Gamification for brand marketing 

Simply creating great content is not enough to achieve brand success. Brands need to rise above the noise through an innovative and dynamic approach.

One proven approach is gamification in marketing, a principle borrowed from the gaming world that entails incorporating game elements that keep people engaged, motivated, and interested in building deeper connections with the brand.

Read how you can earn massive brownie points from your customers and level up your marketing strategy through gamification.

But how does this impact the psyche of your target audience? 

Gamification is effective because it taps into the part of your brain that makes you feel good. When you complete challenges and earn rewards, your brain releases dopamine. This makes the activity fun and can even make it a bit addictive.

For brands and companies, gamification is a great way to give their customers a memorable experience that sticks with them.

Gamification in marketing has effectively transformed and increased sales for many businesses. Below are the benefits you may reap when you adopt this strategy.

Boosts audience engagement and retention

There's a reason many global brands use marketing gamification in their content strategies, especially in their customer loyalty programs. Not only does it increase brand awareness, but it also creates desirable engagement between the brand and its audience. In effect, people are more likely to fondly remember the brand due to the gamified experience and content in the long run. 

Strengthens brand loyalty and advocacy

Engaging your loyal customers through fun games and exclusive offers is a great way to show appreciation. Gamification marketing helps customers feel more connected to your brand and creates fun experiences they'll remember. It's an effective way to get your customers excited about what your brand is doing.

Encourages user generated content (UGC) 

Gamification in marketing campaigns often includes challenges, rewards, and competitions that encourage collaboration. This makes people enthusiastic about their accomplishments, which they will likely share on social media. Gamified content marketing allows you to effectively promote your brand, offer rewards, and increase user-generated content.

So, what makes up a successful gamified marketing experience?

Set goals and KPIs

Integrating clear objectives into your gamification marketing strategy helps everyone understand the goals. For example, to increase app downloads, set your objective to gain 1,000 new downloads monthly.

KPIs (key performance indicators) indicate how close you are to achieving your objectives. They help brands make decisions and track progress. Essential KPIs to consider include engagement, retention, and conversion rates.

Setting clear objectives and KPIs ensures you hone content and strategies to achieve your gamification marketing goals.

Choosing the right game mechanics

Game mechanics refers to the rules or processes of a game. There are several types, like points for every time customers engage, award badges for completing challenges, or rank players through leaderboards. You can combine these and integrate social media sharing for a dynamic experience.

Your choice depends on your goals and target audience. For example, kids may choose games with challenges, while older adults prefer games that earn points by purchasing products and services.

Finally, keep it simple.

Designing engaging rewards and incentives

Designing rewards and incentives should align with your brand goals and resonate with your target audience, similar to the game mechanics. They should be valuable enough to improve the lives of participants.  Keep tasks easy to understand and enjoyable. Integrate friendly competition that makes people eager to win and collaborate. Celebrate small wins to keep players motivated. Advanced technology like VR and AR can also enhance the experience and entice repeat visits.

What does a successful gamified brand marketing look like in the real world? Let’s go over gamification examples and best practices from these global brands.

Example 1: Coca-Cola’s Shake it

Coca-Cola's customer engagement in Hong Kong was declining. To address this, the brand launched the Shake It campaign during the Christmas season in 2010, featuring "Shake Up Christmas" by Train.

An interactive mobile app, Chok—a Cantonese slang word for rapid motion—enabled users to win prizes. Every night at 10 p.m., Chok users must shake their phones while the TV ad airs and catch as many bottle caps as possible. Prizes included discounts from partner companies like McDonald's, mobile games, and exclusive virtual collectibles.

Did it work?

Advertising agency McCann Worldgroup reported that the app reached 380,000 downloads and over 9 million TV ad views. Following its virality, the brand increased its efforts by running ads in kiosks and cinemas.

The campaign was hailed as one of the first interactive digital campaigns in Hong Kong. It bridged traditional TV with mobile technology, creating a unique experience for younger audiences.

