GAMECEPTION - A game within a game

Hello, creative souls!

If you’re someone that’s been a part of a live-stadium experience, you’d know about the absolute exhilaration that arises from being in a sea of fans. Is there anything that could make that experience all the more better by engaging you right there?

That’s what FCB Zürich, the Swiss Ice Hockey team, tried to achieve - and succeeded in fashion.

SECRET SAUCE: GAMIFICATION

GIST: For the uninitiated, Bingo is a game of chance where participants match numbers on their cards with numbers drawn randomly, aiming to complete a specific pattern and win prizes.

In the context of the ad: Hockey Club Davos is Switzerland's most successful ice hockey team with 31 championship titles but relies heavily on merchandise and catering sales for financial support. Therefore, a game of "Rink bingo" was introduced to increase fan engagement by turning rink panels into bingo fields with sensors. Crashes into panels sent the panel number to the stadium display and fans' smartphones via the Rink Bingo app. Fans played live during matches, both in the stadium and at home, winning prizes like merchandise vouchers. Rink Bingo increased traffic and sales at concession stands, bars, and the fan shop, making games more fun and profitable.

Consumers today don’t just want to go to restaurants, concerts, sports games or conventions—they want to experience them. For some events, the experiences are inherent— and a lot of them are relatively newer (say, like the Van Gogh experience that was showcased across various international cities).

But for concerts, sports games and any live event that has been happening for centuries now, the experience has largely remained the same with minor innovations that have become mainstays - like the Kiss Cam in the United States. While there are no complaints, the opportunity cost of how great the experience can be is lost.

Enter, technology.

With the advent of technology today, brands have the ability to transcend boundaries to engage with their audience. Every brand, irrespective of the type of brand— from sports teams to beverages, are leveraging social media to create campaigns that stick and make an audience a part of the narrative— like they belong to a group.

And as the IPL season concludes this year, we’ve all seen how the teams participating tag teamed with the brands that sponsor them and tapped into making a lot of noise— from players getting new identities in their city, to teams meme-ing themselves and even brands that are non-sponsors using this for high-engaging viral tweets.

But the fans here are spectators— while they’re a part of the narrative, they don’t have a lot of things to do or experience.

Can brands use technology like Augmented Reality and the Internet of Things to come up with campaigns that can have a long-lasting impact? Will we see a future where…

• There’s a new twist on a drinking game at a concert, where fans get 10% off on a beverage every single time a specific word is sung?

• At a cricket game, fans get to become ‘commentators’ with their live tweets being aired on the big screen?

• At a movie theatre, they get to become a part of the poster of a film that’s on display?

Opportunities and ideas are all around, they just need to be capitalized on.

What are the benefits? Here’s the impact of the campaign above:

Increased Fan Engagement This gamification strategy significantly boosts fan engagement during matches. Fans are no longer passive spectators; they are active participants in the game. This heightened engagement leads to a deeper connection with the team and a more enjoyable viewing experience.

Enhanced Loyalty and Retention By rewarding fans for their participation, FCB Zürich fosters a sense of loyalty and retention. Fans who feel more connected to the team and the game are more likely to attend future matches and participate in other club activities.

and most importantly - Increased revenue with more fans coming to the stadium, more points from the bingo game, and more sales driven with the discounts.

In conclusion, anything can be ‘gamified’. ‘Gamification’ is about giving people a target to work towards and rewarding their efforts as they progress. Games tap into our natural instincts—our optimism, our desire to achieve something extraordinary, our willingness to collaborate, aiding our resilience, and the satisfaction of crossing a finish line. They don't have to be competitive; in fact, studies show that collaborative games often have more appeal.

Figment is written by Abbhinav Kastura, a writer/producer who has spent a decade making impactful internet videos and Guru Nicketan, an advertising nerd, B2B Marketer, stand-up comedian, and a film buff.