Volume 7

Issue 7

July 2016

Game On

People love being rewarded, and businesses are always looking for new ways to gain and retain customers. One increasingly popular tool for achieving these outcomes is gamification. Companies can and should use games, reward systems, and competitions to inject a sense of "fun" into their customer interactions to attract, engage, and reward.

Level Up
Gamification is not a new concept in the business world, but it is gradually becoming a more popular tool to interact with customers. Gamification is the ability to apply game elements, such as a point or reward system, in an effort to drive participation. Businesses use in-house gamification to increase employee engagement and boost production, but it has also proven to be a beneficial tool for customer engagement. Software company TechValidate found in a recent study that 30% of companies who use gamification techniques to engage consumers report customer conversion rates upwards
of 50%.

Gamification is a great tactic to drive customer engagement. Some examples of gamification include Hulu's TV trivia and question-based commercials, Mountain Dew's DEWcision Virtual Reality (VR) Racing, and Frito-Lay's Doritos Roulette. Hulu's TV trivia and question-based commercials give users the option to participate in a game of trivia in order to avoid watching multiple, short commercials. This form of gamification is entertaining for the customer, and allows them to bypass annoying commercials. On the business side, it enables Hulu to obtain valuable behavioral, demographic, and individual information on its users.

Mountain Dew has revved up many fans with its DEWcision VR Racing to promote its DEWcision 2016 contest, which aims to determine which Mountain Dew product remains in-store--Mountain Dew Baja Blast or Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Once viewers strap on their Oculus Rift VR headgear, they are pulled into an action-packed VR racing world where the path they choose determines their vote. Frito-Lays live-streamed a roulette-themed game show on Periscope to promote Doritos Roulette chips, with other contest elements simultaneously happening across their Twitter
and Vine channels, giving participants the chance to take a gamble and
win prizes.

Game Over
Gamification can be a very rewarding tactic if it is executed properly. However, it's not all fun and games when companies get it wrong. As an example, sandwich restaurant Subway replaced their paper stamp loyalty cards after an influx in counterfeiting. The company replaced the basic stamp cards (buy a sandwich, get a stamp) with a point-based system, awarding one point per dollar spent. Where they went wrong is in determining how many points needed to be accumulated to earn free products. Subway determined that 10 points would earn customers a cookie, 20 points would earn them a fountain drink, and 75 points would yield one foot-long sub. At one point per dollar spent, that is one expensive lunch! Suffice it to say, this gamification tactic did not go over well with customers.

When deciding on ways to reward and retain customers, ensure your gamification strategies are well-designed and won't lead to frustrated customers. Understand your audience and build onto that knowledge to earn your own rewards through gamification.

Sincerely,

Mona Graham

Monogram Communication Services
798 University Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916.922.0930
Fax: 916.922.0929

www.monogramcommunications.com

In 2016, we want to help you get the most from your marketing budget. Call us today to learn how we can take away the pain that often comes with creating brilliant solutions.

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