Gamification in online marketing

Gamification is the use of game thinking and game mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users in solving problems. Gamification techniques strive to leverage people's natural desires for competition, achievement, status, self-expression, altruism, and closure.

It  has been widely applied in marketing. Over 70% of Forbes Global 2000 companies surveyed in 2013 said they planned to use gamification for the purposes of marketing and customer retention.

Gamification has also been used in customer loyalty programmes. 

Here is examples of different gamification applications

1. Nike. Use gamification to stimulate use of their products

Nike turned the most uncomplicated sports in the world, running, into a data-driven social sport that gives users access to tons of data about their personal achievements. Runners can use this data to become better at running, resulting in a healthier lifestyle. In addition, Nike gives software developers open access to this data. ThisNike+ Accelerator initiative encourages people to build companies to leverage the data generated from Nike+ digital products. 

In 2011 the number of players using Fuelband was 5 million. This is estimated to reach 11 million by the end of 2013.

2. Foursquare. Use gamification to gain popularity

 

The introduction of gamification into Foursquare is what made it so popular in the first place, especially given Crowley’s initial check-in service Dodgeball, was a big failure. The massive growth of Foursquare in its early stages is what sparked the massive emphasis on gamification because it was the only thing they knew that was working out for them in a state of unclear direction as a startup. It got everyone onboard and Foursquare saw 3400% growth in 2010. In the present day, Foursquare has cleared themselves from that fog of uncertainty and Crowley now has a clear idea of where he wants his service to go. If gamification is not part of that goal, iterating upon that system to improve it for a declining user-base that actually wants it is a shortsighted goal that’s ultimately destined to fail.

Foursquare decided to move away from gamification ever since their major redesign last summer as a response to user feedback and the waning interest in Foursquare’s game mechanics. It really hits home to know that one of the biggest and most successful examples of gamification is now looking to move away from it but it’s not necessarily a mistake. One of the biggest axioms of gamification design having constant care, extension and rebalancing for a successful system overtime.

3. 1. U.S. Army. Use Gamification for Recruitment

The U.S. Army is no stranger to using games for training purposes, but now it’s using gamification to attract new recruits and generally promote awareness of the U.S. armed forces. America’s Army has attracted millions of potential new recruits. This effort was initiated back in 1999, and the first version was released in 2002. By 2008, four transportable “Virtual Army Experience” units were hitting shopping malls and public events. More than a decade in the making, the U.S. Army has turned its knowledge and experience of training games into a powerful recruiting tool.

4. The World Bank – Evoke. Use Gamification  to Solve World Problems

Evoke is an educational game encouraging youth to develop innovative solutions to the world’s biggest challenges, such as hunger and poverty. The World Bank, which created Evoke, describes the game as “a crash course in changing the world.” Players are challenges to complete ten missions and ten quests paced over the course of ten weeks. Those who successfully complete the required challenges earn the distinction of “World Bank Institute Social Innovator.” But that’s not all: Winners from the original graduating class in 2010 reaped benefits such as seed funding for new ventures, travel scholarships to share their visions at the EVOKE Conference in Washington, D.C., and online mentorships with business leaders and social leaders from around the world.

5. DuoLingo:Learn a language while translating the Web

Duolingo is a massive online collaboration which combines a free language-learning website with a paid crowdsourced text translation platform. The service is designed so that students can learn a given language online, while helping to translate websites and documents. Beginners start out with basic, simple sentences from the web, while advanced users receive more complex sentences. As one progresses, so does the complexity of the sentences they are asked to translate.+

In each case Duolingo provides the learning and translation tools to help the student to properly understand and memorize the words that they encounter. Each student can also vote on the quality of the other students’ translations, providing valuable feedback for comprehension and learning. The top rated translations for each sentence are made available for public viewing and collection.+

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification

http://www.yukaichou.com/gamification-examples/top-10-marketing-gamification-cases-remember/#.U7r4HJR_vng

http://www.bigdata-startups.com/BigData-startup/the-nike-gamification-platform-delivers-valuable-big-data-insights/

http://www.gamification.co/2013/03/15/the-removal-of-foursquare-gamification/