Gamification is one of the hottest buzzwords in online marketing, but what does it really mean? In this insightful session Raf Keustermans, former Global Marketing Director at Playfish (EA), will provide a practical guide to using gaming mechanics for marketing. He will provide innovative ideas for motivating customers to engage and examples of how to reward social media advocates. - #SMM11

1. Using Game Mechanics
For Marketing
Image from Flickr

2. RAF KEUSTERMANS
Independent Consultant
VP Marketing (consultant) Kobojo 2011
Global Marketing Director Playfish (EA) 2009-2010
Marketing Director EMEA Pogo.com (EA) 2008-2009
Head of Marketing Western Europe Unibet.com 2005-2008
Project Manager & Strategic Planner at BBDO, Grey and
DuvalGuillaume (Publicis Groupe) 1998-2001 / 2002-2005
Co-Founder start-up (Cyganet - online community tools &
services) 2001-2002
raf.keustermans@gmail.com
Twitter: @raf_keustermans

3. Number of gamers exploded:
2000: 250M
2011: 1B+
• New fast-growing ‘open’ platforms (Fb, iOS)
• Metrics-led design, new generation of game devs
• Broadband penetration
• Free!

4. Before 2008:
- Games = Niche
- Big, But Closed Industry
- Brands & Non-Gamers Not Welcome

5. Growing importance of
entertainment.
Digital entertainment industry
revenues tripled in last decade.

6. Freemium
Free-to-Play

7. Why Should You Care?
• 150B minutes spent EVERY MONTH on social games
• That’s an average of 10 minutes for everyone on the planet!
• Or 3,4M years are spend/wasted on social games every year.
spend/ year.
• Wow!
• Next-Generation Marketing
• Gamification, Social media, Earned Media,
Conversational, Metrics-Led Design, …

8. Brands Are Welcome!

9. Brands have different options
• Work with game studios and/or existing games
– In-game advertising, sponsorship
– Partnership (use Game coins in your loyalty scheme)
– Licensing (create a branded game or integrate your
brand in a game)
• Understand the power of game mechanics to
improve your (non-game) business
– Gamification!

10. Zynga/Citi Group
Loyalty Scheme

11. AmEx/FarmVille
Branded Virtual Item

12. Gamification?
• Gamification is the use of game mechanics for
non-game applications/businesses.
• Game mechanics:
– Level structure
– Reward (feedback) systems: points, badges, …
– Competitive elements (leaderboards, tournament)
– Appointment mechanics
– Virtual currency
– …

13. It’s not (always) about making stuff FUN
Gamification =! Making a game
Gamification =! Making a boring
business/activity more fun
Gamification = using game
elements or mechanics to
improve businesses or
experiences

14. Gamification ingredients
Image from free-photos.biz

15. 1. What motivates the user/customer?
2. What are the mechanics/rules?
3. Is there Social Interaction?
4. How do you Win/Level Up? (victory
conditions)

16. What motivates the user?
• Power
• Personal development
• Being recognised, Status
• Curiosity, learning, creating
• Winning (prizes, cash)
• Competition
• Affiliation, social interaction (‘making friends’)
• Ownership, control
• Achievement

17. TripIt - leaderboards
Status & competition (brag about your business trips, show how ‘global’ you are)
Changes dynamics of travel planning.

18. Game mechanics
• Resource Management
• Auction
• Luck, Random elements
• Time (against the clock)
• Rewards (badges, points, achievements)
• Risk (penalty vs reward)
• Levels
• Collecting
• Leaderboard
• Points, Virtual Currency
• Capture (remove opponent’s tokens/resources)
• Appointment mechanics (come back in 15 minutes or else)
• …

19. Badges Can Work!
• Nothing new
• Relevant tool if there is a
context/meaning

20. Social Interaction
• Social Graph
• Gifting
• Feedback (internal/external)
• Status, peer recognition
• Communal collaboration
• Leaderboard
• Self-expression (Avatars,
customisation)
• Exchange

21. Victory Conditions
• Elimination (wipe out competitors)
• Score (most points win)
• Race (first player wins)
• Territory control (biggest area)
• Game-specific rules

22. McDonald’s Monopoly Promotion
• Victory = collect the right sets of streets

23. EA Sports Active
Victory & game rules automated: software tells you how well you did (points, challenges)

24. • Criticism:
– ‘Pointsification’
– Fluffy metrics (‘engagement’)
– Re-inventing loyalty systems
– Ugly word
• Most gamification projects are
‘glorified loyalty programmes’.
• Game mechanics can’t fix broken
businesses!

25. Raf Keustermans
raf.keustermans@gmail.com
twitter.com/raf_keustermans
Image from Flickr