The age of ‘flash phenomenons’

Circle back to the end of 2012. if you stepped into a taxi in Dubai or even an auto rickshaw in Mumbai and asked the driver to switch on some music to make the journey lighter, there was a near 100 per cent chance that the song that would get switched on, the words of which made no sense perhaps to anyone in Dubai or Delhi, was Gangnam Style by Psy.

Just imagine that a song largely in Korean about a lifestyle associated with a suburb in Seoul laced with a catchy beat and some amusing dance moves became a global phenomenon and topped music charts across 30 countries. Starting with some tweets by k-pop fans picked up by the social blog Gawker , then powered by comments or shares from celebrities such as Robbie Williams, Britney Spears and Tom Cruise, the song became a worldwide sensation. And then, in a flash, disappeared.

People waited with huge anticipation for Psy’s next release, Gentleman , but it never garnered the same kind of popularity as Gangnam Style . And while people remember that Gangnam phase, after a few months the song simply disappeared from people’s minds. It became what I call a ‘flash phenomenon’. Just like ‘flash mobs’ appear suddenly and then dissipate we also live now in an age of ‘flash phenomenons’ in terms of media or even products where some things become a global rage and then just disappear.

Think of Christmas 2009. The global financial crisis had just started. Cepia, a small company employing just 16 people, released robotic hamsters as toy pets for children. These Zhu Zhu Pets, as they are called, became such a rage during the 2009 holiday season that not only were many millions shipped but demand was so high that these $8 toys were selling for $60 on eBay. Perhaps it was the start of the recession that spurred customers to buy gifts which were just $8 in cost or maybe it was the insight that parents did not prefer real hamsters as pets and preferred these robotic versions. Whatever it was, Zhu Zhu Pets became the flash phenomenon of 2009. And while they still exist and have been extended into various other forms like video games the craze for Zhu Zhu Pets peaked in the holiday gifting season of 2009.

Should we say “ Cow-u cow-u holy cow-u , I want u here now-u” to that ? Because it brings me to the other flash phenomenon that seeped through our collective consciousness and became a part of our listening lives for a brief period of time. The Tanglish song Why this Kolaveri Di? Nobody can quite explain the immense popularity for a brief period of time that resulted in this song getting more than 30 million views on YouTube, spreading across the world and becoming a rage even at, say, nightclubs in Japan. Even renowned publications such as Time magazine and respected international media such as like BBC reported the popularity of this Kolaveri phenomenon. And then the craze disappeared. The movie that this song featured in came and went and did not even create a ripple.

Which brings us to another product that became a rage and a must-have for some time, then declined and has now almost disappeared: The Nintendo Wii flash phenomenon. Rather than competing against Playstation and Xbox which were focused on creating hardware and software for serious gamers, Nintendo went for a strategy of making gaming fun and targeting casual as well as targeting first-time gamers, and consumers who never had Xbox or Playstation in their consideration sets.

It paid off handsomely initially. The unique product with its Nunchuck controllers that appealed to even first-time gamers and a marketing campaign focused on different demographics resulted in Wii being brought and enjoyed even by old people who had never considered playing video games ever, during its peak.

Then by 2009 those very customers discovered another form of casual gaming and shifted. Touch-screen based mobile phones and games such as Candy Crush and Farmville on Facebook are where the Wii customers started playing. The ongoing declines for Wii resulted in Nintendo actually discontinuing production of the Wii in most places, such as Europe and Japan, by 2013.

And then realising the increasing penetration of smartphones, the fact that people are spending most of their time on smartphones and the GPS feature becoming a standard in almost all phones, Nintendo created another phenomenon in partnership with Niantic, the world’s first augmented reality game Pokémon Go. Pokémon Go became such a rage that it eclipsed the likes of Candy Crush Saga and also started clocking revenues with its in-game purchases.

Besides the staggering numbers, marketers started trying to figure out how to get their brands associated with Pokémon Go. Restaurants and stores near Pokestops started offering discounts to players for gaining footfalls. Sports companies started exploring alliances as this was one game that actually made players active and forced them to be outdoors.

Many possibilities started emerging, especially in July 2016 when everything about the game peaked. But in three months by end-September the game had lost nearly 80 per cent of its players. Forbes mentioned that the vaguely curious stopped playing. Pokémon Go now stands at the cusp of either sustaining the phenomenon it has unleashed or ending up as just another flash phenomenon. Let’s see what actually transpires.

And while I ruminate about the eventual fate of Pokémon Go and whether it will end up in the pantheon of the many flash phenomenons, I receive a video on my Facebook account – “ Pen Pineapple Apple Pen ” goes DJ Piko Taro from Japan who has already been dubbed the next Psy. Inane but easy-to-remember lyrics, funny and easy-to-replicate dance moves and a beat that keeps playing again and again in one’s head. With more than 44 million views and counting, a new media flash phenomenon has struck again!

The author is BUSINESS DIRECTOR - CARDS & PAYMENT, VP BANK- FE CREDIT, VIETNAM. Views are personal

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