GAMIFICATION PRIMER April 2012

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WHAT IS GAMIFICATION?

IT IS NOT A GAME.

IT’S NOT THIS.

OR THIS.

OR THIS.

OR EVEN THIS.

GAMIFICATION IS THE CONCEPT OF APPLYING GAME-DESIGN THINKING TO NON-GAME ACTIVITIES TO MAKE THEM MORE FUN AND ENGAGING.

GAMIFICATION TAKES GAME CONCEPTS LIKE EARNING POINTS, RECEIVING REWARDS, LEVELING UP AND UNLOCKING SPECIAL ITEMS AND APPLIES THESE CONCEPTS TO ACTIVITIES THAT INHERENTLY DON’T HAVE THOSE CHARACTERISTICS.

FOR EXAMPLE…

FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS ARE ONE OF THE EARLIEST EXAMPLES OF GAMIFICATION.

AND ITS BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. IN 1979, TEXAS INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES INTRODUCED THE FIRST MODERN FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM.

IT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT AMERICAN, DELTA, UNITED AND BRITISH AIRWAYS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWED SUIT.

TODAY, GAMIFICATION IS EVERYWHERE.

FROM UNLOCKING BADGES IN FOURSQUARE…

TO EARNING POINTS WHILE DJ’ING ON TURNTABLE.FM …

TO EARNING REWARDS BY “CHECKING-IN” TO ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATIONS SUCH AS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW, MOVIE, MUSIC AND VIDEO GAME ON GETGLUE…

TO MYSTARBUCKS REWARDS…

TO NIKE PLUS GOALS & CHALLENGES…

GARTNER GROUP FORECASTS THAT GAMIFICATION WILL BE USED BY 70% OF THE GLOBAL 2000 BY 2015, SPENDING OVER $2BN ON RELATED PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES ACCORDING TO M2 RESEARCH

WHAT AREA OF YOUR BUSINESS COULD YOU GAMIFY?

STRONGER CUSTOMER LOYALTY? MODIFYING CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR? CUSTOMER REFERRAL? EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE?