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Gamification Hits the Middle East
Published Jun 19, 2013
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Even though it's still getting started and may seem new to the Mena region, gamification is gaining popularity globally, and in our part of the world. In September 2012, Ahmed EL Rayes, a serial entrepreneur and a London Business School Alumni, launched the region's first gamification agency, Dubai-based Gamified Labs. El Rayes explains that he realized "the massive potential and benefits that gamification can bring to society whether in education, marketing or HR related activities". he further explains that he got his inspiration after being part of the Games for Change Summit that was held in New York in 2012, whose mission was to highlight the educational benefits of games, how games can be designed to help in creating a better tomorrow, and how game design techniques and mechanics can be effectively utilized in non-gaming contexts such as HR and Education.
And earlier this month, another gamification digital agency opened its inaugural office in Dubai. Entitled "The Gamifiers," the agency is in partnership with Badgeville, a behaviour management company specializing in gamification.
It involves the use of game mechanics and game design techniques in non-gaming contexts in order to solve problems and engage users. It can be used in many ways and it is not bound to a specific industry or type of business. Gamifying works on a reward system; when players accomplish a task they are given points, achievement badges or even virtual currency. The rewards of accomplishing a task are sometimes displayed on a "leaderboard" to encourage competition.
While the concept sounds like a new term and trend, its growth rate is increasing rapidly. It is already fast becoming an integral component of marketing and advertising strategies for top brands. According to Gartner, a leading information technology research and advisory company, by 2016, Gamification will be an essential element for brands and retailers to drive customer marketing and loyalty. By 2015, 40 per cent of 1,000 global organizations will use gamification as the primary mechanism to transform business operations and by 2017, 50 per cent will use it for learning and recruitment processes. Spending on gamification is projected to reach more than $2.5 billion by 2015 in the US alone, according to M2Research.
Marketers are not only looking to acquire new customers, but also to retain them over time and turn them into loyal customers; perhaps this is why Gartner also predicted that 70 per cent of Forbes Global 2,000 companies plan to use gamification for the purposes of marketing and customer retention. Gamification is proving to be a strong enabler to marketers throughout those stages. In 2010, Starbucks (US) gave custom Foursquare badges to people who checked in at multiple locations and offered discounts to people who became mayors of an individual store.
Despite the fact that the concept has been met with a criticism - some citing it a marketing fad, while others arguing that it creates an artificial sense of achievement - many businesses continue to create gamification platforms. For example, Badgeville, which launched in late 2010, has raised $15 million in venture capital funding in its first year of operation. Big names, such as SAP AG, IBM, EMC, Deloitte, Microsoft have all started using gamification in various applications and processes.
Media agency, PHD, has been using Gamification on its employees globally for a while now. The agency, along with Cannes Lions, launched a massive multiplayer online (MMO) game for delegates this month, to win a VIP pass in the 2014 festival. This is the third year PHD has introduced a gamification approach, which is also using its new operating system, Source. Delegates need to collect "Pings" via the Cannes Lions app. They are a points scoring system devised and used by PHD. The more Pings collected, the higher the ranking, but only the top-ten make the leaderboard.
An inaugural Gamification World Championships will be held in San Francisco in October 2013. A jury of leading global Gamification practitioners will judge the event.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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