For those regularly attending events, it can sometimes be a relatively repetitive and monotonous experience for them, going through he motions of collecting brochures, branded pens, USB drives and talking to company representatives.
Event organisers are always looking for new ways to engage and captivate those attending their events, with one of the key difficulties being that those attending are engaged, networking and ultimately finding the experience beneficial.
Gamification is a trend that has been on the rise in the event industry over the last few years that event organisers having been using to immerse, educate and entertain their audiences. If used in the correct way, gamification can create more memorable experiences for attendees and really get them to indulge in your event.
What is Event Gamification?
So, what does it mean to gamify your event? To gamify your event is right in the name, to create and employ the mechanics of a game such as challenges, rewards, points systems, narratives and place them in an event environment.
Technology plays an important role in gamifying an event; however, the real drive is in the psychology behind the activities taking place. Gamification works by accessing the internal motivations and emotions of attendees to help achieve the desired outcomes of the event.
Event Technology is able to drive these internal motivators further with the rapid advances in smartphone technology, software apps and social media. By embracing the myriad of technological tools out there, event organisers can use them to their advantage and benefit their event
Setting Goals
Although an important factor, other than increasing engagement, what’s the overall goal of bringing gamification to an event? This is an important factor to explore to ensure that what you decide to implement can also contribute to the overall goals of your event. Whether your event is trying to maximize the Return of Investment of your event, looking for innovative ways to capture new leads or looking to expand your brands horizons, the activities that are put in place will be dictated based on what is trying to be achieved. Look at your KPIs and work out how gamification can contribute to accomplishing these.
Event Gamification and its benefits
Properly implemented gamification has the power to transform your event in a variety of ways and help you achieve your events goals.
Through gamification you will be able to encourage and reward desired behaviours from your events attendees. No matter the behaviour you're seeking from your delegates, gamification provides a platform to encourage and analyse those actions. Games today are just as much about storytelling as they are mechanics. By rewarding actions with progress through a powerful story, you can form strong emotional bonds with your delegates.
Gamifications can also help delegates create lasting relationships and memories at the event. Introducing games can help to encourage them to play together, interacting more using the games as a common purpose. It could be a great way to break the ice for many event attendees.
Games could also allow you to collect relevant, valuable data. Using polls, quizzes or measuring the patterns in desired actions through the use of event technology provide more useful data and information.
Where to start?
Taking advantage of technology that will be in the pockets of your attendees is a great place to start. Mobiles and apps could be used as a platform for the games at your event. For example, a scavenger hunt could be created to expand the footfall to different elements of your event. Attendees could collect points by checking in at different booths and completing a variety of tasks, polls or surveys as they move around your event. Those who earn the most points could receive some rewards such as some branded goodies or receive a featured slot on social media.
Think Beyond Digital
Although technology can open up a vast number of opportunities to enhance your event, relying on digital only games may actually prevent your event attendees from engaging each other and the event. Making phones a focal point could mean they ignore of what is going on around them, so you will want to ensure the games require attendees to interact with other people the environment around them.
Gamification is an excellent add-on that can enhance your event further to engage and motivate those attending. With the right strategy in place, you can leverage game mechanics to produce unforgettable events that inspire and delight.