The role of gamification in event planning

Gamification in events? Yes, it exists! And at Acme, we use it to deliver events for our clients, but also to motivate our teams.

We'll explain what it is.

A quote from Nietzsche could summarize in a few words the success and democratization of gamification.

"Every man hides within him a child who wants to play".

Gamification is a marketing strategy that involves using game elements to encourage players to achieve goals. It was initially used in video games, but has recently found its place in different types of businesses to improve the engagement and motivation of employees, learners and customers.

By making work and learning processes more fun and engaging, gamification has very positive effects on motivation and results because it uses game mechanics, such as points, rewards and levels of progression, to encourage users to achieve their goals.

Game elements can also help strengthen communication and collaboration between users, as well as improve overall motivation and satisfaction.

We have questioned the impact and limitations of using gamification in management, training, and customer and employee experience processes. Here are our insights on the subject:

I- Gamification in the service of employee experience

Motivate your teams through games to increase performance 

In companies, gamification can be used to improve employee engagement and motivation. Employees can be incentivized to achieve specific goals by playing corporate games designed to reinforce their performance and improve their understanding of tasks. Employees can also be encouraged to work more efficiently and productively by playing online games that reward professional skills.

Training & Gamification: A more playful learning method 

In addition, gamification proves to be an excellent training tool. The study “Gamification for learning: perceptions of stakeholders and avenues for development” (2021 - Pascal Brassier, Patrick Ralet) shows that gamification can be used in an educational environment to help learners acquire new skills and improve their learning. By using gamification in a pedagogical context, teachers can motivate learners by giving them a more fun and engaging, more interactive and enjoyable learning experience. Learners can acquire new skills more effectively, which can help them progress in their careers or achieve their training goals.

By using points, rewards and other game elements, teachers can help learners see their progress and feel more motivated to achieve their learning goals. In addition, gamification can also help teachers better understand their learners by collecting data on their behavior and performance.

The benefits of gamification on health and medicine

In the field of medicine, gamification can be used to improve patient adherence to treatments, encourage healthy behaviors, promote learning and training for healthcare professionals, and even to aid medical research.

Educational games, for example, can be used to help patients better understand their disease and the treatments prescribed to them, and to encourage them to follow their doctor's recommendations regarding diet, medication, and exercise. Games can also be used to help researchers collect data for medical research. For example, games have been developed to help with the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and for the classification of cancer cells. 

For the elderly, gamification helps them maintain or improve their mental or physical health. Gamification applications can indeed be used to help the elderly maintain regular physical activity by offering them rewards for each step completed or for each goal achieved. Similarly, memory games can help train memory and cognitive abilities, while social games can help maintain social connections and prevent loneliness.

It is important to note that gamification must be tailored to the needs and interests of each individual to be effective. Therefore, it is important to consult a healthcare professional or technology specialist to ensure that the selected activities are appropriate and safe for each individual.

Gamification can therefore be an innovative and fun way to help patients maintain a healthy and active life. However, games must be designed appropriately and ethically to avoid any risk of exploitation or misinformation of patients.

Use Case by Acmé: Naxicap 

Naxicap is a rapidly growing fund management company. Naxicap entrusted Acmé with an event to bring the teams together and welcome new members. We chose to celebrate this moment at Mun, around an Asian theme. We wanted to make this event original, unexpected and memorable. We therefore chose to integrate a gamification process into this event in the form of a guessing game: all employees had received an invitation in the form of an origami in which riddles to be solved had been placed to discover information about the location and theme of the event. 

The employee experience was thus amplified through gamification, making this event even more desirable and anticipated.

II- Gamification to enhance customer experience

Gamification as a marketing tool 

Gamification can also be used in marketing to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Customers can be incentivized to participate in online games that allow them to earn rewards and points, which can encourage them to buy more products or use a company's services more often. Gamification can indeed help to collect and use data. Games can be designed to collect data on players, their behavior and their performance, which can help companies better understand their users and improve their strategies. By using gamification to collect data, companies can improve their use of marketing and communication tools, targeting their messages more precisely and improving the effectiveness of their campaigns.

