Currently, the component of digital video games as part of a customer engagement strategy is essential. According to a Newzoo report, the global gamer community in 2021 was 3.2 billion, of which 419 million are located in Latin America. Brazil is the largest market within this region with more than 100 million players. Mexico is not yet part of the top 10 countries with the largest gamer community, however, the national market is growing at accelerated rates.
Although the size of the market is very large and continues to grow, the important thing is to understand why the video game component is essential for a customer engagement strategy. You must start by understanding the psychology behind video games and gamers.
It’s all about motivation. According to Celia Hodent, author of the book “The Gamers Brain”, everything revolves around motivation, competition and relationship. These are 3 basic human needs. All people love things that satisfy these needs, such as playing a video game that represents challenges, mastery in some activity and commitment to something in addition to interacting with people. The motivation to play a video game is also related to the principle of being rewarded. Human beings like to be rewarded and this has to do with dopamine, the hormone of achievement and reward (https://www.merca20.com/hormonas-felicidad-loyalty/).
Why are brands using video games to increase engagement? Video games capture and hold the attention of consumers. Video games make brands communicate their message and it is registered in people’s consciousness.
There are brands that have managed to connect emotionally with customers through the game and therefore increase engagement towards them. There are many examples, one of them can be Duracell with the instagram game “Bunny Hop”. It is the iconic bunny of the brand who must overcome obstacles. The winners were given prizes such as a year of free batteries as well as being able to share their stories on the social platform. Another recent example is the OXXO Premia loyalty program that implemented a Formula 1 game in conjunction with the RedBull brand. The objective was that brands could have more exposure time with users in addition to the possibility of earning points from the same program.
It is important to take into account that there are 5 effects that video games can contribute to the customer engagement strategy:
- Video games activate 3 basic needs of human beings: motivation, competition and relationship. Brands that get their customers to relate more to them and feel motivated to consume them, are more likely to create strong ties of loyalty.
- Video games manage to capture the attention of users and generally make them spend more time receiving exposure from brands.
- Video games make customers willing to share more information and personal data with brands.
- Video games trigger at least one of the 3 hormones of happiness: Dopamine, which is the hormone that makes people feel good through achievement and reward. Customers who feel rewarded by the brands they consume generally have higher engagement with them and lower churn rates.
- Video games make consumers form communities with similar tastes and needs. These consumers are willing to share life experiences and moments with other members of the same community. If not, check out what Porche does in his loyalty program.
Video games are not the same as gamification, they are two different concepts but they can be combined within the same strategy. The game or video game component can help create ongoing relationships with customers, improve the performance of communication campaigns and therefore their ROI.