Gamification in the event industry? Yes, it exists! And at Acmé, we use it to carry out our clients' events, but also to motivate our teams.

We explain what it is.

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

"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 originally used in video games, but has recently found its way into different types of businesses to improve employee, learner and customer engagement and motivation.

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

Game elements can also help to enhance communication and collaboration among users, as well as improve motivation and overall satisfaction.

We asked ourselves about the impact and limits of using gamification in management, training and customer and employee experience processes. Here are our insights on the subject:

I- Gamification to enhance the employee experience

Motivate your teams through games to increase performance 

In businesses, gamification can be used to improve employee engagement and motivation. Employees can be incentivized to achieve specific goals by playing corporate games designed to enhance 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 job skills.

Training & Gamification: A more playful method of learning 

Moreover, gamification is proving to be an excellent training tool. The study "Gamification for learning: stakeholders' perceptions and development paths" (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 playful and engaging learning experience, more interactive and fun. This allows learners to acquire new skills more effectively, which can help them advance in their careers or achieve their educational 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 treatment, encourage healthy behaviors, support learning and training for healthcare professionals, and even aid medical research.

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

For seniors, gamification can help them maintain or improve their mental or physical health. Gamification applications can indeed be used to help seniors maintain regular physical activity by offering rewards for each step taken or goal achieved. Similarly, memory games can help train memory and cognitive skills, 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 with a health care professional or technology specialist to ensure that the activities selected are appropriate and safe for each individual.

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

Use Case by Acmé : Naxicap 

Naxicap is a fast growing fund management company. Naxicap trusted Acmé for an event that aimed to reunite the teams and welcome the new ones. We chose to celebrate this moment at the Mun, around an Asian theme. We wanted to make this event original, unexpected and memorable. We chose to integrate a gamification process in the form of a guessing game: all employees received an origami invitation in which riddles to solve were placed to discover information about the place and the theme of the event. 

The experience of the employees was thus amplified thanks to gamification, making this event even more desirable and expected.

II- Gamification to enhance the customer experience

Gamification as a marketing tool 

Gamification can also be used in marketing to improve customer loyalty and satisfaction. Customers can be enticed 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. Gamification can indeed help collect and use data. Games can be designed to collect data about players, their behavior and 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 metaverse are two different concepts, but they can be linked in some applications.

Gamification is the use of game elements, such as rules, rewards and challenges, to engage and motivate users in areas that are not necessarily game-related, such as education, work and health. The goal is to make these areas more attractive and engaging for users.

The metaverse, on the other hand, is a persistent, shared virtual universe in which users can interact with digital environments and objects in real time, usually through an avatar. The metaverse is often described as an extension of today's 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, training and e-learning programs can be gamified to motivate users to learn new skills related to virtual reality, such as 3D modeling, programming and game design.

Gamification in the event industry: To create the memorable

In addition, gamification can be used in the event industry. Events can include gaming activities for attendees, such as challenges or quizzes, to increase 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 participation and engagement, which can encourage them to continue to participate.

Gamification can also be used for event planning and management. Organizers can use gaming mechanisms to plan and track different elements of the event, such as task planning, participant management, and communication with different 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, world 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 especially thought about an event encouraging meetings and exchanges. To make this event more attractive and fun, we integrated gamification throughout the course of the 400 participants.

Throughout the day, there were lectures, workshops and round tables. To make sure that the participants would get the most out of all these activities, we set up a game where they collected stickers each time they did an activity. At the end of the day, a gift was given to the participants who collected the most stickers.

Integrating gamification into this event was a great success as the participants were all 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 designed appropriately for their goals and target audience to achieve the best possible results. Therefore, it is important to be careful about how gamification is used.

Gamification may present some risks, including:

• Addiction: gamification can lead to addiction among players or users. It can affect their personal and professional life by taking up too much of their free time.

• De-motivation: Gamification can also become counter-productive by de-motivating players or users. This can happen when rewards are too easily accessible or when players don't 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. It 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 conflicting relationships and decreased motivation.

These risks must be considered when implementing a gamification strategy. Companies and organizations must ensure that their strategy is designed to minimize these risks and maximize the benefits to players or users.

Conclusion 

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

Like Acme, many companies are using gamification to improve skills, enhance communication and collaboration among 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 engagement and motivation among gamers, learners, employees and customers, whether using online games, physical activities or collaborative projects. 

Stay tuned, Acmé's gamified projects are coming soon!