Gamify the Digital Advertising
The process of Gamification in Digital Advertising is undoubtedly a hot topic explored by the interactive community.
In reference to an article on Digital Advertising Platform (basic steps for the success of any digital communication campaign), the process of Gamification is one of the five pillars of any interactive strategy.
In the Gamification the elements are:
Picture sample from Indiana Jones movie. All Rights reserved by LucasFilm
Mechanics of the game
The first and fundamental step is to create and adopt a mechanism of play that defines the relationship between the users and content and offering a fun and positive experience with the brand.
Some models:
The Discovery: The mechanics of the discovery is fun because everyone loves to explore. Be the first to discover something can be exciting knowing that there are more reasons for a player to continue browsing. Earn points each time you discover something or a badge for loyal users to visit with more often your sites and/or applications.
Survey: (UserCentric) Get advices, opinions, suggestions and feedback and improve thanks to these critical success factors for a brand, but it ‘s also true that involving a user in this process is rather difficult. The simplest way to motivate engagement is to reward the user for his/her participation.
Sharing and collaboration: Since prehistoric time, man has always clustered in tribes since relationships with other individuals and active participation in the groups produces a high degree of satisfaction the human nature. The active participation of the user in the collaboration process becomes a strategic choice for every brand.
Visual Elements
Notifications object: the object provides instant feedback for user actions thus involvement increases dramatically. The Notifier informs the user about the points and badges earned, levels that he/she has reached and all other information important to the users. The user chooses which information to receive and how often to receive it.
Progress Bar: The progress-bar is a simple concept in the process of determining the gamification. The instant feedback provided by the progress bar visually motivates the user to complete activities despite of the time that these require.
Leaderboard: The Leader-board allows users to confront each other and create competition. The Leaderboard normally includes a variety of formats, comparing only friends, users of any platform or users who share a relationship with the player (usually people in proximity to the player)
Profile: The user profile is the “home” user. View the details of his identity, his badge and more information relevant to show in his stats.
Social: Sharing and invite friends in the same game environment.
Avatar: An avatar is a visual representation of the player. The avatar can be a simply picture (like Facebook) or a more structured. Giving a face to a player is a key factor in engaging with others.
Rewards
Points: Points are a reward for players who purchase through actions and are allocated according to the player’s achievement. Rewarding a player with more points for specific actions is a method to influence the actions of the user. The definition of points is one of the first things to do in the project preparation.
Levels: The levels represent a method for players to show their status and seniority in a community. The players are motivated to hear what action they need in the game to earn points necessary to advance the level and unlock new benefits.
Badges: Badges are the motivation for unlocking and completing certain actions. The easiness or the difficulty to earn badges are not relevant but become an attraction to share with friends.
Virtual goods: The virtual goods prizes are virtual or “accessories” for the avatar. These items add depth to the project and motivate people to socialize and express themselves. The virtual prizes in the process of gamifcation can be added late.
Coupons: The Coupons are a sort of special prize for the player’s achievement and emphasize the connection between the user and the brand.
Some Examples
To better understand how these factors affect business processes and communication in advertising see
chapter SIDE GAME Post in Digital Advertising Platform