Think about the last time you went shopping, went to the doctor or took a plane…

Although these activities are very different, they have one thing in common : waiting. You’ve probably had to wait at the checkout to pay for your shopping, wait outside a concert hall to see your favourite artist or queue to scan your hand luggage before boarding a plane.

For users, this waiting time is often a test of patience and a waste of time. And yet.., the wait can be transformed into a much more qualitative experience and productive thanks to wait marketing. It can even turn an unpleasant moment into a fun, playful experience thanks to gamification.

In this article, we give you tips on how to improve your customer journey and engage users interactively using wait marketing.

SUMMARY

• What is wait marketing?
• The benefits of wait marketing
• Boost your wait marketing strategy with gamification
• Typical wait marketing scenario and inspiring examples

Wait marketing involves companies capitalising on consumers’ attention at this precise moment to engage them. It can therefore be defined as a non-intrusive communication strategy, and even a timely one, since it takes shape precisely at a time when any form of distraction is welcome.

According to a survey by Pew Research, 77% of people use their smartphone when they are waiting for a call.
53% use their smartphone when queuing, mainly to avoid boredom.

Broadcast a marketing animation in a queue
does not disturb the user by interrupting their activity (as when an advert is broadcast between two stories on social networks, for example). On the contrary, it allows them to distract themselves during a time that is traditionally perceived as boring or unproductive.

The benefits of expectation marketing

Waiting time, in itself, is the ideal time to capture consumers’ attention and make it easier to remember a commercial message. This is the case, for example, with posters in the metro or at bus stops. But by adding a touch of creativity and interactivity to these static formats, brands can turn waiting into an engaging brand experience, and even convert new prospects.

It’s also a way of making the most of areas where consumers spend a lot of time, but which are not traditionally used as communication channels. The queuing space in a physical shop, for example, can be used to highlight products and boost the cross-selling rate. But it does not generally convey an interactive experience with the brand, which would nevertheless be more engaging for the customer.

The non-intrusive aspect of this form of advertising also enables companies to create a closer relationship with consumers. The brand offers them a real experience and enables them to pass a time that was previously considered unpleasant or pointless more quickly. The brand becomes a source of entertainment as well as a commercial organisation promoting its products.

This waiting period is no longer a constraint, but an opportunity. To achieve this, companies can create an interactive experience based on insights customers. The challenge is therefore to understand your audience and how the brand can ensure that they have a good time.

Companies can take advantage of wait marketing to :

• Motivating customers to come to the point of sale;
• Keep customers entertained while they wait and prevent them from abandoning their purchase;
• Reward waiting time with instant wins;
• Collect data on purchasing intentions to personalise the customer journey
• Develop your sales.

Boost your wait marketing strategy with gamification

If the traditional waiting experience is generally considered to be unpleasant by individuals, it is because it is most often considered to be boring or a waste of time. The challenge for companies wishing to take advantage of this moment to engage consumers is mainly about entertaining them.

This is where gamification comes in. This marketing strategy involves offering users playful experiences, incorporating mechanisms traditionally used in the world of games.

Rather than taking advantage of consumers’ attention to broadcast an advertisement, companies can engage them via an interactive and entertaining animation such as :

• An instant win: this format allows the company to liven up a queue while rewarding its customers for their patience. In practical terms, it allows them to instantly win discount vouchers (or other prizes) by playing a game such as the wheel of fortune or the one-armed bandit, for example.
• Action games (like a quiz, a surveya vote or
  a swiper). Ce format interactif permet à l’entreprise de divertir ses clients pendant l’attente. Là encore, elle peut récompenser leur patience en mettant en jeu des lots ou autres avantages. Mais c’est aussi un moyen efficace de collecter des données sur les préférences de son audience et, par exemple, d’analyser leurs intentions d’achat.

With a Playable Marketing solution, companies can capitalise even more effectively on their customers’ expectations. For example, the geolocation function makes it possible to restrict access to the game to customers in the queue.

The CRM connection tool, for its part, makes it possible to exploit the data collected at a point of sale (particularly on purchase intentions) to offer personalised in-store or online support. The brand can then turn this data into a sales opportunity.

In practice, the typical scenario for a wait marketing event will take this form:

1. Drive to store. The customer goes to the shop and finds himself in a queue;
2. Access to the game. They can find out about the game using the posters in the queue and access it using the QR code or URL. The game can also be presented on an interactive terminal.
   
3. Registration. They register using a simplified form and can decide to become opt-in for the brand and its partners.
4. Participation. They can play a game and discover their prize more easily. What’s more, the brand can customise the game to suit a wide range of scenarios.
5. Revelation and gain. Dans le cas d’un instant gagnant, il gagne immédiatement un bon de réduction utilisable en point de vente. Si la marque choisit une mécanique de tirage au sort (qui permet de récompenser les participants après leur visite en magasin), le client peut recevoir sa dotation par email ou SMS. Il peut s’agir là aussi d’un bon d’achat qui l’encouragera à repurchase from the brand.

