“Work hard, play hard” is more than just a phrase to many people—it’s a philosophy they live by.
Why is it important to keep this in mind during event planning and marketing? Well, while the main focus of an event, particularly a business one, is typically networking or learning, people expect some enjoyment too. So, you’ll need to bring the play to your next event to improve the attendee experience and surpass what your competitors are doing.
How can you do that? With gamification! Gamification can help organizers achieve their event marketing goals by creating a buzz around their events and providing unforgettable experiences.
Below, we’ll dive deep into gamification in event marketing to help you elevate your next event.
Note: Companies and platforms discussed in this article were found during our online research.
How can gamification impact event marketing?
Gamification can help your events stand out and improve marketing outcomes by enhancing attendee experiences. The better your gamification customer experiences, the more likely your attendees are to look forward to and attend future events.
Here are some ways it can improve your marketing efforts:
Attendee engagement
There are various ways gamification drives customer engagement. First, “gamifying” your event through elements like challenges and rewards adds an air of fun and excitement by tapping into attendees’ adventurous sides. The more fun attendees have, the more likely they are to engage with you and each other throughout your event.
Gamification also drives engagement by building a lively atmosphere. By adding elements like interactive polls, live quizzes, and scavenger hunts to “serious” sessions, you can help some guests come out of their shells and participate more.
To drive engagement, leverage mobile apps and dedicated event platforms with gamification features like Nunify and vFairs.
Social interaction and networking
Events are the perfect places to network, as they attract people with a wide variety of skills and from different backgrounds. However, some people are too nervous to get themselves out there and end up losing out on potential partnerships or deals.
You can help them break the ice by introducing game-like elements to your event. For example, you could run a system where attendees earn points for every new connection or for participating in group activities. This way, attendees who would be too shy or nervous to initiate conversations can use your game to facilitate introductions and foster social interactions.
To motivate them even further, introduce leaderboards that rank their points. Event platforms like EventMobi can help you plan and execute this seamlessly.
Behavioral incentives
Let’s be honest—getting attendees to come to your event is half the battle. Getting them to be where they’re supposed to be at all times is the other half. And, it can be quite tough to win, especially if you’re hosting a large event.
Gamification can reinforce desired attendee behavior during events. Whether you want them to visit specific booths, attend key speeches or sessions, or participate in feedback surveys, you just need to play your cards right. You can award badges or points for completing each desired task and reward those who complete them in real time with giveaways, special offers, recognition, etc.
For this to work, use an event app that provides real-time updates and syncing whenever someone completes a task. Alternatively, consider activating your next event with QR Codes—you can ask attendees to scan designated QR Codes whenever they complete tasks to earn their points or badges.
Examples of successful gamification in event marketing
How can you incorporate gamification into your next event? Read on for some ideas and real-life organizations that have been able to pull them off:
Interactive trade booth shows
Interactive trade booth shows are one of the best ways to enhance brand awareness and lead generation efforts. But, getting people to come to your booth and engage with you can be challenging, especially if you have a lot of competition.
Some brands, however, have already cracked the code. They use gamification to increase booth traffic and provide fun and memorable event experiences that enhance customer engagement. You can do the same—create an interactive experience by introducing challenges and rewards for your target audience.
For example, you can hold a spin-the-wheel challenge where booth visitors win various prizes for their participation. This can motivate more people to come to your booth, as they’ll want to try their luck.
Shaping New Tomorrow, a clothing brand, executed this gamification strategy beautifully during its retail store opening. The company created a Wheel of Fortune to give customers the chance to win a T-shirt and boxers as well as keep them engaged as they waited in line to enter the store.
This strategy resulted in almost 600 registrations by the end of the day, highlighting the power of gamification, as well as the fact that you don’t need to provide expensive rewards to get people interested!
Conference app competitions
Some conference organizers have found ways to leverage event apps for more than just registration and information sharing—they also use them to enhance attendee engagement and incentivize desired behaviors through gamification.
A common approach is to encourage users to compete in checking into different locations or sessions within the venue, contributing content, or networking through the app to earn points. This not only improves app usage rates but also enhances overall attendee engagement and interaction throughout the event.
Residential property management firm Real Property Management successfully executed this strategy with EventMobi. The company created a sponsor networking game in which attendees earned points for visiting booths and engaging with vendors, as well as a registration game in which they earned points for filling out their profiles on the event app.
This gamification strategy increased engagement throughout the event and resulted in a 100% app adoption rate among the attendees.
Virtual event challenges
Virtual events haven’t been left behind in the gamification surge. Organizers include game-like elements, like challenges to keep remote attendees engaged even from afar, replicating the interactiveness of in-person events.
If you host virtual events, you can ask attendees to complete activities like watching webinars, contributing to online discussions, and interacting with other attendees for points, rewards, or badges. You can also break up sessions with virtual trivia to help attendees retain event-related information and keep them engaged.
