PwC staff play Pokemon GO, but not for the same reasons others do

A Zubat from the Pokemon Go phone app flies around the head of PwC partner John Riccio.
A Zubat from the Pokemon Go phone app flies around the head of PwC partner John Riccio. Steven Siewert

Playing Pokemon Go is as much about the joy of trying to catch 'em all as it is about her day job of looking after the wellbeing of staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers for Anna Isnard.

The senior consultant sees the augmented reality game as the perfect way to encourage PwC staff and partners to be more active as they travel across the land, searching far and wide to find new Pokemons.

"During coffee breaks, it's good to get up and find a PokeStop," Brisbane-based Ms Isnard said. "It's like a Pokebreak. It gets you out and about and it really does fit into your life."

She isn't the only one at the firm who loves the game. An internal Google+ group about Pokemon Go has about 170 members who are regularly "sharing hotspots around the PwC offices around Australia, sharing tips on what to do, app updates and things like that", Ms Isnard said.

PwC senior consultant Anna Isnard, the Pokemon character Jolteon and her Pokemon avatar Residanna (right).
PwC senior consultant Anna Isnard, the Pokemon character Jolteon and her Pokemon avatar Residanna (right). Supplied

She is  now on level 20 in the game and has collected 77 of the 142 available Pokemons.

That may be impressive, but it is eclipsed by colleague and Pokemaster Andrew Ngai. The senior manager in the consulting practice has reached level 28 in the game and managed to catch all 142 Pokemons.

It's not just the consultants at the firm that feel it is their destiny to collect all the Pokemons. 

The social media team have gotten in on the action as well, posting a well-liked photo of Instagram of ground Pokemon Sandshrew that was found in the firm's Sydney foyer.

Globally, Pokemon Go has been a runaway hit, registering almost four million downloads and pulling in revenue of more than $1 million a day in the past month alone, according to mobile application data tracker Apptopia. 

Given the numbers involved, it's only natural that the digital experts at PwC have also turned their mind to the business applications of the technology behind the game.

Partner and Digital Services Leader John Riccio does not play the game, but sees it as a template for how businesses could redefine the way they interact with customers.

"It's probably one of the best examples...of augmented reality becoming mainstream," he said.  "It's proven that the technology is not something of the future, it's something that can be engaged in today. I think it can apply to every industry."

The fist company to "create an experience using augmented reality or virtual reality technology that delivers value to a customer" will be rewarded with rapid uptake, Mr Riccio said.