Example 2: CreditWise by Capital One

Handling money can be tricky, even for adults. However, Capital One has introduced a CreditWise app to help you build your credit score.

Instead of just uploading boring tutorial videos and financial content, it integrates a credit simulator feature. This lets you try out different economic scenarios and see how they would affect your credit score. That way, you can make smart decisions to improve your financial situation and win rewards.

The app invites user engagement and fosters customer trust and loyalty, especially in digital banking. Focusing the app on user empowerment shows the brand values its customers.

Example 3: Nike run club and training club

Nike aimed to build a community of fitness enthusiasts by releasing the Nike Run Club and Nike Training Club. The former provides personalized training programs and content for runners with community challenges, while the latter offers workouts based on the user's fitness level and personal goals. 

Nike uses gamification marketing to keep users motivated through milestone unlocks, leaderboards, time-limited challenges, and rewards. Users can personalize their experience to compete against themselves or others. They can set specific goals, like several runs or distances, and share achievement badges on social media.

This challenging yet encouraging gamification approach in Nike's apps enhances the brand experience and boosts user confidence.

Example 4: LEGO insiders (formerly VIP points program)

Gamification in a rewards program is a great way to grow and retain your community of loyal customers. Just look at LEGO's Insiders, a VIP program that allows users to earn members-only discounts and gifts and attend special events like exclusive product launches.

Bonus points are given for signing up. Users earn points for every LEGO purchase, join challenges for more points or rewards, and interact in the community. The program attracted LEGO enthusiasts and provided an exclusive platform to socialize and enjoy various benefits. 

Example 5: eBay bidding system

eBay, a global marketplace, is a good example of successful gamification in marketing. On eBay, users bid on items they want, creating a competitive auction-like environment.

This gamified process taps into our natural human desire to win. It gets us eager to beat out the other buyers. That fear of missing out, or "FOMO," makes us want the item even more.

When these emotions are triggered, eBay effectively creates a perception of value. eBay's unique auction model sets the platform apart and boosts user engagement. This approach nurtures a positive emotional connection between the brand and its consumers. 

Example 6: T.J. Maxx - the game of maximizing 

T.J. Maxx's "Maxximizing" campaign aims to show you can get high-quality items without breaking the bank. As part of this, the retailer has set up interactive gaming pods in five U.S. cities. 

Each pod features a curated selection of products across different categories, hand-picked by design professionals, influencers, stylists, and entrepreneurs. Online and offline participants can guess the value of the featured products, with the closest guess winning the prize. 

According to the brand's marketing manager, the campaign demonstrates that you can purchase beloved brands and get more value for your money, whether shopping for a new wardrobe, home decor, or a family vacation. 

Example 7: Waze collaborative game

Waze, a popular navigation app, became popular because it turned a mundane task like driving into a gaming experience. For example, you earn points when you report accidents or traffic jams on the roads. This encourages everyone to share information and help each other out.

Waze also features a leaderboard system that ranks users, creating a competitive environment and adding excitement to the customer experience.

1. Know your audience 

You need to understand your players to achieve a successful gamified experience.

Gather feedback from your audience through surveys and questionnaires to learn about their behaviors, interests, desires, and challenges. Utilize analytics tools on digital channels like social media and websites to extract insights about your target audience. You can also create a customer journey map to identify key touchpoints and opportunities for practical gaming elements.

Moreover, conduct a competitive analysis to study your competition. Examine their strengths and weaknesses to avoid common pitfalls and identify gaps you can fill for growth opportunities.

2. Craft a compelling narrative 

Engage your customers by incorporating a compelling narrative into your gamified marketing campaign.

Create relatable characters that your consumers can play as. Allow them to personalize their in-game roles, which will help the experience resonate with them. For example, a family-focused app could let users play as Mom, Dad, Brother, or Sister.

