What Is Gamification In Marketing? | The Drum

Gamification can be used in playable ads as a way of combining your ad units with an interactive game or incorporating gaming elements in a ... Skiptocontent DigitalTransformation Agency Whatisgamificationinmarketing? By JennyStanley |Managingdirector AppetiteCreative | TheDrumNetworkarticle ThiscontentisproducedbyTheDrumNetwork,apaid-formembershipclubforCEOsandtheiragencieswhowanttosharetheirexpertiseandgrowtheirbusiness. Findoutmore March9,2021|12minread Listentoarticle 4min Gamificationcanbeusedinplayableadsasawayofcombiningyouradunitswithaninteractivegameorincorporatinggamingelementsinanon-gamingcontext.Providinganimmersive,engagingandfunexperiencewithyourbrandwillhelpcustomerstorememberyournameandthisisthebiggestadvantageofagamifiedcampaign. Thismarketingstrategycanbeusedbyanybusiness,acrossanyindustry,anditisoneofthemosteffectivewaysforbrandstodelivertheirmessageinacreativewaytotheirusers.Brandscanimplementavarietyofgamifiedelementsintheirmarketingstrategiessuchas:Achievements:badges,levelsorpointsaregiventotheuserasarewardforreachingsomepre-establishedaccomplishment. Leaderboards:usersarerankedaccordingtotheirperformanceinthegame,creatingcompetitionandinducinghigherinvolvementrates. Countdown:playersarechallengedtocompleteaspecifictaskinalimitedtimeperiod(usuallyafewseconds). Progress:Customersareaskedtoprogressinacertainactivityandthereisanelementthatdisplaystheirprogression. ThesevenbenefitsandadvantagesofgamificationinmarketingAsyoumayhavealreadyrealized,thereareplentyofadvantagesandbenefitsforyourbrandtoimplementgamificationinyourmarketingstrategy.Below,wewillbreakdownthetopsevenbenefitsofgamificationandexplainwhytheyaresoeffectiveinthedigitalworld.1.IncreaseandimproveuserengagementAsusersareencouragedtotakespecificactionswithgamification,oftenengagementratesarehigherandbetterthanthoseachievedinpreviouscampaigns.Engagementcanbetheveryfirststepofalong-termrelationshipbetweenthecustomerandthebrand,whichleadsontothenextbenefitofgamifiedcampaigns.2.HelpstogrowbrandawarenessandloyaltyAssaidbefore,customerswhokeepyourbrand’snameintheirmindsforalongtimeafterhavingafunexperiencewithabrandedgameareavaluableassetforyourbusiness.Firstly,becausetheymaygetemotionallyattachedtoyourbrand,butalsobecause–ifthatattachmentoccurs–theyaremorelikelytobecomeloyalcustomersthanindifferentoractivelydisengagedcustomers.AccordingtoarecentpublicationmadebyGallup,engagedcustomersrepresent“anaverage23%premiumintermsofshareofwallet,profitability,revenue,andrelationshipgrowthcomparedwiththeaveragecustomer”.Thisis,accordingtothesamepublication,particularlytruefortheretailbanking,consumerelectronics,restaurant,hospitality,andinsuranceindustries.3.HelpstogatherusefulcustomerdataDataisperhapsoneofthemostvaluableassetsforbusinessesthesedays.CombinedwithcomplexAI,IoT,andmachinelearningsystems,giganticdatabasescanprovidebusinesseswiththenecessarytoolstotargetthebestcustomers,withtherightoffer,atthebesttimeandplacepossible.However,gatheringthatdataisnotalwayseasyandthisiswheregamificationcomestoplay.Byofferingusersthepossibilityofhavingafuntime,orevengettingthechanceofwinningaprizeorreward,theyarelikelytobemorewillingtogiveyoupotentialdata,whichyoucanlaterusetogainabetterunderstandingofyourtargetaudience.4.IncreasesconversionratesAsplayersengagewiththegamifiedelementsprovidedbyyourbrand,theyaremorelikelytorespondtoyourCTA,thanifitwasatraditionalbanneradoranyothermarketingmethodinordertowintherewardsthatyouhaveattachedtotheinteractiveexperience.Thiswillhelptoimproveyourconversionrates.Forexample,imaginethatyouofferusersa20%discountfromaquickinteractivequizonyourwebsite.Theuserislikelytotakeadvantageofthatdiscountandproceedtouseittomakeapurchaseinyourstoreore-commercesite.5.MakesthepromotionaloffersmoreinterestingConsumerbehaviorcanbe,manytimes,moreemotionalthanrational.Often,thesameofferorproductmaybeinterpreteddifferently,dependingonthecontextandcircumstanceoftheapproach.Asanexample,usersmayignoreaclickablebannerthatadvertisesa10%discountinthenexthours,buttheymayfeelveryexcitedbybeingrewardedthesame10%discountforpassingthreelevelsinaninteractivebrandedgame.Thisisbecausecustomerswillfeelthattheyhave“earned”thediscount,theyhave“battled”forit,sotheywillvalueitdifferentlythanifitisgiventothemfornoreason.6.EducatesthecustomerwithyourproductsorservicesGamificationmarketingcanbeafunandeasywaytoexplainwhatthemainbenefitsofyourproductorserviceareandthereforeeducatetheusers.That’swhatAppetitedidwithEmmiGoodDay’srecentlylaunchedmilkdrinks,whichoffera60%-plusreductioninsugar.ThroughaFallGame,wheretheusersneededtocatchthemilkandavoidtouchingthesugarcubesinordertoaccumulatepoints,Emmieducatedtheplayersaboutthenewandhealthierrecipefortheirdrinks.7.HelpstointeractwithcustomermoreoftenFormarketers,theultimategoalofadvertisingtheirproductorservicewithadsonwebsitesandappsistoattractandcapturenewcustomers.Thefirststepistocatchtheusers’attentionandencouragethemtointeractwiththeadunit.Banneradsandpop-upsareoftenrejectedorignoredbyuserswhoaretiredofseeingtheirjourneyinterruptedbyunrequestedads.So,tryingtospreadyourmessagethroughafunandeasy-to-playgamemaybeagoodwayofreachingnewusersandhopefullyconvertingthemintocustomersafewstepslater.GamificationhassomedisadvantagestooNodoubtgamificationmarketingcanhelpyouimproveyourdigitalpresence,increaseengagementandinteractionwithyourcustomersandgatherdatathatwouldbeotherwisedifficultforyourbusinesstoacquire.However,thereareacoupleofthingsthatyoushouldbearinmindbeforeproceedingwithagamificationprojectforyourbrand.Firstofall,makinggoodgamesrequiresgreatcreativity.Makingbasicgames,suchassimplequizzesortestsiseasy,butit’sfairtosaythatusersdon’treallyenjoythattypeofexperience,anditisunlikelythattheywillproceedtothenextstepiftheyarepresentedwithoneofthesegames.Therefore,yourbrandshouldconsidergettingprofessionaladvicefromanexperiencedcreativeagencyinordertodesignanddevelopeducational,trulyenjoyable,andprovengamesthatwillcatchtheeyeofyourleads.Thisprocessusuallytakestwothings:timeandmoney.Gamedevelopmentusuallyleadstolongerworkingtimethantraditionalinstructionaldesign.Everystepofthedesignprocess,fromexplainingtheconcepttoprojectstakeholders,designinganddeveloping,tofinallytestingthegamerequiresseveralhoursfromhighly-skilleddevelopers,graphics,andwebdesigners.Forinstance,gamesthatfeaturemusicandavarietyofsoundeffects,photos,videos,orevenpersonalizedanimatedelementsthatenrichtheuser-experiencewillendupincreasingthecost(bothintermsoftime,money,orboth)oftheproject.SomeinterestingmarketinggamificationcampaignexamplesStarbucksOfferingvouchersandcouponsisaseasyasofferingtostampacustomer'scard,sothattheymayreceiveafreebieafter10visits,andthereisnothingwrongwiththat.AtAppetite,webelievethatabrandcanprovidevouchersanddiscounts,butitshouldalsotrytocreateanexperiencewhiledoingsothatlinksbacktothepurchase.That’swhywedevelopedagameforthegreatestmultinationalchainofcoffeehousesandroasteryreserves,Starbucks.Aswecreateda‘FliptheCup’gameinwhichausercould,withonehand,attemptthetrickybutmasterabletaskofflippinganinstantlyrecognisableStarbuckscupontoaplatform,theexperienceboostedtheengagementwiththebrand’sfansby90%andthevoucherdownloadtargetsweresmashedby110%.UnibetAspartofthehyper-competitiveindustryofsportsbettingandonlinecasino,Unibetfacedthechallengeofdifferentiatingtheirservicefromtheotherplatforms’suchasWilliamHill,888Holdingsandmanyothers.Theirobjectivesweretoincreaseawarenessandtodrivetheirmobileapplicationdownloads.That’swhytheycontactedAppetiteCreative.Oursolution?Aninteractiveanddynamicmobilegametheuserwasputintheheartoftheaction,mimickingawell-knownfootballgameplay.Theplayershad60secondstoseehowmanyheaderstheycouldkeepgoingwithoutdroppingtheball.Iftheyachievedaspecificpre-establishedscore,theywouldearna£5bonusintheformofafreebet.FerreroAsoneofFerrero'stopbrandsKinder'sproductsenjoyhighpopularityglobally.However,theirambitionisendlessandFerrerowantedtoraiseawarenessforKinder'sproductsKinderMaxiandKinderBueno.Appetitedevelopedastrategytoachievethesegoals.Wecameupwithtwogames,incorporatedincustomisedbannergamificationads,tomakethebrandmoreengageablewithKinder'saudienceinafunandsimpleway.Inthefirstgame,theplayerisaKinderchocolatebarthatisabletorunandjumpinordertocollectKinderMaxibars.Intheothergame,theplayermovesleftandrightatthebottomofthescreeninordertocollectKinderBuenochocolatebars.However,theplayerneedstobecarefulandnotcollectthewrongchocolatebars,otherwise,theplayerlosesalife.Thecampaignwasasuccess.Withourhelp,Ferreroachieveditsgoalsastheengagementratewiththeadssoaredacrossmanycountries,providinguserswithagreatandfunbrandedmoment.SummarySoasyou’veseen,despitethefewdrawbacks,thereareplentyofgoodreasonsforgamificationmarketingtobepartofthedigitalstrategyofanybrandwithinanyindustry.Itwilldrivemoreuserstoengagewithyourads,morepeopletoknowyourbrandandmostimportantly,asyouwillprovideagreatmomenttothem,thiscanincreasethechancesofbecomingaloyalcustomer.However,unlessyournameisTomCruise,gettingitrightatthefirstshotinthegamificationworldmightbeMissionImpossible.Thereforeyoushouldsurroundyourselfwithateamofgreatandexperiencedprofessionalsinthisfield,avoidingbeginnermistakesintheimplementationoftheadcampaign.AfterworkingwithStarbucks,Unibet,Ferrero,Vodafone,orAdidas,wearelookingforwardtohearingfromyourbrand.Ourteamofwebdeveloperscreatesthemostinnovativewebsites,andourdesignersareparticularlyskilledwhenitcomestodevelopingfunandengagingadformats.Sogetintouchwithus,let’shaveacallthisweek.JennyStanleyismanagingdirectoratAppetiteCreative. 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