Why Gaming is a Gamechanger for Marketers

What do Gucci and Cheetos have in common? Why do I urge you to grind through Final Fantasy at least once? How do I justify my gaming addiction for the good of my company?

There are quite a few TedxTalks that talk about the benefits of gaming. ‘How Video Games might help us build better cities’, ‘how games make kids smarter’, ‘gaming can make a better world’ – these are just a few titles of highly informative talks by folks probably much smarter than me about how gaming is a far cry from the stuff that our parents said would “melt” our brains.

As a passionate gamer, I do feel like I can add to this discussion - especially in relation to interactive art for marketing campaigns, which is the focus of idNerd Studio’s projects.

Gamification creates “stickiness”

'Gamification’ and ‘stickiness’ are hot words in marketing these days. Since Covid-19 lockdowns, more and more people are joining the world of gaming, whether that’s on the PC, mobile phones or a gaming console. But gamification marketing involves incorporating gaming elements into a traditionally NON-GAMING format in order to boost engagement. This could take shape in “scratch to win” or “find to collect” contests, which taps into our innate competitive instincts. It also allows potential customers to spend more time with your brand – to be “sticky”.

Some brands are creating games that are embedded into their existing Apps to drive awareness to their latest collection or product. Like this Gucci Bloom game on the Gucci App:

Maghan McDowell covered the gamification trend in a Vogue Business article, focusing on Italian luxury house Gucci. Gucci were early players of gamification in the luxury space, partnering with Tennis Clash, The Sims, Genies, Roblox, Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing, and even creating their own AR in their Gucci App in 2020 so users could “try on” accessories from the latest collection.

https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/inside-guccis-gaming-strategy

From the article, Robert Treifus, the EVP of brand and customer engagement at Gucci says, “The most successful brands today are the ones that create stickiness between the brand experience and the customer, and that stickiness is based on a pleasurable and engaged experience. We believe in every experience we are creating there is the opportunity to bring gamification. It will become increasingly ubiquitous.”

Let’s say it again: [Gamification] will become increasingly ubiquitous.

So, if you want something to stick...

Here’s a pro tip from a not-so-pro gamer:

⏩ If you want people to keep playing, you have to make it worth their time.

In order to get the feeling of an EPIC win (emphasis on EPIC), the player has to WANT to put in the time and effort to work out the mechanics of the game. The journey has to feel REWARDING.

I've asked a few of my friends what they enjoy about gaming. They usually say “winning”. But if you really break it down, that satisfaction of winning in a game comes from two things:

1.      A desire to understand the game mechanics or solve the ‘problem’. Games designed to be too easy get really boring, really fast. Games that are too difficult to begin with, put players off.

2.       And enjoyment from immersing yourself in the game world so that when you win, it feels like the best thing ever.

The Goldilocks of Gamification

How can we translate these elements into the world of advertising and marketing?

1.      Give customers a chance to learn and feel a sense of accomplishment – the ‘ah hah!’ or Eureka moment – without making it too easy or too difficult.

2.      Create an environment where customers WANT to spend time immersing themselves in it.

Case in point: Cheetos “Snap to Steal” ad at the Super Bowl

Speaking of sticky fingers, Cheetos embedded Snapchat codes into their Super Bowl ad spot this year so users could 'steal’ a bag of Cheetos. Once the ad was scanned by Snapchat users, Snapchat sent a virtual bag of Cheetos that could be redeemed for the real thing.

This is a great example of giving customers a little bit of work to do – but with the fun of being ‘in’ on a secret. The teaser of this ad said, “Shhh, you’ve seen nothing!” after disclosing how to win a free bag of Cheetos.

The ad also didn't have any explicit QR codes and Snapchat users could scan anywhere on the advertisement video to get the reward.

This added to the covert effect that brought people into the world, but also eliminated some user friction of having to pause the ad or rewatch the ad later to scan a specific code.

You can read more about the campaign by Goodby Silverstein and Partners here:

https://www.dandad.org/awards/professional/2021/235115/cheetos-snap-to-steal/

In conclusion

I've only touched on a few examples of gamification in marketing and interactive ads here, but there are countless more. With most target consumers now being digitally native, there are higher expectations for advertising and marketing.

And with that, I believe we can learn a lot from games; game designers have been creating interactive art far longer than marketers have spent working out how to even USE interactive art. So, let’s learn from the best. Pick up a copy of Final Fantasy or Assassin’s Creed, and find out why players can spend ENTIRE DAYS in front of the screen.

While marketers are talking about how to get just 8 seconds of customer attention (or 3 seconds, by another theory), game designers are planning out storylines longer than director’s cut films. And players are sticking with it!

If you're looking for interactive art that gets sticky, idNerd has been working on some lab concepts that we think you might like. Message me here if you're interested.

But I’d also like to know what the LinkedIn community think about this: are games good inspo for marketers? What do you think of the gamification trend?

And for any gamers out there, what are you playing these days?