Regardless of what industry you’re in, there’s one universal truth that affects us all just the same: people aren’t wasting their time anymore.

This is likely due to our rapidly shrinking attention spans; the average attention span has decreased from 12 seconds to 8.25 seconds over the last twenty years.

Yes, we could blame it on technology, on our abundant access to all the information we could possibly want, and on our need for instant gratification. But regardless of the why, we in the events world understand just how important it is for us to step up our game and capture people’s attention. And most importantly, to keep it for as long as possible.

Today, we’re talking all about event gamification, and how this strategy can fundamentally change how long you’re able to capture your attendee’s attention during any event!

What exactly is gamification?

gam·i·fi·ca·tion

/ˌɡāməfəˈkāSH(ə)n/

The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.

Simply put, gamification infuses a sense of fun and competition into just about anything, making it a game! These interactive tactics can range from problem-solving group activities to leaderboards, offering some sort of incentive for participation.

For example, Duolingo infuses gamification in their language-learning platform to encourage regular participation and push users to continue logging back in day after day.

After all, people love playing games — or at least certain aspects of games. They motivate people with dynamic elements that make one think, provide concrete rewards, and offer everyone a sense of accomplishment when they’re done.

Which is exactly why it’s the perfect thing to incorporate into your event strategy.

Let’s talk about the benefits of gamification

First, gamification is a great way to directly engage your audience, rather than letting them sit back and be passive “watchers.” You’re inviting them to take an active role in your event, even if it’s just through silly games that test their knowledge and know-how.

When you invite your audience to actively participate with event gamification, you also give them a chance to use their voice. We all know how important feedback is to our overall business strategies, and this is a prime opportunity to hear what your customers like or dislike about your events, products, or services.

But more than that, you’re taking the opportunity to allow your audience to really know your organization — and in turn, learn a lot about them, too! Plus, your attendees will get the added benefit of networking with each other and maybe making a new connection with someone else in the audience.

Memorable events stick around in our brains for so much longer than boring, uninspired ones. Gamification has been found to combat something known as Ebbinghaus’ Curve — also referred to as the Forgetting Curve. According to this principle, active recall and mnemonic devices help us to remember information long-term, so gamification is super useful in helping us remember things we’ve learned at an event!

And who doesn’t love a memorable experience, regardless of the cognitive benefits? People are more likely to invest in your business if they feel a connection or budding loyalty to your brand. And there’s no better marketing than word-of-mouth marketing when your past attendees rave about their event experience and encourage their inner circles to try it for themselves!

Crafting a successful event gamification strategy

Creating a successful gamification strategy for your next event can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like it to be. By adding game-like features to your already-planned events, you can really start to engage and interact with your audience in new ways.

But it is important to integrate these games as a part of your event, rather than keeping them separate — for example; you’ll have a lot more participation if you incorporate something like music trivia during brief intermissions as opposed to creating an “after-hours” trivia event once your conference or event has concluded.

Another important element of a successful gamification strategy lies in strong incentives and rewards. Consider encouraging event sponsors to participate in raffles or offer up prizes for certain events as a way to gain more awareness for their brand at your event — it’s a win-win!

Now, event gamification will look a little different at in-person vs. virtual events — but both are just as beneficial! Regardless of your format, make sure you test run your games well in advance to perfect them before your participants are ready to get competitive so they go off without a hitch.

Let’s dive into some fun ideas for event gamification.

Ideas for Event Gamification

Don’t get overwhelmed — yes, there are endless possibilities when it comes to games. But in this situation, less is more. Pick one or two games or activities to incorporate into your events, and then execute them really well. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Social Media Walls

Much like the “kiss cam” at live sporting events, set up a live feed featuring your attendees’ pictures when they submit them via a text or hashtag on social media. This will also encourage attendees to share how much fun they’re having at your event on social media (a.k.a. word-of-mouth marketing!).

Similarly, you can set up a photo booth where your attendees will get to take their pictures with friends and then receive the pictures via print or email as a keepsake. Bonus points if these photo booth pictures show up in the livestream, too!

Trivia Quizzes

Who doesn’t love to flex their trivia muscles every once in a while, especially around colleagues and peers? You can customize the trivia to be something specific to your event or just keep it general to include a wider audience. Music and movie trivia is always a crowd favorite, particularly if you add some good throwbacks or classics.

Live Q&A Submissions & Polls

Don’t worry about raising your hand to ask a question. Depending on the format of your event, you may not be able to pass around a microphone to answer questions in real-time, but this is where event technology comes in handy.

You can have an online submission portal where attendees can add their questions to a queue and the moderator can preview these in advance and ask the most requested questions amongst the audience.

Similarly, you can conduct audience polls on things to get real feedback on certain questions or conversations, all thanks to event tech like SurveyMonkey or Typeform.

Scavenger Hunts

If you’re hosting an event like a trade show that has different sponsors or vendors throughout, consider implementing a scavenger hunt to encourage attendees to stop by every booth and win a prize once the hunt has concluded. This will make even the shyest of guests want to engage when they would otherwise stay away from these networking opportunities.

As always, AddEvent is here to help you make the most of your next event. Whether you’re looking to share your events with add to calendar buttons or links, collect RSVPs, or embed your calendar or event directly into your webpage, we have a solution for you! Visit our website to learn more.