Culture is a crucial sector in France, because it helps to preserve the historical heritage and put the country on the international map. But it is also a sector that has suffered from the pandemic.

Marketing gamification is an effective lever in order to revitalise cultural venues and experiences, but also to improve visitors’ experience. Integrating game mechanisms into areas such as leisure, culture and tourism can make customers’ experiences more fun, interactive and memorable.

Thanks to interactive marketing experiences, visitors to a cultural venue are no longer just passive spectators: they are immersed in the history of a place or cultural movement, right from the moment they get in line. They are captivated by the world they are discovering, but they are likely to retain the information that is being passed on.

In this article, we’ll be looking at the ways in which gamification can be a solution to discover a heritage site or museum. We’ll explain how you can use gamification to stand out from the crowd. You’ll also be able to improve customer experience at your venue or cultural event.

Gamification, i.e. the integration of game mechanisms into an experience is not a new phenomenon. It is widely used in marketing, but also in education and vocational training.

It’s also a trend among cultural institutions. They visitors have the chance to rediscover a place or a piece of history through gamified experiences (challenges, competitions, treasure hunts).

The aim is to use these entertaining mechanics for more than fun. There, the aim is to educate visitors, promote a cultural heritage and improve the experience by making the visit attractive (for younger visitors or those waiting in line).

As we have seen in the marketing sector, gamification is an interesting tool at every stage of the customer experience. It’s a great way of capturing consumers’ attention. But also to boost engagement by multiplying the opportunities to interact with the brand.

Interactivity can be a powerful pre- and post-visit strategy. For example, it can be used to prepare for the visit (by sharing information that the visitor will need afterwards). Once the experience is over, gamification becomes a loyalty-building lever, using the data collected during or before the visit. Then, the data can be used to propose similar offers to visitors.

In a nutshell, gamification is a way of improving the customer experience in the culture by:

• Creating a real buzz around an experience or event (particularly online).
• Making a museum visit fun and memorable.
• Enabling consumers to reappropriate cultural content.
• Multiplying interactions between visitors to federate communities around a cultural institution.

Whether it’s an interactive game, a treasure hunt, an augmented reality digital tour or a photo competition, operators have no shortage of ways to gamify and improve customer experience.

Here are 4 use cases to inspire you:

Wait marketing before a visit or cultural event

Wait marketing is based on the use of digital tools to animate an audience before the launch of a product or in the queue at an event. It is  used in certain sectors where consumers have to wait in a waiting room (particularly in the medical world).

The aim is to optimise the user experience and to make the most of customers’ waiting time. This time can be used to display information prior to a visit. But above all, wait marketing can transform this tedious moment into a pleasant and entertaining one.

Before the event begins, the cultural institution can broadcast a quiz on a large screen. It’s a great way to keep visitors waiting while testing their knowledge and skills by teasing out what would happen next.

For the Paris-Roubaix race, the Haut de France region set up an Outrun game to immerse participants in the sporting event. The campaign engaged the public and recruited leads with an entry form for a competition involving attractive prizes (goodies, etc.)

Geocaching: turning a walk into a treasure hunt

Geocaching is a practice that combines treasure hunting with new technologies. It offers an entertaining way to explore a territory or cultural site.

Using a smartphone and a series of clues, participants have to find ‘geocaches’ hidden along a footpath, a neighbourhood or a town. This game is a way of enhancing the value of your location, revealing little-known or forgotten sites, and improve the customer experience.

In the tourism sector, geocaching allows travellers to collect points for the monuments they visit, or for sites observed. The more points they have, the more rewards they receive. It’s a way of encouraging them to return or share their experience with friends and family.

Interactive tours to attract young visitors to the museum

Interactive tours can be experienced physically and online. In addition to a guide, visitors interact with a digital device through which they take part in a game.

The Royal Museum of Mariemont in Belgium has set up a video game called ‘The Ferryman’. Designed for the yougest, this game showcased the museum’s Egyptian collection. Children had to find hidden objects, solve riddles and complete levels. This format was ideal for introducing them to Egyptian mythology in an entertaining way.

Outside museums, digital walks also combine education and fun. Mobile applications can enable visitors to take part in quizzes to find out all they need to know. The use of QR codes will also make it easier to display these animations in key places. It’s an excellent way to visit and to remember important information more easily.

Conclusion

Gamification and wait marketing are two powerful levers for improving customer experience in the culture and leisure sector. They enable to engage an audience at every stage, from discovery to loyalty. To make your cultural venue more attractive, don’t hesitate to use our interactive game mechanics!