Gamification for Marketing

Rita Nguyen@moodyrain www.moodyrain.com

Applying gaming mechanics to drive engagement & retention

January 23, 2013

Using gaming mechanics to get people to play and keep them playing“mechanics” are the tools and hooks we use

Tens of millions of people pay money to play

Also, games are fun!It really just comes down to that

Just remember that “fun” is different for

everyone

So if it’s different for everyone, how do you make your game fun?

It really is just about psychological motivations

Status

Cooperate

Reward

Compete

Challenge

Respect

People have all kinds of psychological motivations when playing games, let’s focus on 3

Achieve

SurpriseExplore

These are the ones I chose specific for marketing, let’s hit one at a time

Achieve

Humans value something more if they have to work for it - don’t give it away for freeDoesn’t have to be hard so be careful of too many barriers to entry

Challenges

Create challenges for them to complete and goals to reachExample: Add a timer when you are washing dishesExample: Radio shows do song of the day

Puma Mexico had a timed shopping experience

Progression

If you’re going to give them a goal - light the way to clear completion of taskHow to get to the next level, what you get, why do you want to keep goingExample: Starbucks coffee card - buy 5, get one free. Super low tech. Gamification doesn’t have to be really tech heavy

Explore

We are innately curious creatures, work with that

Cascading Information Theory

Give them a little bit, tease them to want moreSimple at first - unlock more as you progress Example: Emails with just hints, not the full articleExample: YouTube trailers and pre-roll

Discovery

Give them things to look for - hidden or not. Easter eggs are a huge driver in games.Ask them to look for something -- a joke, an image, a clue, trivia, anything -- to keep them engaged to the point at which they take some sort of meaningful action with your content.

Discovery

Jay-Z launched memoir - Decoded by printing pages in the most unexpected places

Surprise

Sega Master System easter eggSurprise & delight your customers, give them something they are not expectingMake them feel good - this is supposed to be fun!

Now, strong, amped-up feedback on minimum input is one reason for the enjoyability of casual games such as »Peggle«. Seeing lots of flashes, bolts, a rainbow, and listening to »Freude schöner Götterfunken« when finishing a »Peggle« level – it just feels good. It‘s what game designers call »juicy« feedback or the »juiciness« of a game. And »Peggle« is very juicy. (Source, Source)

Juicy Feedback

Make them feel good...like they’ve accomplished somethingExample: Xbox achievement unlocked soundExample: Micro-win (produce of the day)

Rewards & Bonuses

People love free stuff!Example: Host a webinar and whoever tweets the webinar's hashtag the most gets a free ticket to an eventExample: My coke rewards

PointsProgress barMeaningful reward

Key Takeaways

Know your player and their motivations

Make them work for it

Light the way with clear progression

Reward your player

Make it fun!

Rita Nguyen@moodyrain www.moodyrain.com

Questions?

Resources

• www.gamification.org/wiki/Gamification_of_Marketing

• www.gamification.co

• gamify.com

• gamification.org