To drive engagement, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) incorporated event-related trivia questions into its virtual event.
Scavenger hunts
Scavenger hunts are a fun way to create unforgettable experiences for event attendees. To plan the perfect hunt, hide items throughout your festival grounds and ask attendees to use your event app to find them and earn points. You can even add leaderboards to bring some friendly competition to the event.
Scavenger hunts are worth considering because they not only make the exploration of the festival more engaging but also help distribute foot traffic throughout the venue.
Various brands hold scavenger hunts to increase event attendance and engagement. For example, Pokémon GO regularly hosts Community Days, where event attendees look for and capture as many Pokémon as possible to win special bonuses.
Photo contests on social media
Businesses and event organizers that want to increase their visibility on social media and boost attendee engagement also achieve their goals through gamification. You can leverage social media platforms for gamified marketing by running a photo contest where attendees post pictures related to the event using a specific hashtag. To encourage attendees to actively post about the event on their pages, offer rewards for those with the most likes, comments, shares, etc.
Popular German music festival Parookaville used social media to bring excitement to its 2020 virtual event. Organizers asked audiences to take photos of themselves enjoying the event and use its hashtag to get featured on its social wall. Despite being virtual, the event was successful thanks to this strategy.
How to gamify your event marketing strategies
Want to gamify future events? Here are some tips to guide you for your event’s success:
Define clear objectives
All successful strategies start with goal creation. So, begin the gamification process by defining what you hope to achieve. Do you want to increase event registration numbers? Or are you more focused on enhancing attendee engagement and promoting networking opportunities?
Defining your objectives will guide your choice of gamification elements and success metrics.
Choose appropriate gamification elements
Gamification elements are strategies borrowed from games that are used in real-life situations—in this case, your event. You can use various elements, including:
- Challenges to test attendees and bring excitement to your event.
- Points to quantify event attendees’ performance in challenges or contests.
- Progress bars to show attendees how far they’ve come and what they’re yet to complete.
- Leaderboards to rank guests in competitive challenges.
- Badges to signal attendees’ accomplishments.
- Rewards like prizes and special offers to motivate attendees.
Consider your goals and audience preferences when determining which elements to use for your event. For example, if you want to maximize event engagement, a leaderboard can be a valuable tool—a little friendly competition wouldn’t hurt. And, if your guests enjoy tangible things, physical rewards would motivate them more than badges or points alone.
However, don’t focus so much on gamification that you forget about other aspects of your event. Ensure game elements align with your event’s overall theme. For example, if you choose trivia for your challenge, you can ask event-related questions and give event-related rewards.
Leverage technology
You’ll come across various technology options when implementing your gamification strategy—from simple gamification mobile apps to complex event management software that includes gamification features. Consider your needs when making your choice.
For example, a comprehensive event management platform would be ideal if you want a tool you can link to QR Code RSVPs via URL and use to set up custom event challenges.
If you organize multiple events, consider each option’s scalability and adaptability. You want a tool you can use for each type of event to save time.
Engage attendees before, during, and after the event
Some people assume that gamification is only valuable during the event. But, this is a misconception—you can use it throughout the event’s lifecycle for added benefits. Here’s how:
- Before the event: You can offer rewards for registration to increase event traffic or arrange fun challenges to build anticipation and boost engagement early.
- During the event: Gamification elements can increase engagement, facilitate networking, make your event more enjoyable, and improve your social media presence. Consider your goals when determining which elements to incorporate.
- After the event: Gamification after the event can help you collect valuable data, like which elements to add or improve on, as well as help you maintain a community spirit to boost your chances of holding successful future events.
Measure and analyze your results
This is the only way to perfect gamification experiences. Track your gamification strategies and analyze their results to identify what works and what doesn’t.
Bitly’s tracking and analytics features can help with this—find ways to use short links in your gamification experiences to see the number of people who engage in your challenges or contests.
For example, you can use the short links to direct attendees to virtual networking opportunities, online discussions, and webinars. This way, Bitly shows you the number of engagements each link receives in real time, allowing you to compare your performance against gamification objectives.
For successful future events, leverage the data to adjust your strategy as needed. For example, if you find that the promise of physical rewards results in more engagement than badges, you can include more prizes in future events.
Create better (and more engaging) gamified events with Bitly
The right gamification techniques can transform event marketing by improving attendee engagement rates and creating fun, memorable experiences. Consider your event goals, audience preferences, and type of event when choosing gamification elements for a successful strategy. Also, don’t forget to engage attendees throughout your event lifecycle and measure your results for continuous improvement.
With Bitly QR Codes and URL shortener, you can easily elevate your event gamification for maximum benefit. Through our platform, you can create QR Codes to provide easy access to gamification elements and branded short links to gauge your strategy’s performance in real time, promoting better attendee experiences and informing future strategies.
Sign up for Bitly today to elevate gamified events with reliable solutions and real-time performance data!
