I f you say no, does that mean that you don't pick up your phone to play a little Candy Crush once in a while, and that you haven't played …? Maybe you use Runkeeper on your daily run or keep Todoist as your task manager?
Most people take part in some kind of game on a regular basis, even if you don't close the drapes, gulp down coffee and Red Bull and shoot down digital enemies in your living room the whole night through. That's what gamification is about – the use of enticing and engaging elements from the gaming world, to make the most of them in marketing and educational contexts. It's not games in a strict sense, but you use the same type of stimulating mechanisms to endorse positive behavior through various types of rewards.
Here is an example of gamification from us at Easy Quiz Player – a quiz with several gamification features, like time limitation, points, animations and a leaderboard.
Creating interaction with potential customers is a good way to get them to take active part in a campaign or an activity. If you also add rewarding features, like points, high score lists or different levels the activity is perceived as more exciting, and it's more likely that they return to or stay longer on the site.
Interaction often creates stronger bonds to a company than if you passively see an ad or a banner. This usually makes the visitors more loyal, and they return to the page and remember the company to a much greater extent.
With traditional marketing it's hard to measure the exact effects of a campaign. Usually you have to settle with the sales figures, the number of visits on a web page or similar parameters. With a gamification activity you get access to instant statistics about how many that see the activity, how many that participate and how many that submit their details, for instance.
If you have an activity that is interactive, entertaining and rewarding it's more likely that the participants spread the activity themselves, especially if they have achieved something in relation to the activity, like if you lead a high score list or if you have gotten a virtual medal. The will to spread the activity is naturally increased if you also get some kind of reward when you invite others to or share the activity, like bonus points or maybe a separate contest about who can spread the activity to most friends.
Normally you remember information much better if you have been active and participating than if you just have seen or heard the information. Therefore gamification is a great way to present information that remains in your memory, and your company has a greater chance of being "top of mind".
If you have a banner, an ad or even a TV commercial it's hard to get an extensive brand exposure. It's also difficult to know how long the brand exposure is for each individual. By making potential customers interact and participate in an activity you can get a considerably increased exposure for your brand, and you also see exactly how long the brand exposure is.
Of course gamification is no miracle potion that can solve all your problems or take care of all your marketing issues by itself. However it can have a great effect to include gamification as a part of your marketing, especially since the cost for a gamification campaign usually is relatively moderate.
Gamification is the name of the game – fun, engaging and effective.