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Gamification, the broad trend of employing game mechanics to non-game environments (The Gartner Group, 2011). The idea of gamification has been used within companies for many years to increase productivity in the workforce, McDonald’s has awarded Employee of the Month and other motivation schemes for years.
However, more recently gamification has merged with the rise of mobile marketing. The World Bank has reported that around three-quarters of the world’s inhabitants now have access to a mobile phone, making mobile a priority for most brand’s digital marketing strategy. Microsoft (2015) reported that the attention span of individuals fell from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2013 and continues to fall, and so marketers have welcomed gamification to help liven things up.
The beauty industry uses gamification on their social media sites, offering competitions for users to participate in. L’Oréal Paris have launched their L’Oréal Paris Makeup Genius App which allows users to virtually try on 4,500 of the cosmetic brand’s catalogue of products using their smartphone or tablet. The app scans your face, and then allows you to try out different products or entire make up looks, although apps like this have been available for a while they only work on static images. Whereas ‘the Genius’ captures 64 facial data points and 100 different facial expressions to accurately place the makeup.
You can watch a clip of the app being used here.
The app was developed by Image Metrics for L’Oreal Paris, and has been downloaded over 10million times, and although the app is aimed for helping users ‘try before you buy’ the app has no control over the content and even has a share button where users can show their friends.The lack of control could lead to miss-use of the app, either some users may intentionally post ‘joke’ photos (below) or others may genuinely post a photo that’s not in line with the brand image.
But why should you be incorporating gamification into your digital marketing strategy, well you don’t want to be left behind. In a 2015 survey, 87 percent of retailers said they plan to use gamification to engage customers within the next five years (BRP, 2015). The global market for gamification is expected to reach $5.5 billion in 2018 showing an annualised growth rate of 67% from 2013 to 2018 (PR Newswire, 2013).
The engagement level of games is one of the most coveted elements a brand could seek to capture, by adding gamification, if employed properly, has the power to engage, inform and educate (Kapp, 2012). If a brand can increase its engagement levels then it is almost guaranteed to successfully achieve higher loyalty from users, if this is the case then loyalty will ultimately lead to brand awareness. When a loyal user shares their content it can be viewed by their network of friends or even shared publicly.
Many brands have come under scrutiny for blatant brand promotion, Ryan (2012), suggests that more organic and intimate levels of connecting and addressing users is more effective.
EMMA New York, is a luxury make up brand that sell products in the US and China, and recently started a partnership with gameit, a technology company that redefines how consumers engage with products and brands. Rather than offering virtual coins and points with no real-world value, gameit’s value proposition is this: Users opt in to watch branded content and take quizzes for the chance to get discounts and win free stuff, check it out here.
G
ameit CEO Bryce Johnson stated “People ignore advertising, but they like to play games”, the app has had huge success with 80,000 daily users, each of which engages for about seven minutes at a time, approximately 700,000 games have been played and brands have seen a purchase rate of 7%.
Gamification will allow beauty brands to create a deeper connection with their consumers. You reward the user for their engagement, while you too reap the rewards associated with this. Surely this is a win-win scenario?
If you’re interested in gamification follow the link below:
Youtube – Tedx Talks – Gamification to improve our world
References
BRP (2015) 2015 CRM Benchmark Survey [Online] <https://bostonretailpartners.com/2015-crm-survey-report/> [accessed 10 April 2016]
Kapp, K. (2012) The Gamification of Learning and Instruction. Pfeiffer, San Francisco
Microsoft (2015) Attention Spans: Consumer Insights. Canada: Microso
PR Newswire (2013) Gamification Market [Online] <http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gamification-market-worth-55-billion-by-2018-210042411.html> [accessed 10 April 2016]
Ryan, D. (2012) Understanding Digital Marketing. 3rd ed, London: Kogan Page
The Gartner Group (2011) Gartner Says By 2015, More Than 50 Percent of Organizations That Manage Innovation Processes Will Gamify Those Processes [Online] <http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/1629214> [accessed 8 April 2016]