Gamification in your events

In the world of marketing and, more specifically, in the events sector, the use of Gamification – or the application of game mechanics in non-gaming contexts – is becoming increasingly popular, especially with the spread of hybrid or fully digital events.

Usually, organizers who implement this strategy aim to increase participant engagement, attract users or potential customers and – in general – support the achievement of objectives. But, if planned incorrectly or inadequately, gamification can leave your audience bored and uninterested in your event or, in the worst case scenario, damage your relationships with sponsors, exhibitors and other customers.

To best implement this strategy, let's clarify the concept of Gamification and how you can integrate it into your event.

What is gamification?

This is a strategy he uses game design and other techniques borrowed from games, in non-gaming contexts and which have the aim of attracting users or potential customers, involving them in the proposed activities and making them interested in the services offered in an unconventional way.

As you can imagine, implementing gamification in your event correctly can bring multiple benefits:

• increase fun and involvement of participants
• increase traffic and attendance at events
• promote the creation of valuable connections and networking
• acquire new qualified leads
• increase brand awareness, interest and loyalty
• get to know your audience better and measure their satisfaction
• motivate employees
• improve results and performance.

However, we can identify two main objectives: create interest for the message you want to communicate e stimulate behavior active and measurable.

To achieve these objectives there are numerous game mechanics that you can implement in your event, flexible and adaptable to the medium, the target, the results sought and many other variables. Here are some:

• levels to be achieved;
• progress bars;
• unlockable items;
• challenges and competitions with rankings;
• points and rewards (e.g. digital badges/badges);
• final prizes (e.g. access to exclusive content, discount vouchers, sponsor prizes, etc.).

Implement gamification effectively

Planning gamification correctly is essential to achieving your goals and enjoying all the other benefits. To implement it effectively, take the following steps as a basic structure:

1. Define goals: Determine what activities or behaviors you want to encourage and what goals you want to achieve.
2. Know your audience: good gamification design must focus on the user, for this reason it is essential to be able to understand his way of thinking and what drives him to perform certain actions; only after understanding the public's motivations will you be able to establish a system of rewards and incentives suited to the type of user.
3. Choose the game modes to integrate: select the most appropriate ones based on the event objectives and audience characteristics, using elements such as badges, points, rankings, challenges and rewards strategically in the different phases of the event.
4. Measure and improve: Collect feedback and other data to measure the effectiveness of implemented activities; analyzes metrics such as participation level, interaction and attendee satisfaction to make changes and improvements in future editions of the event.

Also take into consideration other factors such as budget and the technology you rely on; you could choose an all-in-one event app like Letz Fair, would in fact allow you to reduce overall costs and manage all phases of your event - including gamification - with a single platform.

Plan activities using the “flow state”

When selecting game modes to implement in your event, take into consideration the "flow state", a state of consciousness in which the person is completely immersed in an activity. Being able to get participants to reach this mental state means increasing the user experience, improving engagement and satisfaction.

Here's how you can use the flow framework in a gamification context:

• Balance the difficulty level with player skills, to prevent users from becoming bored or frustrated or more likely to abandon;
• Provide real-time feedback to users on the activities they are carrying out;
• Plan missions following the principles of motivational psychology to encourage the participant to continue the path and achieve the game objectives.

An example of success

An emblematic example of how gamification can bring benefits to an event is FantaSanremo.
Launched in 2021 as a fantasy game, it allowed viewers of the Sanremo Festival to become real players and - although it was not developed directly by the organizers of the television program - it also generated benefits for the Festival and the artists who participate in it.

How does it work?
Depending on the editions, after registration each participant forms a team made up of a certain number of competing artists (in the past a virtual currency called "Baudo" was even used). Each competing singer is assigned certain prices (e.g. Annalisa is worth 20 points (or Baudi), Måneskin 23 points, etc.) and each player will have to evaluate how to spend his 100 Baudi to form the team.
You can also create private leagues to challenge your friends and family.

The player's score depends on the artists' actions during the Festival episodes; the bonuses and penalties are indicated on the official website of the game from the beginning of the Festival until the final episode. The person with the highest number of points at the end of the Festival wins.

Arriving on the web in 2021, FantaSanremo immediately generated a lot of interest (over 50 thousand teams were created); interest which, thanks to continuous improvements to the platform and the participation of famous people - including the artists themselves, has increased every edition.
In 2024 the FantaSanremo teams exceeded 4 million.

The gamification of FantaSanremo

FantaSanremo managed to transform an event with over 70 years of history into an interactive experience, involving both spectators and participating artists.

Artists have benefited from this on social media, both in terms of followers (as well as 260 thousand users have started following one of the competing artists) both in terms of interactions (further 1 million, when those of the main artists are added). As regards the Festival however, in addition to also taking advantage of it on social media (146.540 more followers between Instagram and TikTok and beyond 3 million interactions), too share benefited from it, surpassing the Present in several = 65%, a continuously increasing trend since 2021, when FantaSanremo was born.

The Festival and its artists were able to benefit from this gamification tool without even owning it, demonstrating how it is a powerful catalyst of attention, passion and involvement from all points of view.

Conclusions

Gamification is a strategy that can be used to engage and retain participants, motivate productivity and increase performance.
The events risk not being as exciting as desired, therefore gamification - whether it is applied as a secondary factor or is a constant during the event - can be the ideal solution to animate them and, at the same time, create an increasingly stronger bond with the users.

Are you interested in learning more about what solutions LetzFair can offer in terms of gamification?
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