Is “Gamification” just another industry buzzword thrown around by those who like to sound like they know what they are doing or is it a valid brand marketing tactic that is here to stay? The truth, as with most industry fluff, is a combination of the two.

Gamification can be a really powerful and engaging tool if utilised correctly but it is far too often employed as an easy win with no real thought as to how it will enhance the consumer's experience. The success and or failure of any marketing tactic relies on how it is deployed and how well the team behind it understand their consumer.

This is absolutely the case with gamification. Understanding the consumer and what motivates them first and foremost is key. Does a detail-obsessed sneakerhead devoted to the Trefoil and immersing themselves in the latest drop at End need or want gamification added to that space? Will it enhance their experience or potentially cheapen it?

Identifying who you are talking to should dictate how you engage with them. Multi-brand stores such as JD speak to different consumers, often slightly younger and more attuned to a gamification mechanic. Gamifying their in-store experience can lead to more engagement between them and the brand which can then be leveraged and incentivised.

Assessing whether gamification is right for a brand, consumer or brief leans heavily into a number of factors. As stated above first and foremost you need to identify the consumer and what they will respond to. Next what are the KPIs? Is it engagement? PR? Conversion? Scouring industry press and LinkedIn you will quickly find hundreds of beautifully shot, well-executed brand and store spaces often featuring the likes of refitted arcade machines or AR experiences. Visiting the very same spaces can sometimes be somewhat underwhelming but if the KPI was PR then the brand and agency have achieved their goal.

Where gamification really excels though is engagement. Get the experience right, targeted at the correct consumer and the results can be really powerful. Driven by technology gamification has moved past digital versions of old fairground mechanics and into a space where it can inform, educate and immerse consumers in brand and product stories.

In 2023 Selfridges brought gamification to its Corner Shop with a month-long circular fashion experience that borrowed from the aesthetic and mechanics of the stock exchange. Gamifying the space delivered a much more engaging and rewarding consumer moment adding theatre to create something that can only be experienced in person in store.

Unlocking new opportunities

Gamification unlocks opportunities to add depth to a brand moment as part of the creative process, allowing brands and agencies the ability to ideate interactions that give the consumer experiences beyond the expected. However, execution needs also to work within a budgeting landscape influenced by an uncertain global economy and brands needing to ensure maximum ROI. Defining clear KPIs helps to ensure each project sets off on the right footing as does setting realistic expectations of the levels of investment needed for the experience to be delivered. Many make the mistake of believing it is the physical build elements or purchase of the technology required that will take a sizeable chunk of the budget. But to deliver a truly memorable interaction it is the time needed to ideate, develop and test that should be prioritised to ensure the solution is both robust enough to stay live and playable for the entirety of an activation whilst also delivering something engaging enough to compel people to interact with it.

Landing on the right idea first and foremost and then executing it without compromising on its foundations is key. Whether that idea needs complex development of software or whether it repurposes existing platforms but does so within an aesthetic relevant to the brand. A great example of this can be seen in the Nike x JD House of Dynamic by Hotel Creative. A total commitment to the idea that resulted in an immersive IRL environment with multiple gamification elements housed within it.

Utilising ever more available technology to combine the physical with the digital allows brands to create in real-life moments that can only be experienced in-store or at an event/activation. This is how to bring consumers into the brand ecosystem, give them something they can’t get on their phone sat on their couch at home. Give them an experience. Use that experience to engage them with your brand and product and whilst doing so educate them which will lead (hopefully) to conversion and ideally to advocacy.