Gamification in Marketing: Engaging Consumers Through Interactive Technologies

Gamification has proven to be a reliable marketing tool as it taps into people’s fundamental instinct to play. Gamefying products and services offers a very positive and personalised digital experience while – at the same time – building brand awareness and establishing customer loyalty. It means that games can be used to make a real-world impact, particularly in business.

The distinction that exists between gaming and gamification is that games are self-sufficient and serve purely as entertainment. Gamification nurtures particular behaviours or actions with innate motivation as well as rewards.

The term ‘gamification marketing’ refers to the use of game design elements in order to enhance non-game goods – as well as services – through boosting customer value and promoting value-created behaviour. This type of marketing is considered as an interactive content marketing tool that is derived from the gaming industry. Also, it is a theory of how individuals are motivated to interact with branded content and are then converted into customers.

How did Gamification Get Started?

In 1999, society came to understand how very powerful the notion of ‘fun’ is even in non-gaming settings. Stephen W Draper – a professor of Psychology at University of Glasgow – released his study on why user enjoyment must be a fundamental requirement in the design of software.

In 2002, Nick Pelling coined the term ‘gamification’. He is commonly referred to as ‘The Father of Gamification’. Pelling saw possibility of introducing game mechanics into non-game contexts. Pelling fashioned the term when he developed hardware and software interfaces to make daily tasks far more engaging as well as fun!

It is possible to equate Pelling to an avant-garde artist who sees the possibility of instilling life with humorous wonder. Just as an artist utilises colours and shapes to evoke deep-seated emotions. Pelling utilised game mechanics to light up joy, curiosity, and engagement in the otherwise dull office based activities.

Pelling’s Work was a Lot More Than Merely Adding a Fun Layer to Everyday Tasks

It was about tapping into the inherent human desire for achievement, competition, and recognition, as well as using that to motivate action – a concept rooted deeply in behavioural psychology.

Think about a straightforward chore such as sorting emails. With no features of gamification, it’s a drudgery that most people would kick to the curb as long as they could. However, put in place gamification – for example thinking about it as a quest where each categorised email earns you points and then playing against your earlier high scores – and the same task takes on a completely new appeal. Pelling’s work indicated that employing a single layer of gaming experience onto our dealings with the world can go a very long way.

As we go forward from Pelling’s ground-breaking work, we can see how gamification is not merely about points as well as leaderboards. It’s all about having a good understanding of human motivations and utilising these to create engaging experiences.

What are The Benefits of Applying Gamification in Marketing?

There are several benefits of implementing gamification in marketing. Here are three advantages of gamification and an explanation of why these are so successful in the digital world.

Boost and Develop User Engagement

As users are persuaded to take particular actions with gamification frequently, engagement rates are higher – as well as better – as opposed to those that are achieved in previous campaigns. Engagement can be the very first step in a long-term relationship between the client and the brand. This leads to the next benefit of gamified campaigns.

Assists with Growing Brand Awareness and Loyalty

Customers who keep your brand’s name in their minds for a very long time after having an entertaining experience with a branded game are a valued asset for your business. Firstly, as they may get emotionally attached to your brand, but also as – if that attachment takes place – they are far more likely to become loyal customers as opposed to indifferent or actively disengaged ones.

According to a publication released by Gallup, engaged customers represent “an average 23% premium regarding share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth as compared with the average customer”. This is, according to the very same publication, remarkably true for the retail banking, consumer electronics, restaurant, hospitality, and insurance sectors.

Helps with Gathering Useful Customer Data

Data is probably one of the most valued assets for businesses today. Together with complex AI, IoT, and machine learning systems, enormous databases can provide businesses with the required tools to target the best customers, with the correct offer, at the best time and place possible.

However, gathering that data is not always simple and this is where gamification comes into play. By providing users with the possibility of having an entertaining time, or even getting the opportunity to win a prize or reward, they are likely to be far more willing to give you potential data, which you will then be able to use later to get a better understanding of your target audience.

What are The Future Trends and Advances in Gamification?

The world will still see an increasing demand for gamified systems, whether in the workplace or in loyalty programs or at sites like Lake Palace. In fact, the worldwide gamification market is anticipated to increase from $9.1 billion in 2020 to around $30.7 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 27.4%.

North America will still account for the largest proportion of the global gamification market for the next five years or so. This will be determined by the region’s prevailing figure of mobile internet users, with 90% of locals having a smartphone.

In Europe, the gamification market will also advance considerably within the forecasted period. The backing of local governments and key stakeholders will assist with bolstering this growth. For example, policymakers in the United Kingdom and France will host a lot more gamification conferences and events.

While North America and Europe will stay the largest players, the other regions are just catching up.

Africa will see the fastest growth rate, with gamification in the region predicted to expand by 60.1% by 2023. A major part of this rise will arise from increasing local and regional providers of gamified solutions.

In a similar fashion, Latin America and the Middle East will thrive, as more start-ups adapt to gamified solutions in the continent. The meteoric rise of eLearning and game-based education in Brazil will help boost gamification in the region as well.

Also, Asia Pacific will grow in leaps and bounds. China and India will assist with driving the gamification market in the region as they concentrate on improving the user experience.