Although the concept of gamification is a word that has just entered our lives, it has actually existed in many areas of our lives for many years, even since the beginning of civilization. It is possible to do everything by turning it into a game. Therefore, it is possible to make everything fun by making it a game or to enjoy that work. In this article, we will better understand this term, which has existed in our lives for centuries, and maybe integrate it into our lives and works.
Gamification is the use of game design features and gaming principles in situations that are not game-related. It may also be described as a collection of methods and procedures for resolving issues by utilizing or putting to use the characteristics of game elements.
Games and game-like items such as points, badges and charts have been used for years to educate, entertain and engage.
Points are used as visual descriptors of progress in sports and video games, while badges symbolize success in the military or school life. In addition, leaderboards also have a competitive effect, for example in sports.
Gamification is now being used as a serious technique in many areas. Many companies have started working on this technique. Some of the areas where this technique is used are:
Marketing- Health- Education- Websites- Influencers.
In today’s article, we will take a closer look at marketing, health and education.
Gamification in Marketing
Gamification is widely applied in marketing. Many large firms use gamification for marketing and customer retention purposes. So how do they do this?
There are three main types in Gamification Marketing. Let’s examine these types and see how companies use gamification techniques in marketing.
1. Transmedia
Transmedia is the process of extending a media property into another medium in order to either enhance the content or draw more attention to it.
Brands have incorporated both gamification and transmedia storytelling techniques into their advertising tactics as a result of the steps they have taken to foster fan cultures that can be considered an investment in their emotional capital.
2. Brandification:
In-game ads build branding to promote real-world goods and services. In the world of video games, this can be in the form of text, graphics or videos promoting a company, product or service.
The video game Counter-Strike was one of the first to use this strategy. In 2006, Counter-Strike, one of the most popular shooter games, permitted advertisers to promote movies on walls in-game, including “Smokin’ Aces” and other films.
To give a recent example, the Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) platform is used for the marketing of Tesla cars. PUBG is currently among the most played games in the world. In addition, it is one of the most watched games on Twitch broadcasts. For this reason, it can be one of the best platforms for companies that want to market their brand. Based on this idea, Tesla put its cars into the game as drivable vehicles for players.
3. Advergame:
Online video games known as “advergames” are developed expressly for advertising by incorporating a certain brand, item, or marketing message into the game framework. Advergames are typically improved to supplement other media rather than to replace them. The theory behind this is that the more engagement you have with the game’s format, the better your connections will be.
Once popularized by Pepsi’s “Pepsi Man”, Advergames began “resurfacing” in 2019 with corporate brands and themes to market its products and services through mobile video game franchises such as “Candy Crush” and “Temple Run”. The more traditional advergames, the higher the usage and interaction from the ads.
Gamification in Health
As an illustration of this title, consider Nike. In 2010, Nike introduced Nike+Run, a platform for gamification that tracks and gamifies your run duration, distance traveled, and health status as well as allows you to compare yourself against prior records and users in your social network. There are badges, scores, and a leaderboard on this platform. This gives runners a chance to set and achieve higher goals.
Before going on to a more sophisticated phase of the Headspace program, users must enhance their degree of meditation completion and expertise through gamification. Each session lasts about ten minutes and is often audio only. Users can track their progress toward bettering their mental health and can clearly identify the actions they are taking to achieve balance by gamifying the process.
Gamification in Education
Gamification in education refers to the use of game design elements in a classroom. Making learning more entertaining is typically the aim.
It can be said that gamification in education has the same mechanics as other platforms.
Goals are set for completing the task and receiving rewards such as badges or points. Afterwards, users increase their level or rank by completing activities. Leaderboards show who wins and inspire users to work harder to compete.
The Kahoot app is one of these tools. You can construct a multiple-choice test with Kahoot by giving a fast webpage link. This enables students to make effective use of their phones by engaging in writing assignments or instantly selecting their responses to in-class quizzes. One of the simplest and most engaging uses of gamification for classroom motivation is Kahoot.
Another illustration is the straightforward gamified eLearning software Archy Learning. In a learning route, teachers can copy and paste YouTube links and class notes. When gamification technique is combined with classroom quizzes, instructional video games, mixed-media quizzes, and award-winning certifications for passed courses, learning may become incredibly entertaining.
In summary, you should know your target audience well and determine what actions you want them to take. You should then be able to measure and reward them in any way for doing these actions because the best way to improve something is to measure it.
