Gamification

1. HT344 - Hospitality and Tourism Marketing and Sales
Customer Loyalty Trends Report
Gamification
NannanXun
Anne Hinrichsen
04/25/2013

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Table of Contents
Section I
Historical Overview Perspectives………………………………………………..3
Scope and Reach…………………………………………………………………3
Reported Impact………………………………………………………………….3-4
Section II
Direct Application 1: Nike……………………………………………………………...4
Perceptions on Nike…………………………………………………………........4
Direct Application 2: Verizon……………………………………………………………...4
Industry Example: BigDoor…………………………………………………..5
Industry Example: BadgeVille..............................................................................5-6
Section III
Business Landscape Impacts……………………………….....................................6
Course Content Relations…………………………………………………………..7
Competitive Advantage……………………………………....................................7
References………………………………………………………………………8

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Section I
Historical Review
Technically speaking, the concept of gamification has been around for hundreds of years.
For example, the toy in the Cracker Jack box, which resulted in other companies using games or
toys to sell products (Gamification History, 2012). In 2007, the first modern gamification service
was created by Bunchball. They started off as just a social gaming site but launched a software
platform called Nitro. This software allows companies to install game mechanics to their social
networks, mobile applications, and of course, websites (Gamification History, 2012). They now
have customers like Warner Bros., NBC, ABC, and Comcast and consider themselves a leader in
the industry. Then in 2009 another website offering gamification services called BigDoor was
founded. Following BigDoor is another platform called Badgeville. Badgeville’s website
describes their platform as software that “Helps world-class companies boost user engagement
across their most important technology investments, strengthening customer loyalty and
enhancing employee performance” (Behavior Platform Overview, 2012).
Gamification did not truly catch on until a few years later, in 2010, when it became very
popular and important to websites to increase page views, returning visitors, and fan loyalty. In
2012 the first gamification platform started up in Turkey and within two months they had gotten
the first round of investments for the company.
Reach and Scope
Gamification has started to become popular in the marketing industry. It is an effective
way of generating business. It provides a new tool for marketers to improve their business
impacts and keep costs down. CrowdTwist has raised $6 million in venture funding for its
platform that gamifies websites and creates brand loyalty and rewards programs. CrowdTwist
has a platform that is helping engage brand’s audiences both online and offline. It also provides
companies the ability to track, incentivize, and reward customer engagement via online, social,
and mobile networks (Increase Brand Loyalty, 2013).
Small and large businesses are very quick to adopt the loyalty program. Gamified
customer loyalty programs can generate new business when existing customers get their social
peersinterested as well. BigDoor offers gamified loyalty programs for publishers in small,
medium and large movement categories. Gamification is used by various industries from
musicians, TV networks and sports leagues all showing the high increase in user loyalty and site
engagement.
Reported Impacts
Gartner Research predicted that over 70 percent of organizations will have at least one
gamified application by the year 2014. Also by 2014, 40 percent of organizations will use
gamification as the main approach to transform business operations.

