Gamification Guide
The Foundations of Gamified Marketing
Introduction to Gamification
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The History of Gamification
The Benefits of Gamification for your Marketing
How to Implement Gamification in a Campaign
Gamification Examples & Case Studies
In the modern landscape of Marketing there are tried and true methods, flash in the pan strategies, misguided attempts and processes built on buzzwords. The truth is, Marketing is always evolving with the world it inhabits.
With the ever-changing spheres of technology, culture, business and so on, all effecting how Marketing is received, marketers need to be willing to step into new territory in order to increase their ROI.
What was once considered as a flavour of the month, Gamification Marketing has stood its ground since the term entered the sphere of marketing in 2010. With most agencies struggling to harness the potential of Gamification in its earlier days, the provision of software platforms, much like Gamify, along with the dedicated teams associated, Gamification is no longer considered an enigma to marketers.
For those that are still on the fence or just completely in the dark on the benefits of enhancing your next campaign with Gamification, below is a list of some of the stronger qualities Gamification can provide.
Let's kick this list off with the obvious. Games bring fun and enjoyment to users, plain and simple. Whether it be to pass the time or as a form of escapism, games are a form of entertainment that speaks to the very fabric of humanity.
We, as social creatures, are deeply driven to adventure, achievement and triumph. All of which can be reached within the safety and accessibility of a game. In short, games allow people to have fun, and fun is marketable.
One of the strongest factors within a branded mini-game is its ability to have measurable engagement. Gamify's software platform allows for the backend to capture data pertaining to how many unique players are engaging with the campaign, who is handing over their information, who is sharing on socials and who is redeeming their earned rewards.
Unlike traditional marketing, games cannot unexpectedly pop-up in user feeds to arrest a users attention; instead, users are provided with both an option and incentive to play the game which means any engagement from that point on comes proactively from the user - they are in control and they choose to interact with the company.
With users engaging with games and inadvertently interacting with businesses, there is an opportunity for businesses to display their messages and brand in a variety of ways throughout the time that the user is participating in gameplay. Games invoke a level of engagement that cannot be reached by the likes of video. In fact, studies have shown that although regular TV still has large viewership, unfortunately for stakeholders in the $72 billion TV marketplace people are habitually looking at their phones during the airing of commercials.
In an age where people look to a screen to be entertained in moments of downtime, most users don't see the games they're playing as marketing at all. Games can offer them that quick burst of stimulating activity while also creating product awareness/ passing along new lead information to businesses.
Most marketers confirm that the required budget for traditional marketing can be astronomical, depending on the brands reach. The required resources from both internal departments and independent hires in order to acquire expected results can become both an overwhelming and costly process. Whereas Gamify's award-winning software platform has inbuilt systems in place that allow for businesses to keep track of their consumer traffic and lead information.
One of the most common reasons for Gamification's rough beginnings is the misconception from marketers that creating a marketable game is both an expensive and time-consuming process. This may have been true when smartphone technology first became popular, now, however, this could not be further from the truth.
Gamify's software helps create a one-stop-shop for all the required elements of a successful marketing campaign, saving marketers the hassle, time and money that would otherwise go into a marketing campaign.
These days most people own multiple devices which all have access to the internet, social media and apps. Wherever these elements can be found, games can be implemented. Whether it be mobile phones, tablets, laptop or desktop computers, games can be formatted and converted to fit each platform, making the reach of a Gamification campaign unlimited.
GDPR Aligned Data Collection
Marketing these days is structured around acquiring more leads and updating database information. The good news in light of the new GDPR structure is our games can help you collect the information you're looking for in a GDPR friendly way.
Any post-game entry of information from a user regarding leaderboards and reward redemption is all done well within the guidelines of the new GDPR structure.
With marketing through games running exclusively via online servers, the platform has the ability to accumulate information regarding the user. To what extent the information field gathers is entirely up to the company and their objectives.
When the game gathers all player analytics, the company can utilise this information for other marketing strategies and business purposes.
Wide Market Reach
Games are multi-generational and appeal to young and old alike. If a business is looking for a way to appeal to consumers of all ages, games are currently the most accessible stream to reach such a wide network of demographics. According to Forbes, 2017 saw mobile gaming account for 42% of global gaming revenue - that's over $50 billion in revenue.
To give you an understanding of why mobile gaming is so lucrative, 80% of smartphone users play games on their phone, nearly 50% of which play games daily, putting in approximately 1-2 hours of gameplay each day. The Demographic of Male and Female mobile gamers is almost equally split at 48% Female to 52% Male gamers, with the average gamer being 36 years old.
These numbers show that the market is vast and varied and when you marry those figures up with the integration of smart devices into daily life, it becomes quite evident that whichever target market a business is aiming for is well within the reach of Gamification.
Positive Association
The psychology behind Gamified Marketing is relatively simple; when customers play a game and earn a reward for their accomplishments it creates a positive emotion that can be linked directly to the brand in question.
The qualities of 'Fun' and 'Engaging' associated with games can help to create a positive outlook towards the brand associated with the game. Giving users an outlet to feel accomplishment and earn rewards, thus, reflecting well on any and all related parties.
Even consumers feeling in control when they play a game bodes well for brands. Having the choice to be a participant in an activity as opposed to a video, which can leave consumers feeling somewhat held against their will, can go a long way in users having positive association towards a brand.
Most users do no associate games with brand marketing, allowing for most users to unconsciously be receptive to strategically placed branding. A perfect example of this can be found in the Wheat Thins case study, in which users have 9 seconds of gameplay, collecting falling chips before they are shown a page of Wheat Thins products. This happens every time they play the game. Ideally, players will try to beat their high score, while Wheat Thins aims to familiarise them with the company's products.
This process of marketing can influence buyer behaviour; the next time a consumer finds themselves shopping for a product associated with the brand in the marketing campaign, they are more likely to purchase the marketed brand due to brand recall.
Much like brand awareness, games disarm users from their aversion to marketing in order to inform them of new products and services from a company. The repetitious play in a campaign with branded imagery allows for users to unconsciously gain an understanding of what the associated brand is attempting to inform them of, whether that be a new product or service.
AdBlocker Avoiding
The ever-growing use of AdBlocker software has created billions of dollars in lost revenue for traditional banner and video advertisements across all devices. Gamification does not fall victim to this statistic whatsoever as an HTML game does not fall within the detectable Ad format of traditional advertising.
This means games have a greater chance than banner and video ads of even being acknowledged to exist in the first place.
The beauty of Gamify's software being structured around HTML5 is that it can be easily shared across various social media channels with simple links and embedded play buttons.
Social media channels are the best environments to cultivate a competitive and social buzz around your campaign and brand as they have the ability to engage directly with your audience, allow you to respond to any questions or posts directed at the brand, promote game challenges and rewards, along with allowing consumers to praise the successful leaderboard entrants and, finally, allow you to crown a winner at the end of the campaign.
All of these factors attribute to building up a community of competition and play, where players will tag their friends and ultimately bringing more traffic to the game and your brand pages.
Consumers today want to do business with brands that they know and trust. When a consumer is able to engage with a company and other users through a game, this registers with the social drive within most consumers and, in turn, creates a positive community outlook towards the brand.
Human-focused design elements in Gamification campaigns, such as providing the option for social media shares creates a space for the best form of advertisement; a happy customer who shares their experience with others.
If your game is interesting, fun, and engaging than it can be highly expected that it will help generate repeat customers and organic social shares.
Replay Value and Increase Purchaser Intent
Gamification has replay value - whether it be users trying to beat their own/other's high scores or attempting to win bigger and better rewards. In addition, Gamification can increase purchaser intent comparatively from standard video advertisements by 169%. Games are known to excite consumers and prompt them into returning via rewards for their play.
Users wish to earn a prize as opposed to simply being offered one at the end of a video. It has been proven through an independent study from Gamify that consumers are 7 times more likely to value and use their game reward over being generically offered a reward at the end of a video.
"Gamify understands the importance of how to truly connect human to brand, whilst still understanding the nuggets of technological excellence with programmatic/machine learning to ensure your brand's communications is always relevant."
Tina Chou
Omnicom Media Group, Europe Director London | UK
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Next chapter:
A practical guide, looking at how you can implement gamification into your next marketing initiative.
Read Chapter 4
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