1. Using Game Mechanics
For Marketing
Image from Flickr

2. RAF KEUSTERMANS
Independent Consultant
VP Marketing (consultant) Kobojo 2011
Global Marketing Director Playfish (EA) 2009-2010
Marketing Director EMEA Pogo.com (EA) 2008-2009
Head of Marketing Western Europe Unibet.com 2005-2008
Project Manager & Strategic Planner at BBDO, Grey and
DuvalGuillaume (Publicis Groupe) 1998-2001 / 2002-2005
Co-Founder start-up (Cyganet - online community tools &
services) 2001-2002
raf.keustermans@gmail.com
Twitter: @raf_keustermans

3. Number of gamers exploded:
2000: 250M
2011: 1B+
• New fast-growing ‘open’ platforms (Fb, iOS)
• Metrics-led design, new generation of game devs
• Broadband penetration
• Free!

4. Before 2008:
- Games = Niche
- Big, But Closed Industry
- Brands & Non-Gamers Not Welcome

5. Growing importance of
entertainment.
Digital entertainment industry
revenues tripled in last decade.

6. Freemium
Free-to-Play

7. Why Should You Care?
• 150B minutes spent EVERY MONTH on social games
• That’s an average of 10 minutes for everyone on the planet!
• Or 3,4M years are spend/wasted on social games every year.
spend/ year.
• Wow!
• Next-Generation Marketing
• Gamification, Social media, Earned Media,
Conversational, Metrics-Led Design, …

8. Brands Are Welcome!

9. Brands have different options
• Work with game studios and/or existing games
– In-game advertising, sponsorship
– Partnership (use Game coins in your loyalty scheme)
– Licensing (create a branded game or integrate your
brand in a game)
• Understand the power of game mechanics to
improve your (non-game) business
– Gamification!

10. Zynga/Citi Group
Loyalty Scheme

11. AmEx/FarmVille
Branded Virtual Item

12. Gamification?
• Gamification is the use of game mechanics for
non-game applications/businesses.
• Game mechanics:
– Level structure
– Reward (feedback) systems: points, badges, …
– Competitive elements (leaderboards, tournament)
– Appointment mechanics
– Virtual currency
– …

13. It’s not (always) about making stuff FUN
Gamification =! Making a game
Gamification =! Making a boring
business/activity more fun
Gamification = using game
elements or mechanics to
improve businesses or
experiences

14. Gamification ingredients
Image from free-photos.biz

15. 1. What motivates the user/customer?
2. What are the mechanics/rules?
3. Is there Social Interaction?
4. How do you Win/Level Up? (victory
conditions)

16. What motivates the user?
• Power
• Personal development
• Being recognised, Status
• Curiosity, learning, creating
• Winning (prizes, cash)
• Competition
• Affiliation, social interaction (‘making friends’)
• Ownership, control
• Achievement

17. TripIt - leaderboards
Status & competition (brag about your business trips, show how ‘global’ you are)
Changes dynamics of travel planning.

18. Game mechanics
• Resource Management
• Auction
• Luck, Random elements
• Time (against the clock)
• Rewards (badges, points, achievements)
• Risk (penalty vs reward)
• Levels
• Collecting
• Leaderboard
• Points, Virtual Currency
• Capture (remove opponent’s tokens/resources)
• Appointment mechanics (come back in 15 minutes or else)
• …

19. Badges Can Work!
• Nothing new
• Relevant tool if there is a
context/meaning

20. Social Interaction
• Social Graph
• Gifting
• Feedback (internal/external)
• Status, peer recognition
• Communal collaboration
• Leaderboard
• Self-expression (Avatars,
customisation)
• Exchange

21. Victory Conditions
• Elimination (wipe out competitors)
• Score (most points win)
• Race (first player wins)
• Territory control (biggest area)
• Game-specific rules

22. McDonald’s Monopoly Promotion
• Victory = collect the right sets of streets

23. EA Sports Active
Victory & game rules automated: software tells you how well you did (points, challenges)

24. • Criticism:
– ‘Pointsification’
– Fluffy metrics (‘engagement’)
– Re-inventing loyalty systems
– Ugly word
• Most gamification projects are
‘glorified loyalty programmes’.
• Game mechanics can’t fix broken
businesses!

25. Raf Keustermans
raf.keustermans@gmail.com
twitter.com/raf_keustermans
Image from Flickr