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Gamification has increased many aspects of website loyalty. For example, there has been
a 130 percent increase in page views, 40 percent increase in return visits, 250 percent increase of
registered users, and a 380 percent increase in fan loyalty. This would obviously create more
sales for web-based businesses and would help get other consumers interested in physically
going to a store, restaurant, or hotel and spending money.
Section II
Direct Application 1: Nike
Nike- In December 2012, Nike introduced the Nike+ Fuel Band which people put on
their wrists. The band tracks daily exercises such as walking, running, dancing, playing sports,
and everything else done by the wearer. It tracks every step taken and calories burned. Users can
also download an application onto their smartphones and use it to set a daily goal and track their
progress. Achievements and rewards, such as Nike Fuel, are given based on how athletic a
person is and how many goals have been met (Nike+ Fuel Band, 2013).
Nike came out with an online interactive gamethat uses this Nike+ device or other Nike+
devices such as the Sportband or Running App called Nike Fuel Missions. Users with an online
Nike account can begin the Missions journey where they lead a character through a world where
winter has taken over everything. The more the user works out and moves with the Nike+ Fuel
Band the more Nike Fuel they earn. Each mission’s objective is to earn enough fuel within the
given time period. Eventually the player will reach the Arc, which is the safety zone from the
winter apocalypse.
This type of gamification is beneficial for Nike in that people who do not own a Nike+
device would want to buy one to play the game and it will motivate more people to go onto the
Nike website which will generate more sales.
Perception on Nike
I think Nike did a very good job incorporating gamification into its marketing plan.
Customers not only have a greater desire to exercise but also to buy Nike+ products in order to
participate in the game. They chose to include an actual game along with points (Nike Fuel) and
awards each person can achieve.
This is a winning plan for both Nike and its customers and will allow Nike to sell more
products and probably reel in a few more customers as well.
Direct Application 2: Verizon
Verizon- The popular phone company has a social site called Verizon Insider where
customers can view upcoming sporting events, contests and deals on new products. Verizon took
this site a step further by using Gigya to add gamification to get more user interaction. Gigya is a
company that provides websites with social experiences for users. Brands such as Pepsi and the

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television network ABC also use Gigya on their websites. They provide social plugins,
gamification, and social privacy which allows users to know exactly how their information is
being used (About Us- Gigya, 2013).
Verizon uses this provider in order to help people interact, communicate, and compete
throughout the site. Users can earn points and rewards for participating in contests, leaving
comments, and promoting events. This can all be shared onto Facebook or Twitter which will
allow other people to take interest in the activities and to check out the site (White, 2012).
Perception on Verzion
I think Verizon’s use of gamification is not as good as other sites. I think users will
become bored of the point system. I do not think the Verizon Insider site is a good platform
because there are so many other social sites on the internet that it is unlikely for most people to
visit the site very often. The free giveaways are a bonus for the site but I do not think Verizon’s
gamification platform will last very long.
Industry Example and Analysis- Gamification at BigDoor
Gamification is all about making the internet more fun and personal. It encourages clients
to participate even when they are not purchasing by sharing the brands message, and learning
more about their customer and building lasting relationships. According to Keith Smith (CEO) of
BigDoor, Seattle, BigDoor has acquired about 300 customers in the past year. Such customer
participation will help the company to meet the customer demands (Farr, 2013).
Seattle startup BigDoor powers NFL.com’s rewards programs with the NFL regular
season forthcoming. NFL.com launched its first ever NFL Fan rewards which offered regular
users of NFL.com virtual coins in exchange for reading articles, commenting, and taking part in
other activities on the website (Geek Wire, 2012). On April, 2012, BigDoor upgraded its
gamified rewards program presenting a basic operation process called Rapid Integration and an
analytics dashboard that helps publishers advance better understanding into key performance
indicators (IKPs) (Bannan, 2012). According to Bannan (2012), BigDoor has four platform
boosts for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): loyalty, engagement, viral distribution of content
and revenue.
BigDoor has a total funding to $13 million since it launched in 2009. Customers now can
use the analytics to take action on campaigns and programs. At BigDoor, customers are rewarded
for various actions such as downloading music, re-tweeting, liking content of Facebook,
interacting on a blog or online community, or for revisiting a website (Bannan, 2012).
Industry Example and Analysis- Gamification at BadgeVille
BadgeVille is a competitor to the BigDoor in the Gamification market with more than
200 customers in the operation that has been in existence for 2.5 years. According to

