Gamification: The Game Of Learning

If you’ve ever watched lion cubs playing, you would have been enthralled by their cuteness certainly, but you might also have wondered why they do it. When they have to struggle to survive and are still prey to other predators, why do spend their time rolling on the savannah instead of waiting safely in a den for their parents to bring them food?

The answer, of course, is that the cubs aren’t just having fun. They’re also learning. They’re learning how to hunt and run and bite. They’re enjoying themselves but they’re enjoying a second benefit that’s much more valuable.

That’s true too of gamification in content marketing. The game must be fun if it’s to be effective, but when it’s effective, it’s more than fun: it delivers real, measurable benefits to the brand. Leads attribute the positive experiences they feel when they play—the fun, the learning, the skill acquisition, the achievements—to the brand, raising the brand’s value in their eyes.

Migdal, for example, is one of Israel’s leading pension and investment firms and one of ASTELO’s oldest clients. They gave us a challenge: to explain some of the most complex insurance and financial products and teach people on why it's so important to have them. We had to find a way to detour objections and fears people have when they approach financial matters and need to imagine worst case scenarios. Our solution made use of a gamification strategy. We wanted to educate about Migdal’s products but also to show people that they lacked important knowledge and demonstrate how that ignorance was damaging the quality of their lives.

"5 Questions in 60 Seconds" is a series of 60-second quizzes during which players are asked to answer five questions related to insurance and pensions. At the end of each quiz, players are given a score and are walked through the right answers with a short explanation on each subject. Better informed, leads could understand the importance of the topics, recognize that they need help, and could call Migdal for more information.

Gamification Trains Brains

The aim is always to use game techniques to improve the player, to make them better informed, more knowledgeable, and better placed to benefit from the brand. Elevate has taken the power of gamification to a whole new level. The brain-training app enhances players’ communication and analytical skills through a personalized game-based training program that adjusts over time based on performance. Users play, and through play, they improve their valuable life skills. The app contains a number of techniques that content marketers are working into their own gamification strategies.

The form in which education and gamification can be combined varies tremendously but it can be applied even in areas that are usually serious, such as healthcare, as well as finance. Superbetter.com is a mobile app and an online game  that turns daily physical and mental health exercises into challenges and games. Players can “activate power-ups,” “battle bad guys” and complete daily quests as they learn about healthy living and work towards better health

Smart parents know that learning is most effective when the lessons are fun. Smart content marketers use gamification to make delivering a brand message enjoyable and engaging.

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