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aislingreardon
Apr 23, 20195 min read

Marketers Time to Level Up: Gamification

Updated: May 10, 2019

When it comes to Marketing, we are looking to appeal and engage people.

We need to know what people want to see, hear, feel and do.

By cracking that puzzle, we have access to the interest of many different markets and can create quite a loyal and interested following.


This brings us to Games.




'Games' and 'Play' have been present in humankind for as long and history as been documented.

From the simplest of analog games to the most advanced digitally enhanced video games humans have always been drawn to creating and playing in these alternate realities.

Games have an unrivaled ability to engage the player and good games have the ability to keep the players engaged for long periods of time.





Great games harness this engagement through:

1. Story - a narrative to connect emotionally to the player

2. Game mechanics & Interactivity - keeps the player connected throughout the experience

3. Rules - guidelines to reward desired behaviors

4. Challenge/competition - social element that tracks achievement and progress

5. Risks and consequences - adds excitement and adrenaline


But what happens if you apply these attributes to a purpose other than pure entertainment?

The result is called Gamification.


Gamification

Gamification is the application of gaming mechanics to a non-gaming environment to improve engagement and productivity in the task at hand.


"Gamification leverages our desires for status, achievement, competition and to be part of an inclusive social community to increase engagement." (Growth Engineering, 2019)


Vendors claim that gamification strategies can lead to a 100% to 150% increase in engagement metrics. (Meloni, W., 2012)


Good Gamification strategies have the ability to increase recall and retention on the content being presented and gives the player instant gratification by providing instant feedback and recognition for engaging with said content.


"Gamification [also] delivers proven and tangible results, which can be measured with the analytics tools most vendors provide." (Guta, M., 2017)





With such positive results for the player and the providers it is no wonder that the Gamification Global market was valued at $3.3 Billion in 2017 and is expected to attain $ 20.9 Billion in 2026 (Guru Focus, 2019)

Gamification is currently one of the fastest growing trends in marketing adding to the overall consumer experience increasing loyalty and engagement with brands who engage with this tactic.


So what are these gaming mechanics can be implemented to achieve marketing success?


Gaming Mechanics used for Gamification


1. Fast Feedback

This is instant feedback or messaging that encourages players to progress on their activity. Below is an example of the 'Level Money' expense tracking app congratulating a user on their success influencing future use of the app.



2. Transparency:

This means that it is important to show players exactly where they stand on the metrics that matter to you and to your audience. This comes down to tracking progress and inviting key players to evaluate their progress. Below is an example of Datapine software where you can track real-time working of a project so you know what has been achieved and what is yet to be.



3. Goals (long and short-term)

Missions or challenges give users a purpose for interaction. These small goals and milestones should allows the users to understand what is valued and possible within the experience while reflecting the overall mission of the project.

FitBit is a great example of this as it pushes the user to achieve manageable goals in their fitness to attain an overall healthy lifestyle.



4. Badges

These are evidence of accomplishments and and extremely meaningful within a community of like-minded gamers who can appreciate the meaning of the badge. A bit like in Pokémon Go when players were required to travel long distance to capture the prize Pokémon but once they had them, other players recognised their achievements and the work that had gone into capturing them




5. Leveling - Up

Levels indicate long-term or sustained achievement.

These levels are used to indicate a status within a community.

Take for instance AerLingus - AerClub where members are given the opportunity to earn points based on frequency of travel and spend on Aer Lingus and entry to each tier will depend on the tier member's points balance. AerClub have four membership tiers: Green, Silver, Platinum and Concierge.

Each tier has a unique combination of reward and recognition benefits, which may include priority check-in, priority boarding, lounge access, complimentary upgrades and bonus points earning depending on the level of commitment and engagement to AerLingus



6. On-boarding

On-boarding refers to how video games train you how to play as you play making gaming experiences an engaging and compelling way to learn. This is often used in education with the likes of Dragon Box. Dragon Box is a Math games which requires to solve algebraic equations( disguised as characters and animals) so that the Dragon in the Box can eat and survive. As the player becomes more advanced in algebra so do the equations.




7. Competition

This element of Gamification is to show how the player is doing compared to others. It raises the stakes for accomplishing goals in teams or as an individual. It is successfully used in work settings with software such as Spinify showing leadership boards for sales staff on commission.



8. Collaboration

Collaboration allows players to work as a team to accomplish tasks. This drives competition, encourage knowledge sharing and teamwork and increases productivity as no one wants to let their team down.

This can be as little as having the cleanest office space to administering nation wide hashtags that encourage players to strive toward an ideal outcome



9. Community

Community gives meaning to all other Gamification mechanics. Sharing participant achievements creates energy in the community by making people aware of what others are doing.




10. Points

These are tangible, measurable evidence of achievements. They can accumulate to purchase virtual or real good and can be earned by participating in the desired behavior of game provider. A very real and common example of this would be loyalty points in a supermarket. The more you spend the more you receive.


It seems that armed with these gaming mechanic, all you need do is pop them into your latest project and BOOM success, right?


Wrong!


Gamification needs to be Strategically Integrated

Gamification can create a world that is highly engaging whether you are a teacher, marketer, sales person, recruiter or any other professions. It has the ability to create an exciting world to live in but harnessing the power of play.


But, "Good Gamification does not start with game elements but starts with how it effects our core drives" (Chou, Y., 2014)


Gamification augments an already interesting and exciting campaign by introducing gaming mechanics to heighten the user experience.


"Knowing the users and identifying the mission are key to getting gamification right, as is understanding motivations vary according to the task, objective and player." (Interaction Design Foundation, 2014)


There are games that have all the gaming mechanisism from above and are still boring and unplayed. Yet, there are marketing campaigns that may employ just one but when strategically placed and appealing to a very specific marketing and change the interface of consumer relations.


" [Gaming Mechanics] make an emotional connection with the audience and lead to a longer relationship as opposed to simple brand awareness." (Matthews, K., 2017)


Gamification is not just shoving badges, competition and points onto an experience, it's about engaging with you target markets motives, catering to them and developing a consumer relationship that can excel anything that has come before.

That, is what gamification can be.




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