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Interactive Tech for Events
Gamification is the process of turning a task into a game, rewarding users for their loyalty and participation.
Even before tech came onto the scene, exhibitors at trade shows were collecting business cards for a prize draws, offering giveaways to people for leaving their contact details and, for the more innovative, incorporating physical games onto their stands. Even the buzz wire has even made a comeback in recent years.
Gamification at trade shows is nothing new. But gamification has moved on; exhibition stands haven’t.
From travel and retail to education and healthcare, gamification has increased in popularity due to the huge number of apps using a reward system to incentivise and encourage user engagement. In particular, touchscreen gamification is making an impact.
In fact, you’ve probably used a whole range of gamified software without realising it. Fitness and meditation apps are particularly good examples of touchscreen gamification in action.
Despite the benefits, touchscreen gamification is too often limited to the small screen. Based on our own observations, we estimate that less than 1% of exhibitors use touchscreen gamification at the UK’s major trade shows.
Yet perhaps it’s on large format displays with bigger audiences that touchscreen gamification can be most effective.
The ability to share achievements and experiences with other people, often in friendly competition, is one of the key reasons for gamification’s popularity. Using touchscreen gamification on an exhibition stand is like zooming in on this facet of gamification. It can be as simple as a delegate playing a branded mini-game on a giant tablet. Not only is that one user connecting with your brand, reinforcing key messages and learning about your products, but just by playing, that user is sharing his or her experience with passers-by.
It’s like a physical ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ button; make the game look amazing, and the gameplay fun and those passers-by turn into more users. Add a leaderboard and turn it into a competition and those users become repeat players, further reinforcing the connection with your brand.
Here are our 5 tips for making touchscreen gamification work on your exhibition stand:
Make it fun – the number one rule. You can still reinforce your key messages or product info, but incorporate them seamlessly into the user experience.
Keep it short – shorter user journeys mean that more players and more plays, and people haven’t got all day. We recommend a maximum 2 minute user journey with a 30-60 second game or activity element.
Keep it simple – if you go short the gameplay has to be obvious but still challenging. We recommend a memory card game or a touchscreen quiz.
Go big – iPads won’t cut it, you need to stand-out and a giant touchscreen will make people say “WOW”.
Go animated – static pages in company colours might meet your corporate branding guidelines, but colourful design with movement and animation draws a crowd.
Gamification has massive potential in a trade show environment, where word of mouth and audience participation can be a powerful force. As touchscreen gamification continues to succeed on the small screen, we’ll inevitably see gamified experiences make waves in business as well.
Even before tech came onto the scene, exhibitors at trade shows were collecting business cards for a prize draws, offering giveaways to people for leaving their contact details and, for the more innovative, incorporating physical games onto their stands. Even the buzz wire has even made a comeback in recent years.
Gamification at trade shows is nothing new. But gamification has moved on; exhibition stands haven’t.
From travel and retail to education and healthcare, gamification has increased in popularity due to the huge number of apps using a reward system to incentivise and encourage user engagement. In particular, touchscreen gamification is making an impact.
In fact, you’ve probably used a whole range of gamified software without realising it. Fitness and meditation apps are particularly good examples of touchscreen gamification in action.
Despite the benefits, touchscreen gamification is too often limited to the small screen. Based on our own observations, we estimate that less than 1% of exhibitors use touchscreen gamification at the UK’s major trade shows.
Yet perhaps it’s on large format displays with bigger audiences that touchscreen gamification can be most effective.
The ability to share achievements and experiences with other people, often in friendly competition, is one of the key reasons for gamification’s popularity. Using touchscreen gamification on an exhibition stand is like zooming in on this facet of gamification. It can be as simple as a delegate playing a branded mini-game on a giant tablet. Not only is that one user connecting with your brand, reinforcing key messages and learning about your products, but just by playing, that user is sharing his or her experience with passers-by.
It’s like a physical ‘Like’ or ‘Share’ button; make the game look amazing, and the gameplay fun and those passers-by turn into more users. Add a leaderboard and turn it into a competition and those users become repeat players, further reinforcing the connection with your brand.
Here are our 5 tips for making touchscreen gamification work on your exhibition stand:
Make it fun – the number one rule. You can still reinforce your key messages or product info, but incorporate them seamlessly into the user experience.
Keep it short – shorter user journeys mean that more players and more plays, and people haven’t got all day. We recommend a maximum 2 minute user journey with a 30-60 second game or activity element.
Keep it simple – if you go short the gameplay has to be obvious but still challenging. We recommend a memory card game or a touchscreen quiz.
Go big – iPads won’t cut it, you need to stand-out and a giant touchscreen will make people say “WOW”.
Go animated – static pages in company colours might meet your corporate branding guidelines, but colourful design with movement and animation draws a crowd.
Gamification has massive potential in a trade show environment, where word of mouth and audience participation can be a powerful force. As touchscreen gamification continues to succeed on the small screen, we’ll inevitably see gamified experiences make waves in business as well.