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of devices. You can achieve this goal using HTML5, which is a web-based framework that, in my opinion, is the best way to ensure games will run correctly within any device.

      Going rogue

      This is when you try to add more elements after the final functional spec has been agreed upon. You see something new and creative and you just have to incorporate it into the development. Most of the time, this only delays your final product and inevitably creates a muddled and confused gaming experience.

      

Stick to your functional spec and create a “wish list” when you come across a new idea. The wish list will come in handy for the next phase or launch.

      Complicating the gameplay

      Making the gameplay more unique or more complicated doesn’t mean your campaign will be better. The ultimate goal for your team is to get your audience to engage with your campaign. Overly complicated gameplay causes confusion, and confusion means minimal overall engagement. Another downfall to adding too many elements is the adverse effect on loading times. If your campaign doesn’t load quickly, your audience will quickly lose patience and give up.

      

Keeping the gameplay simple will create a fun, interactive, and easy-to-play campaign. It’s always better for games to be simple and quick, so your audience will pick up the campaign and play right away without paying too much attention to the rules.

      Creating too many rewards

      Throughout this book, I go on a lot about rewards. After all, rewards are the ultimate goal for gamification marketing campaigns. But you can have too much of a good thing. If your audience is being rewarded for every little action, the rewards won’t mean anything. Your entire reward system, along with your entire gamification campaign, will be rendered null and void.

Try to limit the ways your audience is awarded points, badges, and rewards. By doing this, your audience will take them more seriously, and the rewards themselves will feel special.

      

Also, keep both the objectives and the rewards simple. Choose two or three actions that you want your users to carry out. By rewarding users for carrying out these specific behaviors, you can motivate them to do exactly what you want.

      Misusing game mechanics

      Game mechanics are the vehicles that drive your marketing goals and objectives. Use too many, and your message becomes over-saturated and your audience will start to become confused over the goals being communicated to them. Use too few, and the message won’t be clearly communicated.

      As an example, you can use badges to communicate achievements to your audience. Badges keep them motivated to reach the next level or earn another badge. Badges, which mark special achievements, give your audience a way to feel connected to your campaign.

      However, a common mistake I see is when my clients force their audience to earn their next badge by making them do something they don’t want to do. For instance, maybe the only way to progress is by sharing their progress on their social media platforms. Not everyone will want to do this, and some people will bail.

      

In this example, the game mechanics of badges should be looked at as a way to recognize an achievement, not the reason for your audience to do something.

      Banking on virality

      Gamification marketing may be more likely to go viral than ordinary marketing campaigns. However, you can’t bank on this happening. It will either happen or it won’t. I never create a gamification campaign for virality.

      The sheer volume of campaigns that contain online videos, photos, cartoons, memes, infographics, posts, and other easily sharable content is so enormous that it unlikely for any campaign to go viral.

      Most companies I work with have to acknowledge that the primary goal of their gamification marketing campaigns is to create a buzz within their industry.

      

You can’t control the outcome, but you can control the development, design, and launch. Work on this, and the buzz within your industry will be guaranteed.

      Creating a campaign that can’t be played at work

      

No one will want to play your campaign if game elements (for instance, sudden loud sound effects, annoying track music, or full-screen animation) can cause sudden embarrassment at work. These elements may be the norm in online games, but use them with caution in your campaign.

      When designing a gamification campaign, I like to imagine that the audience is sitting one desk away from their manager. If you think of it this way, the elements you develop will be subtle and stress-free so that everyone can enjoy and engage with your campaign, wherever they are.

      Assuming your audience will understand games

      Unless your company is in the gaming and entertainment industry, your audience may not be familiar with gamification campaigns. I see this as a major plus.

      All marketing campaigns are looking for some way to create a disruption within their industries. Gamification helps to get your audience’s attention and promote your message. If you suddenly launch a game to an audience who isn’t usually presented with this type of marketing, you’ll pique their interest.

      The mistake I see is assuming your audience will understand the point of the gamification elements. They won’t. To overcome this hurdle, introduce as many help elements as you can. These may include videos, FAQs, in-game instructional messages, and a chat window.

      If you accomplish this goal, once-unknowledgeable audiences will see your company as the pioneer and voice of authority in gamification marketing. For me, this is the best possible result for your team’s hard work.

Part 2

      Beginning Your Gamification Marketing Quest

IN THIS PART …

      Define your audience and deliver a uniquely engaging campaign to them.

      Explore the various types of gamification engagement tools available for your campaign.

      Assemble a dream team to help you design, build, and maintain your gamification model.

      Understand the technology that will power your gamification marketing campaign.

Chapter 3

      Identifying Your Target Audience

      IN THIS CHAPTER

      

Defining your perfect audience

      

Delivering an engaging and personalized campaign

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