Gamification in the Company (II), Marketing, Communication and Dissemination

Establishing a Gamification process applied to marketing blurs the usual master lines of separation between company and prosumers. This effect of breaking the fourth wall It is very beneficial from an economic point of view, but it represents a very strong change in corporate mentality and requires solid involvement of the participants and members of the company in the start-up, maintenance of flow, regulation of disputes, introduction of improvements, updating of standards, etc. But the effort invested is worth it.

A corporate social network that generates sustained projection over time is the best marketing campaign. To achieve this, three essential factors must be maintained with good vital signs:
 

1. Technological: Tech must be subordinated to the user experience. It should remain in the background, with the simplest possible interface.
2. Strategic: It must be clear what the general objective is, what the specific ones are, the resources that will be invested, a schedule and a network of indicators (KPI's).
3. Engagement: It is no longer bidirectional, but has three-dimensional volume with a conversational and continuous character. Previously, the brand-customer relationship was limited to the moment of purchase and (if necessary) to the technical/after-sales service. In most cases, the client dealt with only 2 people. Nowadays, the same customer can, for example, interact with the brand through RRSS and generate conversation with other users, as a massive and continuous conversation.

 
The secret to the success of video games is that the “brain satisfaction” we feel when mastering a set of tasks with our skills can be achieved within 30 seconds of starting to play:
 

What company doesn't want a user to feel that instant satisfaction by associating it with its brand?
Specific approaches in the creation of campaigns and dynamization of RRSS

Gamification is designed to involve people in a specific objective. In this case, we can sell them merchandise, achieve conversation or loyalty towards the brand due to the differentiation we can achieve. We have three different approaches that will determine the elements and mechanisms that our gamified marketing must include:
 

1. Game Inspired Design: In this case, we take elements from a previous game that exists and is part of popular culture or the social heritage of the target we are addressing. The inspiration game has to be clearly known by the target. If our audience is global, gamification must also be global.

Example: The 2012 Coca-Cola campaign with cans screen-printed with names appealed to a hidden game, both egocentric (getting one with my name), and collective (the search for that of my friends and family to ingratiate myself with them).

2. Pure gamification: We turned our entire marketing campaign into a game, faithfully replicating each of the game's mechanics. Consumers directly become gamers and are encouraged to play.

Example: Bracelet Nike Fuel Band measures steps and calories burned by performing physical and sports activities. The advertising that accompanied this product/service seeks to turn each buyer into an athlete so that they compete with themselves and with others by being able to share challenges and achievements with the community of participants/athletes/runners.

3.  Serious Games: Coming from the world of training, their main objective is to transmit a specific or concrete teaching. The objective is for the consumer to literally learn and discover a new service or product whose functionality(s) or mechanics(s) are a bit complex due to their novelty or lack of knowledge of the public. Perfect, for example, if we intend to disseminate a product or service that has a greater and differentiated value compared to the competition or that represents a significant improvement over what we previously sold.

 Example: Apple campaign to stand out as the iphone 7 (2016) was waterproof for the first time.