5 steps to integrate gamification into your event

For every brand, company and sector, events are conceived differently. However, the main goal is always the same: create an original and memorable experience for those who will take part.

By counting on event gamification, you are guaranteed to have participants completely immersed in your concept and interested in your programme. Using gamification during your event is going to reinforce your message, increase your audience’s engagement and create an interactive experience. You are also going to pique the interest of a new audience, which will increase traffic before, during and after the event.

Gamification effectively propels activity and engagement, and is therefore perfectly suited to the events sector. There are many reasons why participants attend events: learning, discovery, commercial or even networking. With the addition of gaming, your programme is guaranteed to meet each of your participant’s expectations by giving them an immersive experience designed for them.

1. Set out an event gamification strategy

Firstly, it is important to clearly define the objectives of the event because they constitute the final goal of the overall project. They must be clearly defined, measurable and arranged by order of importance. Otherwise, they can become vague and difficult to achieve.

Having clear objectives in mind helps you to choose the most suitable approach and games to meet your needs. Also bear in mind the KPI (key performance indicators), which are very useful when creating your gaming programme. They are used to measure the company’s performance and allow you to centre your decision-making around fixed objectives.

You must also determine who the potential participants in your event are and who you want to attract. This allows you to adapt your ideas and game formats to suit your target audience. Once you have determined these elements, which are key in ensuring your workshop, conference, convention or fair runs smoothly, you can begin to develop a suitable communication strategy and decide what role the game will play in your event.

2. Break your events up with more game stepping stones

Use more gaming mechanisms to boost engagement and create consistency between different sessions. Integrating gamification into various stages of your event adds value to the initial content and gives you the chance to re-establish engagement and concentration with people taking part in your programme.

From the outset, present the gaming concept, explain how it can highlight key points to take away and mention the scoring system and ranking table if you are using one. Over the course of a presentation, a member of the audience may zone out or lose concentration – and it can be difficult to bring them back. To counteract this problem, imagine using an interactive activity which will reinvigorate their focus with quizzes, games or challenges to complete.

For example, pair each key moment with a fun gamification activity using our Dynamic Path™. Acting as a guiding narrative throughout your event, it helps you to create many levels, in which each step can be a game, some interactive content or an educational module.

This principle is also applicable in a showroom or fair setting. Create games which challenge people as they pass each stand to pique their curiosity and catch their attention.

A gamification programme can therefore take many forms, but the most important thing is that it fits the conditions of the event that you want to organise and that it doesn’t seem to have been put in completely at random. Showcase the games that you have created and reinforce the fun aspect and rewards, if there are any, to create a relaxed atmosphere. People want to know if they are going to have a good time at your event.

3. Define the reward system

There is a certain number of reward systems that can serve as the foundation for an event. You must therefore think carefully about a system that best suits your concept and will help you achieve your goals. You should also ask yourself if participants should earn all of their rewards during the event with a leader board, all at once at the end, or whether you should have different prizes to be won throughout the event to give them a sense of progression the whole way through the conference.

Then, you need to determine the type of rewards to be won. The rewards can be material goods such as a gift and goodies, a tangible prize such as a gift card or discounts, or an intangible prize such as recognition or badges.

4. Effectively share the idea

For gamification to work, it must be fresh in people’s minds when they attend your event. If they didn’t already know about your concept or programme, there is a risk they may not understand it or your efforts will be wasted on them. You must make sure your event is well-advertised and promote it on all media platforms to arouse interest and curiosity among potential participants.

• To reach as many people as possible and obtain the best results possible, create a QR code which will allow you to refer anyone who is interested directly to your games, the platform or the website dedicated to it.
• Social media is an excellent platform to advertise and promote your events. Create a sense of anticipation and excitement by talking about the event, posting photos, videos and giving sneak peeks of the programme. Build interest before the day arrives and invite people to take part.
• If you have a client database, think about sharing important information with them through newsletters and texts to communicate more directly.

The website and your social media are a showcase and a platform to spread information relating to your event: date, location, access map, programme or even the guests invited.

Expert advice!

• Benefit from the Drimify team’s 10+ years of experience by using our practical promotion guide for your event games. Make sure the odds are in your favour thanks to our list of important points to refer to.

5. Prolong and renew the experience

Gamification doesn’t have to be used exclusively for one-off experiences, it can also be used for monthly, quarterly and annual programmes. When you recreate the experience over time, you habituate your audience to playing and having a good time at your events. Renewing the gaming experience helps you increase leads, prospective clients and the reach of your events in the long term. Establishing this fun aspect in all your future events allows you to develop a positive and caring image which will benefit all levels of your business.

As soon as your event ends, reach out to participants, making them want to engage with your company further and why not encourage them to come back and attend one of your next events:

• Organise a challenge after the event and make them want to play again by offering new mini-games to keep them engaged.
• Or even send a newsletter with a game inside it to thank participants and give them information about upcoming events that you plan on organising in the next few months. Send them a reminder a few weeks after to ask them what they thought of the event by leaving a review through a Drimify survey.
• And finally, don’t forget to post the highlights online by sharing snapshots, reviews you have received and the results of different games that were offered with an overview of the ranking board.

If you would like to integrate gamification into the organisation of your upcoming events, check out the Drimify add-ons. Our goal? To offer you an innovative gamification solution, adapted to your goals, to help you create and integrate an event game strategy to add significant value for participants in your events.

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