In this guest post, rubin8 founder and creative director Rob Holden (pictured below) asks why so many marketers are missing out on the untapped potential of using gamification for data collection.

Gaming to serve business goals isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Time and again, we’ve seen successful games capturing the world’s attention with stunning financial results.

Yet for too long, many marketers have cast gamification aside into the gimmick basket. It’s been a novelty addition to larger campaigns, but not considered an important marketing strategy.

We know from experience that when a consumer is engaged with a game, they’re more likely to tell the truth. Their guards are down. Gaming equals high engagement and you can use this to deliver clear business outcomes.

Gamification is the use of game techniques to deliver specific business objectives. This could be as simple as adding a progress bar that shows how much of an online form has been completed. No matter what the game itself is, within the industry the overarching aim remains obvious. The game needs to harness the power of consumer engagement.

Unlike traditional print advertising, gaming has the unique power to hold audience attention for long periods of time. They live in the pocket of their owner, ready to be played at every long bus ride, or lunch break. Even better, they provide a valuable opportunity to retrieve important information from highly switched-on consumers.

The value for marketing professionals

When you look at the highly successful ‘freemium’ model of gaming, every time a player reaches a certain level, they’re asked to pay a dollar amount. Rather than asking for monetary amounts, marketers should seek out high-quality data via targeted questions. These questions are presented to players strategically at key time intervals, allowing them to progress through the gameplay when answered.

Many brands have launched good-quality games, but they’re missing an opportunity by focusing solely on creating fun experiences. Often, they’re investing heavily in customised development, but all they get in return is a bit of brand awareness buzz. They’re failing to take full advantage of the opportunity. It doesn’t have to begin and end with an experience. Game models should always offer great game experiences, but why not harness the platform to learn and extract important information from consumers?

The limbic system of our brains is responsible for behaviour, emotion and motivation. This is why our answers generally become more truthful when we’re fully engaged. This creates an opportunity with awesome business potential.

Unlike print advertising, games have the power to capture consumer attention for long periods of time. They provide a valuable opportunity to pull important information from switched-on and often resistant consumers.