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badgeville.com, BadgeVille offers a Behavior Platform to increase customer loyalty, user
engagement, employee performance, mobile apps and enterprise application (2013). BadgeVille
is bringing game mechanics, reputation mechanics, and social mechanics to industry leaders and
innovation which includes Deloitte, EMC, Oracle, Citrix, Autodesk, Bell Media, NBC, Universal
Music, VMware, and more.
According to Williams (2012), BadgeVille has $40 million in venture capital, 80 full time
employees, three offices, and 200 customers which includes Dell, Barnes & Noble, and Oracle.
BadgeVille has experienced record growth in one of the fastest growing categories in enterprise
software (Badgeville.com, 2013). BadgeVille has also created a smart tool that gives brands,
marketer, and enterprise clients a relatively inexpensive way to drive customer engagement and
rewards users via the hot trend of social gamification (Empson, 2012).
BadgeVille has also come up with the Recycle Bank loyalty rewards program that
encourages people to lower the environmental impact of their lifestyles. Recycle Bank will use
BadgeVille gamification to help inspire green activities by linking people who are affectionate
about the environment via social networking sites and making it easier for them to get involved
and be rewarded for being green (Empson, 2012).
Section III
Business Landscape Impacts
Gamification does not just impact social websites. It can also have an impact on the
business community. Gamification uses strategy, organization, and cultural and psychological
aspects to maintain the platforms. Considering this and the fact that it is fairly low-priced and
low-risk software, businesses can use gamification to improve their productivity (Digital Signage
Today, 2013).
According to Adam Holtby who works at Ovum, a global analyst firm, “Gamification can
help enhance customer engagement and manage employee behaviors and productivity levels”
(Digital Signage Today, 2013). Ovum is an example of a company that uses social technologies
and gamification. “When points, badges and leaderboards are tied to a meaningful value system
that records status and accomplishments and meets users’ desire for feedback, those tools can
help to change behavior, develop skills and drive innovation” (Digital Signage Today, 2013).
Businesses can use the data created by gamified systems to look deeper into the behaviors and
skills of their employees and customers.
Not only can businesses use gamification to look at their employees, but employees can
use these scoreboards and badges to track their own behavior within the company. This will help
motivate them with healthy competition, team challenges, and the incentive to fulfill their tasks
to the best of their ability (Brinsmead, 2013). According to Nick Stein, director of Content and
Media report at the social performance platform Rypple, gamification can enhance a business
process, system, customer experience, or employee performance management. This type of
improvement of a business’s internal process systems has been called gamification of the
enterprise (Palmer, 2012).

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According to analysts, “gamification will be in 25 percent of redesigned business
processes by 2015, it will grow to be more than a $2.8 billion dollar business by 2016, and 70
percent of Global 2000 businesses will manage at least one gamified application by 2014”
(Palmer, 2012).
Related Course Content
I think the term “Gamification” can be related with effective sales technique, sales force
objectives, customer retention, customer satisfaction and public relation. Gamification is an
important marketing tool to maintain a good relationship between the users and the publishers.
Publicity is a direct function of gamification which helps to maintain a good relationship with
their users offering rewards programs for using their websites.
Similarly, it can also be viewed as an effective sales technique tool; with the use of
gamification users are visiting the sites more often and being loyal to their sites as they are
offered rewards, badges, virtual currency, and leadership boards. A satisfied gamified client will
also spread recommendation of favorite websites by word of mouth. On average, one satisfied
guest will tell five others, while dissatisfied users will tell ten people or more.
Competitive Advantage
For the businesses that have not yet stepped into the world of gamification they might
want to think of doing so just to keep up with the crowd. More and more people are going to
expect some kind of reward or loyalty program from their favorite brands and companies,
especially if they spend a lot of time and money on them.
In order for already gamified businesses and companies to stay ahead of competitors,
they will need to adopt the latest platforms, gadgets, and ideas. For example, a global technology
business located in Russia, Synqera, recently launched a POS terminal for in-store use called
Simplate. This terminal was created for the few minutes of time each customer stands waiting in
line to check out. The system engages each customer with loyalty deals, interactive games and
incentives. It also has the ability to give offers based on the customer’s purchases, store
inventory, and promotional offers (Shaw, 2012). This is a very new concept and stores would do
well by adopting these systems into their check-out lines.
BigDoor’s plan to stay ahead of competitors utilizes the idea of internationalization. The
company understands that reward and loyalty programs are needed across the world so they will
start working with brands that have global reach. They are making their platforms available in
any language or combination of languages. This will also make it easier for publishers to break
down analytics based on language which will create a deeper understanding of customer insights
(Malek, 2013).
BigDoor, as well as other gamification software companies, need to constantly update
and upgrade the performance systems. The vast amount of users who access programs from
BigDoor or BunchBall need to be supported by the technology behind those programs, otherwise
the system will not work to its full potential.

