties for the movies, but they are opening their doors up to us. This was a golden combination in our eyes. We literally hit the sweet spot. Last time we were able to show the movie to over 300 people. We can spend a good amount of money and provide a great value for the community.
Kevin: What can people take away from these Pokemon showings?
Philip: I think the biggest thing people can take away from these Pokemon showings is that businesses can do a better job spending their marketing budget in a way that actually provides value for their customers. We had the option to contact a local newspaper or radio station and spend $400 for them to shout out to their audience “Hey look at me I’m the Gaming Goat”. Not only is that not doing any good for the listener but it is also uninvited which sometime can have the opposite of the intended effect on the consumer. Instead that money is going towards providing the fees to screen a free movie not only for my customers, but for the entire community.
Our business will reap an even stronger marketing reward and when coupled with the value those who attend the showing receive; it’s money very well spent in the end. Hundreds of people will benefit by getting to see a free Pokemon movie and hundreds more will hear about it and know that the Gaming Goat made it happen. We will provide a fun afternoon for anyone interested and ask nothing in return. To be able to have your business fund something like this is great, but to have it pay for itself is a golden combination. I challenge all businesses and organizations to think outside of the box when spending funds on marketing and find a way to provide a disproportionate value for your customers. That gesture will go much further than interrupting their media consumption whether it be print, radio, or television.
