The goal is always the same: to create a sense of community that ultimately boosts sales. Gamification is therefore a versatile tool that goes far beyond entertainment.

In recent years, all of us as consumers have experienced new approaches from brands that are constantly looking for more innovative and dynamic solutions to achieve their goals. Many brands are presenting more original, differentiated and inspiring solutions to their communication with the aim of entertaining, engaging and growing their presence in an increasingly competitive market. These include such companies as Adidas, which is bringing a new look to personalization, AirBnb, who tell authentic stories using storytelling, Burger King, whose McDonalds has raised its guerrilla status, and many other examples of brands incorporating new solutions with the aim of reaching their consumers in a revolutionary, impactful and, in some cases, viral way.

Another option in the hat of existing solutions that has served as inspiration all over the world is gamification. For the more lay or inattentive, it’s the application of elements from the world of games in line with a previously defined strategy. This approach transcends the methods seen as more traditional with the aim of capitalizing on what is innate in human beings – competition – by awarding rewards, challenges and prizes that keep consumers more emotionally involved around the brand.

This more active participation provides an intrinsic motivation that is not only operationalized in immediate tangible and intangible gains, but also in long-term customer retention through this pre-established bond. Consider, for instance, the case of Starbucks, a company created in 1971 in Seattle, which gained popularity through its loyalty program created in 2009, called “Starbucks Rewards”, and which used gamification to increase its value proposition to its consumers. This program allowed points to be accumulated for each purchase and through these you could advance to different levels within the program, in the form of free drinks, food and even exclusive products. Innovative for the time, the brand managed to keep its customers engaged through personalized challenges and exclusive offers tailored to each of them, managed to leverage its presence on social media and even managed to be perceived as an innovative brand. It would appear that this 2009 reference is outdated or seen as not very disruptive today, but at the time it was revolutionary.

For the more informed and voracious readers, the examples are not limited to a program created in 2009, it is also possible to refer to more current solutions, such as Nike, offering gamification through the “Nike Training Club” application, where the user is presented with a variety of challenges that they have to complete, earning a virtual badge that, in some way, promotes the importance of regular physical exercise. Another example, probably the antithesis of the first, is McDonalds, which has its acclaimed “McDonalds Monopoly” game, which consists of collecting the elements needed to build the game board.

The examples are varied, but the aim is always the same: to create a sense of community through a strategy that involves and ultimately boosts sales among the brand’s consumers. Gamification is, for all these reasons, a versatile tool that goes far beyond entertainment, as it allows routines to be transformed into challenges, participants into protagonists, redefining the way consumers engage, learn and connect with the contemporary world. Using such solutions, brands have the opportunity to keep pace with market trends, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary, creating unique experiences for a highly competitive world.