Over the past decade, brands everywhere have embraced gamification – layering game-like elements over user experiences to nudge participation. It’s worked (mostly), driving habit formation and engagement. But let’s be honest: it’s getting stale. Everyone from your dentist to your local pet food brand has an app with badges and points. The novelty is gone.
If you’re chasing real immersion, emotional connection, and attention that sticks – you don’t need elements of a game. You need an actual game.
So, should brands be building games?
That’s the question we posed to the team at Sea Monster, South Africa’s premier serious games studio, in a recent exclusive webinar for VML clients. Their answer? A confident, unequivocal yes. And judging by the buzz among attendees, this idea is hitting a nerve.
What’s holding brands back?
Globally, the most deleted apps in 2024 were Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X. Meanwhile, gaming hit an all-time high, with 3.6 billion people regularly playing some sort of game. People now spend more time playing games than they do scrolling social media or watching TV, and the gaming industry is bigger than film and music combined. So why aren’t brands flooding into this space?
Because of three persistent myths:
1/ Our customers aren’t gamers: Wrong. The image of a 15-year-old boy with a headset is outdated. The fastest-growing gaming segment? Men over 50. The biggest spenders? Women aged 35–55 – a.k.a. the “Candy Crush generation”. And don’t forget Wordle – played a staggering 4.8 billion times in 2023. (Not a typo)
2/ Fun and games aren’t serious marketing: Also wrong. Games aren’t just sticky – they’re strategic. Real-world examples include a 37% increase in basket size or 90% voucher redemption rates. Games let you tell immersive brand stories while customers voluntarily spend time with you. That’s not distraction – that’s devotion.
3/ It’s too expensive for us: It doesn’t have to be. From lightweight web games to full-blown metaverse experiences, games – just like any other channel – are scalable. You could build a mobile-friendly HTML5 game for less than a social campaign or go big with an interactive world on Roblox. Bonus: game ROI is measurable – think dwell time, replay rate, conversions, and even real-world purchases triggered by in-game actions.
Where to start? Think like a marketer…
The rules haven’t changed. Start with strategy:
- What’s the business problem?
- What’s the behaviour you want to shift?
- What outcome are you tracking?
If the answer involves deeper, more meaningful, more memorable engagement, a game could be your best move.
Here’s how games can slot into the funnel:
Awareness: Break through ad fatigue with something worth playing. A web game where players catch falling ingredients to unlock a product discount? Simple, scalable, and way more fun than another banner ad.
Consideration: Let people learn by playing. Games allow brands to tell stories in an engaging, immersive way that sticks with the customer. Because they’ve opted in, you avoid the pitfalls of disruptive advertising and get to spend more time with the customer. They also create better quality leads, who’ve already opted in and been educated on the brand. A skincare brand could have users matching products to skin types in a quiz-style game, building trust and driving education.
Conversion: Turn interactions into actions. A bank could gamify financial education, helping users find their “money persona” and suggesting products accordingly. Bonus points if rewards are unlocked IRL.
Loyalty: Games keep people coming back and build communities around the shared experience. Add levels, rewards, exclusive access, and watch your loyalty programme go from boring to bingeable.
Why now?
Because attention is the scarcest resource in marketing today. And games are one of the few formats where people voluntarily spend time – and come back for more.
Want your brand to be remembered? Maybe it’s time to play.