Why Gamification? Current Problem
The global gamification market size was estimated at USD 10.5 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach around USD 96.8 billion by 2030. Currently, 70% of Global 2000 companies (the largest 2,000 companies around the world) use gamification.
In the last few years, gamification has reached a social tipping point and is increasingly being incorporated into various aspects of our lives, from education, work, marketing, parenting, sustainability, to healthcare and scientific research.
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Starbucks utilized gamification in their rewards app, driving customer loyalty and boosting sales. By offering customers stars (points) for purchases, which could be exchanged for free drinks and food, they kept customers returning.
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The language-learning platform Duolingo uses gamification techniques such as earning points, levelling up, and competition with friends to encourage users to continue their language studies. This has led to their significant user base growth.
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The Khan Academy, an educational platform, has integrated gamification into its system, allowing students to earn badges as they learn. This strategy has helped motivate students and improve engagement rates.
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The British Army used a virtual reality experience as part of their recruitment process, allowing potential recruits to experience a simulated version of military life. This approach drew significant interest and increased their recruitment numbers.
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The World Bank launched a climate change game "Evoke" which had players brainstorm solutions to social issues. It successfully raised awareness and inspired players to take action in real life.
According to a report from market research firm Gartner, it is predicted that 70% of Fortune 500 firms will use Gamification by the end of 2023.
Gamification can be applied to many areas, such as business, work culture, activities, and more. It can be used to motivate people to quit smoking, lose weight, collaborate better, and improve user retention. Gamification is as essential for any business as adding salt to food.
Gamification has tremendous potential, but many companies use the term as a marketing gimmick to promote their product, often failing due to a lack of knowledge in true gamification.
Gamification became one of the newest shiny objects to emerge, and many organizations want to add it to their collection. Many gamification professionals seem to believe that if you put points on something boring, add some badges, and provide a competitive leaderboard, that once boring product will automatically become exciting.
Numerous experts in the field of gamification tend to operate under the assumption that just adding points, badges, and a ranking system can transform a boring product into a thrilling one.
There's a lot of misunderstanding and discussion about how video games, rewards systems, and gamification are alike and different. Because they all use things like points and levels, people often mix them up and believe the same rules can be used for each. But, video games and rewards systems are not the same as gamification, so it's really important to know how they differ to avoid getting mixed up.
Companies that provide rewards and incentive programs see themselves as having “done gamification for a long time.” Adding game mechanics such as badges and rewards won't make a product or service "gamified". It's like adding chocolate coatings to things that are not sweets. While chocolate can make some things better, the effect is not universal. Jesse Schell calls this "Chocification" rather than "Gamification".
In a study, Gartner suggested that bad gamification design would lead to the failure of 80% of gamification attempts, a topic we'll delve into in this article.
We worry that, in a few years, businesses might dismiss gamification, saying, "We tried the points, badges stuff and it didn’t work out. I guess gamification was just a short-term fad.” That would be a huge loss for the world.
Later in this article, you will learn what gamification is, best practices for applying it to your product or service, and common pitfalls to avoid.
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Chapter 2: