Attendee Engagement: Practical Uses of Gamification at Events
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A typical event often includes a main presentation, a few workshops, and a meal. All of this is fine, but to really make your event memorable and worthy of social media mention, you need to add a little something extra. Gamification is a creative way to drive engagement and push that wow factor.
Why Gamification Works
Pokémon Go was a massive trend upon its initial release in the summer of 2016. While the craze has died down a bit, it made a tremendous impact. At its peak, players would go out of their way, sometimes commuting hundreds of miles, to reach a location where they can catch a rare Pokémon.
Event planners capitalized on the craze, sometimes utilizing venues near areas where attendees can catch one of those harder-to-get monsters.
The game illustrated the human interest and social interaction that came with gamification. Luckily, games can be incorporated into an event in more ways than one.
Simply put, gamification is all about engagement, and games give attendees a light-hearted all-in-fun objective.
Gamification Methods for Events
First, it should be noted that gamification isn’t limited to digital outlets. Gamification can also take the traditional route. Many tradeshow booths, for example, utilize simple games and gave away promotional gear as prizes. Non-digital games may include:
- A tabletop spinning wheel
- Bean bag toss
- Darts
- Plinko
- Whack-a-mole
Non-digital gamification provides a fun and inexpensive way to drive engagement. Plus, it’s also child-friendly, which encourages guests to bring their kids along. The games, after all, are very similar to those that you would find at a carnival booth.
Digital Games
Going the digital route gives the event a vibe of technical sophistication and being up to date with modern standards/entertainment. Interactive kiosks are one way to go. Many companies are adding customized kiosk games that utilize their brand as the theme for the game.
Watch this video for an example of an interactive kiosk created by the lotion company Nivea. The kiosk has several games users can select, including an arm wrestling and escape-the-tornado game. Regardless of the game selected, the screen contains the logo in the background, exposing the gamer to the brand for the entire length of interaction.
Interactive kiosks also record the data of every participant. In the above Nivea example, the machine may record specific data, such as the number of times each game has been selected and how long each participant spent on the kiosk. This provides valuable data that can help planners improve the next event.
Another point to drive through is that interactive kiosks don’t have to be necessarily in the form of a game. It just has to be interactive in an interesting way, even at event registration. Another example is a kiosk photo booth with selectable backgrounds. This video shows an example of a Facebook-branded photo booth used at trade shows and expos.
Games for an Event App
Some event planners are investing in a customized event app. This allows attendees to download content, such as a digital copy of the event schedule, a layout of the venue, or a post-event survey. You can also provide mini-games. This can be a simple complimentary game like Alien Invaders that attendees can play during intermission.
Games in an event app can also be used as part of an icebreaker. Icebreakers are intended to get attendees to interact amongst one another. The event app can play a role here. Perhaps the app can send a message to each guest giving them special instructions to perform a particular social activity, such as:
- Introduce yourself to someone wearing a headgear
- Find someone of the opposite gender; introduce yourself and befriend that person on Facebook
- Get into a group of four or more with attendees you don’t know and take a group selfie
Of course, an event app isn’t required for an icebreaker like this, but using an app just makes the whole event feel more glamorous and sophisticated. By using an app, you can also reward points, badges, and trophies for each successfully completed action. The digital points can be redeemed at the event for small prizes.
Attendees shouldn’t just be passive observers. Make them active participants through the power of gamification. Not only does this add a whole other element, but it gives your event a more creative distinguishing factor.
Guest Author Bio: Dan McCarthy is an Event Manager at Ultimate Experience, an event management company based in the UK. Dan has 6 years of event project management under his belt. He has worked on many successful events, and currently, he shares his knowledge by writing on the company blog. Follow him on Twitter @DanCarthy2
Making kiosks part of your event? Start with an automated check-in experience at event registration.
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