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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES

Relevance of gamification in marketing

addition to the extrinsic motivation (money or posses-
sion), there is an intrinsic motivation that encourages
people to do things themselves.

Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan try to take this
phenomenon into account with their self-determination
theory, which assumes that people have to satisfy psy-
chological as well as physical needs. The duo identified
three basic psychological needs: self-determination,
competence, and social inclusion.

People satisfy their need for self-determination by
creating degrees of freedom in their activities. In con-
crete terms, this means that a person acts with intrinsic
motivation when selecting and determining the nature
UX designers and UI experts work hard to of their activities, the time they spend, their approach
optimize digital offerings to maximize user and the necessary supporters. In the context of brands
retention time. The industry that has perfected and products, customization options can satisfy the
this feat is undoubtedly the modern video game need for self-determination.
industry, which offers its customers immersive Deci and Ryan understand competence as dealing
and thus compelling offers like no other. effectively with the environment. Humans strive to get
better at something and to develop further. An im-
It is logical that other industries are looking at the me- portant factor is the perceptible progress. For this rea-
chanics of the game makers and try to implement them son, many people find manual activities like mowing the
to their own offerings. This endeavor is called lawn or painting fences very satisfying. The result and
"gamification", the aim of which is to not only gain the the effect of one's own work is immediately recogniza-
attention of consumers, but also their engagement. ble and not abstract as with many office jobs.
Psychological mechanisms of action behind individual
game mechanics help to consciously integrate gamified The psychological need for social inclusion describes
elements into one's own communication. The basic the need to love and be loved. People strive to interact
intention of gamification is therefore to influence human with other people. The evolutionary predisposition to
behavior, and thus fits perfectly with marketing, which social community ensured the survival of man in prehis-
always tries to influence people's behavior in favor of a toric times and is therefore deeply rooted. This need
product or brand. So, gamification can be seen as a can also be seen as a success factor in today's social
means of achieving marketing goals. networks.

The relevance of gamification for marketing will go In this context, gamification is a method of systemati-
hand in hand with advancing digitization. Thanks to cally satisfying people psychologically and can be a
digital networking, the real environment is increasingly tool for marketers to systematically win consumer en-
resembling the conditions in a video game. Every kind gagement. The spectrum of possible areas of applica-
of behavior and interaction becomes measurable and tion is therefore wide open and allows marketing to ex-
quantifiable, and the more data is available, the more pand its scope beyond pure communication.
creative connections and thus interaction systems can
be built. But just having data doesn't make for a good With the help of gamification, marketing could already
gaming experience. find starting points during product development, and
thus lay the foundation for a user-centric product and
If you want to understand how gamification works, you service experience, which ensures customer loyalty. ◊
must look at the psychology of motivation in humans: in
By Daniela La Marca

12 August 2022: Immersive Technologies in Marketing