Weave your brand's values and messaging seamlessly into the game. If your brand emphasizes collaboration, you could implement a reward system for community interactions within the app.

And like any good story, your game should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. The introduction can establish the characters, the middle can present challenges, and the conclusion can show how players overcome those obstacles. Be sure to incorporate elements that evoke emotions like curiosity and excitement. Engaging visuals and immersive audio can also bring the narrative to life.

What matters is creating a cohesive, immersive experience that connects your customers meaningfully with your brand.

3. Select the right platform and tools

The right gamification platform and tools for your marketing efforts depend on where your customers are. You could create branded apps or online integrations if your audience prefers mobile engagement. You could organize events that encourage face-to-face interactions if they prefer physical locations. Or, why not do both?

When selecting a platform, consider your campaign goals, such as increasing engagement, boosting sales, or collecting user data. This will help you identify the necessary features, such as leaderboards, social sharing, and email integration. Other essential factors include scalability, customization capabilities, budget, and ROI (return on investment).

4. Launch and promote your campaign

The gamification marketing campaign launch and promotion can be divided into pre-launch and official launch. 

• Pre-Launch: Build anticipation by giving a sneak peek of the game's rewards and challenges. This helps attract an audience and gather participants before the official launch. 
• Official Launch: Announce the gamified campaign across relevant online and offline platforms. You can host a countdown, live coverage, or webinar to kick off the launch.  Clearly explain the rules and guide users on how to participate. Keep users engaged by posting updates on new prizes and winners. And encourage users to share their experiences on social media. 

While the pre-launch phase creates excitement, the official launch ensures smooth participation.

5. Monitor progress and gather feedback

A successful gamified marketing campaign is an iterative process. Refining your approach as you go is critical to your brand's performance. Remember to monitor your progress closely and measure the results against your pre-defined key performance indicators (KPIs). Gathering customer feedback is essential, as this will help you identify successes and areas for improvement in real-time.

Overcomplicated gaming experience

Overly complex games with too many rules, confusing navigation, and unclear objectives will lose players.

Testing the game with real users before release is crucial to identify problem areas. While impressive features are tempting, remove any unnecessary elements that may distract from the fun. Include clear, easy-to-follow tutorials in text or video format.

A gamified marketing campaign should be intuitive, straightforward, and rewarding to leave participants eager for more.

Ignoring your customers

Understanding your target audience can result in low engagement and negative feedback. This often occurs when you lack insight into your customers' preferences, use a generic approach, and fail to provide clear value.

Research your audience thoroughly before developing your gamified marketing campaign and seek customer feedback. Integrate accessibility features to create an inclusive experience and personalize the challenges and rewards accordingly.

Centering the campaign on rewards instead of the brand itself

Offering massive rewards can be an effective way to attract potential customers and increase engagement. However, it can also overshadow your brand and create a disconnect with your audience. This can condition your target audience only to participate if they receive something for free, leading to a drop in engagement once the campaign ends.

Instead of relying solely on extrinsic rewards, it's crucial to tap into your audience's intrinsic motivators, such as enjoyment, personal growth, and social connection. This creates a healthier balance between rewards and meaningful achievements, stimulating long-term engagement.

Lack of brand identity

Generic, low-quality games with conflicting messages can undermine a brand's identity. For example, a luxury brand using inexpensive, casual game formats may lose its premium positioning, alienating its target audience and undermining brand loyalty.

That's why anchoring your gamified marketing strategy to your audience's needs and behaviors is essential. By personalizing their experience to align with your brand values, you can deliver authentic, on-brand content and experience that resonates. 

Risking data privacy and security

Mishandling customer data can have serious consequences for your brand. It can discourage customers from engaging with your campaigns in the future, damage your reputation, and even lead to legal issues.

It's good practice to have robust security measures and be transparent about how you will use customer data.

Designing an effective gamification marketing campaign can be a complex process. Let a well-established brand strategy firm guide you through the process and discover how gamification marketing can take your business to the next level.