More than Eight in Ten Americans Have Seen or Heard About Pokйmon Go in the News

Washington, DC -- Pokйmon Go has taken the media by storm, generating thousands of news stories since its recent debut. In order to better understand general awareness and knowledge of the app, Ipsos Public Affairs conducted a short online survey and found that a large majority of Americans recall having seen Pokйmon Go on the news recently (83%).

In addition to seeing or hearing about Pokйmon Go in the news, most have at least heard of the game in general (93%), including nearly one in five (16%) who say they know a great deal about it. This includes a significantly greater proportion of millennials that say they know a great deal about the app (35%), compared to both middle-aged respondents (14%, 35-54) and those over the age of 55 (2%). Men (23%), those living in the Northeast (23%), and those with kids living at home (31%) are also among those most likely to claim they possess a good deal of knowledge when it comes to Pokйmon Go.

While not quite three in ten Americans can correctly identify Bulbasaur as being a Pokйmon character (29%) - this jumps to a majority among Millennials (52%), significantly outperforming respondents over the age of 55 (10%) and those 35-54 (28%) who correctly selected this character from a list consisting of five character names. Those with kids at home (45%) are also among those most likely to correctly identify a Pokйmon character. Nearly one in five Americans (18%) incorrectly identified the Inca citadel Machu Picchu as a Pokйmon Go character.

These are findings from an Ipsos poll conducted July 17-18, 2016. For the survey, a sample of 1,005 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii was interviewed online in English.

The sample for this study was randomly drawn from Ipsos's online panel (see link below for more info on "Access Panels and Recruitment"), partner online panel sources, and "river" sampling (see link below for more info on the Ipsos "Ampario Overview" sample method) and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each study, in drawing sample. After a sample has been obtained from the Ipsos panel, Ipsos calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. Population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2015 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, region, race/ethnicity and income.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents (see link below for more info on Ipsos online polling "Credibility Intervals"). Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=1,005, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=5).

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Elizabeth Brashares Account Manager Ipsos Public Affairs +1.312.526.4744 [email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com

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