Customers are more likely to respond to a gamified response, according to research by global marketing company Upstream.
Around three quarters of marketers believe that customers are likely to respond to game-based marketing mechanics, but only 27% have put this into practice.
The research, which focused on the understanding and use of game mechanics in marketing strategies, was collected at ad:tech London 2011. It found that 66% of marketers didn’t understand the term ‘gamification’, but 64% felt that it would improve relationships with customers once they knew the definition.
Gamification is the use of game techniques and mechanics within a non-gaming business, in order to boost audience loyalty and engagement. This could include the use of progress bars, badges and virtual prizes.
Senior Vice President of Innovation at Upstream, Guy Krief, said: “Gamification can make a key difference to any marketing campaign, making it more interactive, engaging and exciting for the consumer and more profitable for the brand.”
The findings revealed a rise in budgets to innovate campaigns, with 87% saying that their marketing technologies will have increased investment over the next 12 months. Offering free products, cash, prizes and points generated the best response from customers.
Krief said: “Although the concept is increasingly on marketers’ radar, the majority of marketers are stuck on the first level and not yet confident about incorporating gamification into their communications strategies, resulting in potentially millions of individual responses to marketing campaigns being lost.”