Gamification and the metaverse

Gamification and the metaverse are two different concepts, but they can be linked in certain applications.

Gamification involves using game elements, such as rules, rewards, and challenges, to drive user engagement and motivation in areas not necessarily related to gaming, such as education, work, and health. The goal is to make these areas more attractive and engaging for users.

The metaverse, meanwhile, is a persistent and shared virtual universe in which users can interact with digital environments and objects in real-time, typically using an avatar. The metaverse is often described as an extension of the current internet, where users can live, work, and play in a virtual world.

In some cases, gamification can be used in the metaverse to create more immersive and engaging experiences for users. For example, game elements such as quests, challenges, and rewards can be integrated into virtual reality environments to motivate users to explore, interact, and actively participate in these environments.

In addition, gamification can also be used to encourage users to develop specific skills and knowledge, which can be useful in the context of the metaverse. For example, online training and learning programs can be gamified to motivate users to acquire new skills related to virtual reality, such as 3D modeling, programming, and game design.

Gamification in events: Creating the memorable

Gamification can also be used in the field of event management. Events can include gaming activities for participants, such as challenges or quizzes, to enhance participation and create a sense of community.

Companies can use gamification for promotional activities associated with the event, such as contests or giveaways. Participants can receive points or rewards for their participation and engagement, which can encourage them to continue participating.

Gamification can also be used for event planning and management. Organizers can use game mechanics to plan and track the various elements of the event, such as task scheduling, participant management and communication with the various stakeholders.

By using gamification for events, companies can help make the event more memorable and increase its visibility.

Use Case by Acmé: AB Tasty 

AB Tasty is a French start-up, a global leader in customer experience feature management. The company called on Acmé to organize its annual Experience Summit convention, which we decided to hold at the Théâtre de la Gaîté Lyrique.

We have specifically designed an event that encourages meetings and exchanges. To make this event more attractive and fun, we integrated gamification throughout the journey of the 400 participants.

Throughout the day, conferences, workshops, and round tables were organized. To ensure that participants would benefit as much as possible from all these activities, we set up a game consisting of collecting stickers each time they completed an activity. At the end of the day, a gift was offered to the participants who had collected the most stickers.

Integrating gamification into this event was a great success because the participants all got caught up in the game, driven by the desire to win.

III- The risks of gamification

It is important not to underestimate the complexity of gamification. Companies and organizations must ensure that their gamification strategies are appropriately designed for their objectives and target audience in order to achieve the best possible results. Therefore, it is important to pay attention to how gamification is used.

Gamification can present certain risks, including:

• Addiction: Gamification can lead to addiction in players or users. This can affect their personal and professional lives by taking up too much of their free time.

• Demotivation: Gamification can also become counterproductive by demotivating players or users. This can occur when rewards are too easily accessible or when players do not feel valued for their performance.

• Stereotyping: gamification can reinforce social stereotypes by offering rewards based on discriminatory criteria such as gender, race, or age.

• Loss of meaning: by using gamification excessively, companies and organizations can cause the activities or tasks that are gamified to lose meaning. This can also lead to a loss of interest in activities or tasks that are not gamified.

• Negative side effects: Gamification can also lead to negative side effects such as excessive competition between players or users, which can lead to conflictual relationships and a decrease in motivation.

Therefore, these risks must be taken into account when implementing a gamification strategy. Companies and organizations must ensure that their strategy is designed to minimize these risks and maximize the benefits for players or users.

Conclusion 

"Gamification is the use of playful thinking to solve serious problems." - Gabe Zichermann, entrepreneur and speaker.

Like Acme, many companies use gamification to improve skills, strengthen communication and collaboration between their employees, improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, and create more fun and engaging learning experiences for their learners.

Gamification has become a powerful tool for improving the engagement and motivation of players, learners, employees and customers, whether through online games, physical activities or collaborative projects. 

Stay tuned, gamified projects by Acmé are coming soon!