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Gamification: '... and the geeks shall inherit the earth...'
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25 August 2011
Joel Harrison
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Not too long ago, computer or video games were just for geeks. Back in the dark days of the 80s, if you wanted to shoot some 2D aliens or crash computer generated sports cars, you had to hang out in amusement arcades (and be prepared to part with a significant amount of loose change) or invest in very a basic home computer and endure the intermeddle and unreliable cassette loading process. Consequently, the appeal of video games was niche.

Twenty five years later, video games are everywhere – and that’s not just thanks to the all pervasiveness of desktop computers and mobile devices; it’s also because the games themselves have evolved to become more accessible… and downright interesting. Not everyone will want to play World of Warcraft, but a huge number of people will download Angry Birds on their iPhone. While the sophistication of the former makes it the object of obsession for committed gamers, the simplicity, accessibility and affordability of the latter makes it applicable to almost everyone. The barriers preventing widespread uptake of video games have been comprehensively demolished – in short, gaming is more fun and less threatening.

It’s this new breed of accessible gaming that is increasingly creating opportunities for B2B brands – see the cover story from our September 2011 issue. Allied with this, the web becoming more sophisticated and crowded on a near-daily basis, making engagement in conventional text-based content harder and harder to generate. Any type of messaging that offers a different level of engagement with a hard-to-reach audience is highly desirable to brands.

However, that’s not to say that gamification is a panacea – it’s clearly not necessarily the right approach for all brands or target audiences. But if used correctly it increasingly has the potential to create cut-through and even brand intimacy with hard-to-reach business decision makers and influencers. And that’s surely a game that every B2B brand wants to play.

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3 comments

Unfortunately, I think there

Posted by James Gardner on 25 August 2011
Unfortunately, I think there are some misunderstandings around the concept of gamification - it's got nothing to do with creating games, or piggy-backing off them, per se. This is an oversimplification. Gamification is the process of applying gaming methodologies and systems to create a connection to the user. This encompasses elements such as rewards, achievements, virtual currencies and statuses. Good examples of online services using gamification are Foursquare - you collect badges and mayorship status as rewards - and also Klout. In Klout you can receive perks in return for your involvement. These game-like elements create a close bond between the service and the user, and encourages further interaction: 'just one more go'. It can also overcome the barriers to users engaging in boring and menial tasks such as filling in online surveys or leaving other feedback. There's an overview available at https://jamesgardneruk.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/what-is-gamification/ or at Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamification. Sorry, don't mean to be negative, and you do allude to this in the main article, but I thought it would be good have some clarity around the subject.

Thanks for your comment

Posted by Joel Harrison on 25 August 2011
Thanks for your comment James, but whatever it says on Wikipedia I wouldn't agree with your point that gamification is "nothing to do with creating games". As our cover story on the subject (which this Editor's Note article from B2B Marketing magazine is aimed at promoting) clearly shows, there is a blurring of boundaries between employing gaming techniques such as rewards and badges, and creating game type environments aimed at driving specific objectives - such as CityOne from IBM. The catalyst or facilitator for this, as I have tried to explain, is a greater level of acceptance of gaming throughout society. But you are right that I have simplified things - the aim being to make it interesting and engaging for my readers.

I agree with you, there is a

Posted by James Gardner on 25 August 2011
I agree with you, there is a blurring of these approaches. I just think that we need to be clear about how we approach this. There is a difference between games and gamification, which needs to be clearly articulated.

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