Have you ever been so captivated by a game that you lost track of time while completing quests or levelling up?
Now, picture your customers experiencing the same thrill whenever they interact with your brand. Though it might sound far-fetched, this outcome is completely achievable with a marketing gamification consultancy.
In this era of short attention spans, gamified marketing seeks to attract customers and keep them coming back by delivering fun and compelling brand experiences. But what do gamified practices look like in marketing campaigns? What are the behavioural principles behind it? And how does it tap into human motivations?
What Is Gamification and How Does It Work in Marketing?
Gamification incorporates game mechanics into non-game contexts such as marketing, education, and health. When applied correctly, it is an effective strategy to drive your audience to action and convert otherwise boring interactions into delightful experiences.
Gamification in marketing infuses game elements like points, challenges, rewards, and leaderboards to command attention and boost engagement. To fully comprehend this concept, you should know a little bit about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation:
- Intrinsic motivation drives you to do something because you find it inherently satisfying or motivating.
- Extrinsic motivation drives you to do something for outcomes or rewards like money or recognition.
An effective gamified marketing program makes the best of both motivators.
On one hand, mechanics such as leaderboards, customisable profiles, and social badges tap into our intrinsic motivations for completion, autonomy, and social recognition. On the other hand, mechanics like shopping discounts, valuable freebies, and tiered loyalty rewards simply appeal to our yearning for rewards.
Defining Gamification in Simple Terms
At its base level, gamification infuses gamelike attributes — points, badges, challenges, and gamelike mechanics — social recognition, competence, etc. — into traditionally non-game activities.
An everyday example is a fitness app that gives individuals points each time they complete a daily workout or burn a certain number of calories.
5 Key Principles of Gamification in Marketing
Some core principles that explain the effectiveness of gamification in marketing include:
1. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
As we said earlier, effective gamified marketing techniques blend these two aspects of motivation seamlessly.
2. Social belonging
Social belonging is the intrinsic need to feel valued and connected to others. Gamified marketing leverages this behavioural principle by incorporating game elements that foster social interaction, competition, and cooperation. These include teams, chat, leaderboards, ratings, and quests.
3. Scarcity
Scarcity is the perception that something is more valuable when limited or rare. By using gameplay mechanics that induce scarcity, such as countdown timers, limited-time gifts, and exclusive content, gamification marketing can appeal to this bias and drive engagement.
4. Progression
Progress tracking bars display how close a user is to completing a goal, encouraging them to keep going.
5. Clear goals and objectives
Gamification offers the best return when participants know what they are working towards — for instance, climbing a leaderboard, obtaining a discount, or accessing exclusive content.
Benefits of Gamification for Attracting Customers
Gamification is more than just a fad; it’s a strategic way to attract and retain customers based on solid behavioural principles. Here’s how it helps your marketing efforts:
Increases User Engagement and Interaction
The number one benefit of gamified marketing is the power to create more immersive experiences for customers. By making otherwise mundane brand interactions fun, you will capture more of your target market’s attention and leave lasting impressions, leading to more conversions.
Builds Stronger Brand Awareness and Recognition
Marketing gamification is an excellent strategy for building brand awareness and loyalty. By delivering fun and memorable brand experiences, target customers remember your brand longer, get emotionally attached, and share your brand with family and friends on social media.
Top 3 Game Mechanics to Add to Your Marketing
Popular and highly actionable game mechanics for marketing include:
1. Rewards and Points Systems
Providing immediate feedback and offering tangible incentives help build brand loyalty.
Payment apps commonly apply this principle when offering cashback and discounts for referring friends or completing KYC processes. Another example is SkyMiles, Delta Air’s gamified program that offers tiered rewards for flying a certain number of miles and completing tasks.
To make the most of this mechanic, use point systems to give feedback on how a user performs and distribute rewards, such as free shipping, PDFs, member-only discounts, or brand merchandise to incentivise participation and keep customers returning.
2. Leaderboards and Competition
Competition is the backbone of many gamification strategies. As humans, we are wired to compete and play to win.
To implement this principle, use leaderboards, levels, and other social elements. Similar to the fitness app Strava, which uses weekly leaderboards, this approach is most effective for community-building and brand advocacy efforts.
3. Challenges and Quests
Whether it involves referring friends, completing purchases, or any other tasks, gamified quests guide users through activities that capture their attention and deliver a sense of accomplishment when completed. A good way to implement this mechanic is by using interactive marketing quizzes. The goal is to keep participants entertained while collecting valuable customer relationship management data.
Key Gamification Strategies in Marketing Campaigns
To sum up, gamification in marketing borrows game-like mechanics to make brand experiences fun and memorable. A few powerful but actionable gamification mechanics for your next campaign include challenges, rewards, leaderboards, and social belonging.
Finally, choose optimal game elements that suit your goals, audience, and brand. For instance, to increase social media engagement, you might use badges, points, or leaderboards to encourage social shares. To boost brand recognition and loyalty, you might incentivise people to join your members-only club and use point systems to encourage tier progression. Keep experimenting, and you will find the right gamification strategy for your audience.