An example of a marketing campaign to keep people waiting

Auchan supermarkets, for example, have set up a wait marketing campaign in their outlets. To coincide with its end-of-year sales peak, the chain gave away the following for every purchase over €10 in shop a scratch card with a unique code as well as an additional card for loyalty card holders. The campaign attracted almost 183k registrations in 2 weeks and 325K codes were used.

Eurotunnel, the company that operates the Channel Tunnel, has capitalised on the expectations of its users to raise its profile and generate new leads. To do this, the company used a one-armed bandit with a registration form, accessible only to holders of a ticket number. This captivating format and the use of
attractive prizes (smartphones and earpods) boosted the participation rate, with a total of 29K games played.

Conclusion

Wait marketing is therefore a profitable strategy for capitalising on customer expectations and taking advantage of the opportunity to engage them through interactive activities. Take advantage of this opportunity to improve your customer experience and strengthen your brand image with
more than 60 gamified formats offered by Adictiz.

According to a recent study by Opinion Way, 29% of the 56% of companies with recruitment targets are finding it difficult to recruit. Whether it’s advertising, attracting the right profiles or convincing talented people to join their teams, organisations are increasingly exposed to a shortage of staff.

What if the solution to overcoming these challenges and avoiding understaffing was to look to gamification? That’s right, making your recruitment process more interactive and fun can be a good way of standing out from your competitors and attracting the most sought-after to work for your company.

SUMMARY

• Gamification: an innovative recruitment method
• What are the benefits of gamification in recruitment?
• The example of Camaïeu X Lena Situations
• How can you successfully gamify your recruitment method?

Gamification in recruitment refers to introducing a game mechanic or animation into the recruitment process. The ultimate aim of this strategy is manifold: gamification can be used to attract candidates or to improve their experience so that they don’t give up along the way.

Let’s take an example. In 2004, Google invited candidates to solve a series of equations on the assumption – rightly so – that those with the intelligence and motivation to complete the process would make excellent candidates.

Both parties benefited from adding a fun dimension to the recruitment method. Candidates appreciated being challenged in a more original way than in a traditional job interview. And Google was able to attract a wider range of candidates while selecting the most analytical and persevering profiles.

To sum up, introducing gamified elements into the recruitment process can transform the hiring experience into something that is both more entertaining and more productive, for both the recruiter and the recruit.

But let’s look at the companies that choose to recruit through games. In practical terms, this strategy can enable them to :

• simplify and accelerate the talent selection process,
• reduce the drop-out rate,
• but also to highlight the strategic skills of each candidate.

Let’s take a closer look at the virtues of interactive recruitment.

1. Gamification reduces time to hire

Gamification is an excellent time management tool. Games often only take a few minutes for participants and provide recruiters with instant results. This is an excellent way of quickly assessing the relevance of a profile in terms of the skills required for the position.

According to reports from a tech startup, simply replacing the traditional interview process with gamified assessments, such as a coding game, has made their interview cycle 40% faster. The application rate was also 62% higher.

2. Gamification of recruitment improves the candidate experience (CX)

3. Eliminating prejudice in recruitment

No selection process is completely neutral. Nevertheless, gamification is an objective way of selecting candidates. It’s not the recruiter’s impressions that count, but the results of the game shared with all the talent. Of course, everyone comes with their own weapons, but it’s their skills (both hard and soft skills) that are judged, not the image they project of themselves.

The data generated by gamified recruitment experiences gives companies an objective basis for shortlisting the candidates most likely to be suitable for the job. This can be based on ranking by results, but also on each candidate’s interactions with the game.

The gamification of recruitment is all the more interesting for avoiding discriminating against profiles on the basis of their experience. It’s not the companies they’ve worked for or the positions they’ve held that make the difference. But their ability to solve a puzzle, think creatively and find an innovative solution to a complex problem.

Games are therefore set to replace application forms. Rather than asking applicants to upload their CV and covering letter, companies can offer them the chance to answer a quiz or take part in a competition. The candidates who stand out from the crowd will not only be the most creative, but also the most persistent and motivated to join the company.

Following its takeover, Camaïeu decided to make a splash by teaming up with influencer Lena Situations to tease its comeback. But also to give a spotlight to its gamified recruitment campaign run in collaboration with Adictiz.

With the Be Camaïeu* operation, the influencer shared the search for a ‘communications boss’. This exceptional recruitment, which is clearly off the beaten track, is based on a participative approach. Not only are candidates not asked to send a CV, but they are also asked to answer a personality test that highlights their creativity.

But broadcasting the campaign on both the brand’s and the influencer’s social networks also helps to engage their respective communities in the selection process. Members become headhunters, recommending profiles or highlighting those they consider most relevant.

