What Is Gamified Marketing?

In this day and age, the digital and technological landscape is constantly shifting. Media has become both a source of entertainment and a channel for marketing efforts, with companies and users alike benefiting from these trends.

One of these emerging trends is marketing with games. Games–especially video and mobile games–have become more accessible to the public, thanks to the large adoption of smartphones and the rise of hypercasual games.

What are hypercasual games?

The term “hypercasual” describes games that use a core mechanic–such as collecting items, shooting a ball through a hoop, or avoiding obstacles. These games can be played instantly and are completed in short, contained sessions.

These features allow anyone to enjoy playing hypercasual games–regardless of age, occupation, background, and nationality. Additionally, the bite-sized game sessions make these games playable even while waiting in line or during breaks.

Given this, hypercasual games have become an integral part of gamified marketing.

 

What is gamified marketing?

Gamified marketing is a multifaceted strategy that makes use of hypercasual games. Each aspect works to achieve different business goals. Understanding the range of methods that gamified marketing covers is crucial in taking the first steps into marketing with games.

With games–particularly hypercasual games, brands can expect to boost engagement, expand brand reach, and even drive conversions.

 

What does gamified marketing cover?

Given the flexibility that digital marketing and games have to offer, there are a number of forms that gamified marketing can take. Selecting the right approach will depend on the goals of your campaign and overall business.

Some of the common gamified marketing methods include:

Game Licensing

Brands can pay game distributors or publishers for a license to host a pre-existing game on their website, app, or platform.

Game Rebranding

Game distributors can customize an existing game with a brand’s visual elements, creating a game with similar mechanics to the base game, but is made unique by the overall branded elements.

In-game Advertising

Brands can display ads–from static and animated banners, to interactive pop-ups and interstitial displays –within games and gaming platforms.

Leaderboard/Tournament Sponsorship

Brands can partner with games and gaming platforms to sponsor a leaderboard or tournament. This can be done by putting a rebranded game up for competitive play, a brand sponsoring prizes for top players, or a combination of both.

App Gamification

Games and game elements can be integrated within an existing app ecosystem to drive users to take certain actions. This can be done by adding games or gaming platforms and rewarding users for their engagement with them.

Why choose gamified marketing?

Gamified marketing is a highly popular marketing strategy because not only does it deliver the intended results, but it also exists in the right digital landscape for it to succeed. Here are a few statistics to show it:

• Approximately 86% of the global population owns smartphones (Zippia)
• On average, people spend 4.8 hours on their smartphones daily (Data.ai)
• As of 2022, mobile games have taken up 53% of the global games market, accounting for $103.5B in revenue (Newzoo)
• Mobile ad spending is poised to hit $350B in 2022, surpassing the total spend of $295B in 2021 (Data.ai)

All in all, gamified marketing capitalizes on the fun and inviting nature of hypercasual games to achieve your business goals–driving traffic to your app or website, boosting user engagement and retention, and even increasing conversions.

The first step to launching a successful gamified marketing campaign is gaining a better understanding of how it works. Download our FREE EBOOK, “Why Games Are For Everyone: Getting Your Brand Into Gamified Marketing” for deeper insights into this exciting new multifaceted approach.