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References
Williams.A.(2012, September 18). “Badgeville gamification platform comes to salesforce.com”.
TechCrunch. Retrieved from: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/18/badgeville-gamification-
platform-comes-to-salesforce-com/
Empson.R.(2012, January 10).”Badgeville proves gamification is here to stay, as recyclebank&
others buy in. TechCrunch. Retrieved from:
http://techcrunch.com/2012/01/10/badgeville-proves-gamification-is-here-to-stay-as-
recyclebank-others-buy-in/
Bannan.K.(2012, April 06). “Bigdoor upgrades gamified rewards program”. The BrainYard.
Retrieved from:
www.inforamtionweek.com/thebrainyard/commentary/social_networking_consumer/232
800416/undefined
Marketwire.(2012, April 03). “A gamification changer!bigdoor’s new gamified rewards delivers
big results for publishers”. Retrieved from: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gamification-
changer-bigdoors-gamified-rewards-130000202.html
Badgeville.(2013, April 10). “Badgeville the #1 gamification platform taps cloud leader ken
come as ceo”. Retrieved
from:http://badgeville.com/news/announcements/badgeville- gamification-
platform-announces-new-ceo-ken-comee
"Analyst: Look beyond Tech to Cultural Aspects of Gamification." Digital Signage Today.N.p.,
18 Apr. 2013. Web.
Badgeville (2013, April 10). “Badgeville the #1 gamification platform taps cloud leader ken
come as ceo”.Retrieved from: //http://badgeville.com/news/announcements/badgeville-
gamification-platform-announces-new-ceo-ken-comee
Ovum (2013, March 08). “Brinsmead, Aphrodite. "Gamification: A New Approach to Tracking
and Improving Agent Performance." Ovum. Retrieved from://
http://ovum.com/research/gamification-a-new-approach-to-tracking-and-improving-agent-
performance/
Unknown (2013)."Gamification History."HubPages.N.p., 18 Dec. 2012. Retrieved from://
http://keepexploring.hubpages.com/hub/Gamification-History
Unknown (2012)."Increase Brand Loyalty."CrowdTwist.CrowdTwist, 2013.Retrieved from://
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/crowdtwist-caps-record-year-as-brands-extend-
loyalty-beyond-the-point-of-sale-1629648.htm

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Charlotte (2013, April 25). "BigDoor Gamification."My Gamification.BigDoor. Retrieved: //
http://mygamification.com/
Marketwire. (2012, April 03). “A gamification changer!Bigdoor’s new gamifiedrewards deliver
big results for publishers”.Retrived from:// http://www.bigdoor.com/company/press/a-
gamification-changer-bigdoors-new-gamified- rewards-delivers-big-results-for-publishers/
"Nike+ Fuel Band."Nike. Nike, 2013. Retrieved from://http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/nikeplus-
fuelband
Robert.D(2012, November 14). "How Gamification Is Reshaping Businesses." Deloitte Review.
N.p., 22 Mar. 2012. Retrieved from://http://drrobertdavis.wordpress.com/2012/11/14/the-
engagement-economy-how-gamification-is-reshaping-businesses-by-deloitte-review-by-doug-
palmer-steve-lunceford-and-aaron-j-patton/
Shaw.D(2012, November 29). "Gamification the Ideal Mechanic for Retaining Customers, Finds
Synqera."Rush PR News. N.p., 29 Nov. 2012. Retrieved from://
http://rushprnews.com/2012/11/29/gamification-the-ideal-mechanic-for-retaining-customers-
finds-synqera
White.V.(2012, January 11). "Verizon Gets Gamified with Gigya." Gigya.N.p., 11 Jan. 2012.
Retrieved from:// http://blog.gigya.com/verizon-gets-gamified-with-gigya/