Results :

• The brand received over 2,000 applications, far more than it had estimated;
• The profiles were more junior than for a traditional communications manager. For the company, it’s the assurance of bringing in a breath of modernity in its teams. Mais aussi d’accéder à un pool plus large de talents (qui peuvent s’autocensurer par peur de ne pas être légitimes).
• The press and organic response to the campaign has been spectacular: over 100 articles published (specialist and general press), radio and TV coverage, posts and conversations on social networks.
• The EMV (Earned Media Value) of this operation was valued at 4 million euros.

To replicate the success of the Camaïeu campaign, we recommend that you :

• Define your objectives. A strategic plan will clearly define the weak points in the current recruitment experience that gamification will help to strengthen. This could mean attracting more candidates, limiting drop-out rates or assessing their skills more effectively;
• Make the game as engaging as possible. Le but principal de l’utilisation d’un jeu n’est pas de dérouter le candidat, mais d engage future employees. Le format utilisé doit donc être pertinent avec le poste proposé, interactif et cohérent avec les valeurs portées par l’entreprise.
• Promote your recruitment game. Disseminating the gamified recruitment experience is crucial to its success. Influencer marketing can be a good way of doing this, as long as you work with a content creator who matches the profile of the candidates you want to reach.

Trade shows and conferences are excellent opportunities for companies to network and present their products/services to a wide audience. But taking part in these events also represents a major investment. That’s why organisations need to maximise their ROI by taking advantage of this opportunity to generate leads and sales.

In an environment where they are in direct competition with other exhibitors, how can we differentiate ourselves and achieve these objectives? Gamification is emerging as an effective lever for attracting and converting visitors.

In this article, we take a closer look at the links between gamification and trade shows. We also share our tips on how to host a trade show and win new customers.

SUMMARY

• Gamification and trade fairs: the obvious way forward
• The benefits of gamified trade show experiences
• How can gamified marketing be used to host a trade show?

Gamification is the process of turning any activity into a game. It’s a particularly popular tool in digital marketing, but one that companies are increasingly transposing to the physical world. We have already mentioned gamification in shops, but it has long been a central element of trade show experiences.

Exhibitors didn’t wait for gamification to collect business cards to generate leads and win prizes for participants. Physical games have always been incorporated into trade show stands to make them more attractive and encourage visitors to interact with the company.

But playable marketing has come a long way since thenand so are the technologies used on exhibition stands. The arrival of mobile screens and large-format displays (such as interactive kiosks) is opening up new possibilities for businesses. These phygital devices also help to bridge the gap between the digital and physical experience, boosting user engagement on their preferred channels.

Gamify your stand to host a trade show with interactive activities for visitors enables companies to achieve a number of strategic objectives. Here are some of them.

Gain visibility/awareness and engage visitors at a trade show

Trade shows are highly competitive events. Pour animer un salon professionnel, companies have to stand out from hundreds of other exhibitors. Their objective: to capture the attention of a public that no longer knows where to turn.

Gamification is an excellent way to stand out from the crowd. Exhibitors can attract visitors by creating an interactive and entertaining experience that will break the monotony of the other stands.

The public will be more inclined to engage in conversation with a company’s sales staff if they are directly invited to take part in a game. This will be all the more the case if this interactive activity can enable them to win attractive prizes (goodies in the company’s colors, a free trial period, etc.).

Mechanisms such as random drawing or the wheel of fortune are ideal for trade shows. They are clearly identifiable by visitors, who will be naturally drawn to the stand and the chance to win a prize.

Generate leads and collect data through gamification

To ensure that their efforts have an impact beyond the exhibition, companies need to put in place a lead follow-up strategy via personalised content. So one of the biggest challenges of this type of event is lead generation and data collection so that they can be reactivated with relevant information or offers.

Gamification is an excellent way of collecting data on prospects, such as their contact details. But an entry form for a marketing game or even the interactions resulting from the game itself (as with a swiper, for example), can give companies even more valuable information about their audience. This will give them more in-depth knowledge of their target audience’s preferences, buying behaviour and even direct feedback on their products.

At the French Salon International de l’Agriculture, Lidl invited visitors to take part in a one-armed bandit game. Players had to line up 3 identical symbols on the theme of the event in order to win 50 euro vouchers in the chain’s shops. Before launching the interactive game, each participant not only had to fill in a form to provide qualified information. They also had to choose whether or not to receive the company’s newsletter.

Result: Lidl used the game as an effective lever to capture qualified data and generate downloads of its Lidl Plus application. Hosting a trade show enabled Lidl to collect 152K entries and 7K shares on social networks, as well as recruiting 71K optins.

Converting through hosting a trade show

By boosting the visibility of its stand and facilitating lead generation, gamification is already a powerful conversion lever for companies taking part in a trade show. But it can also use its interactive animation to generate more sales, and so maximise its ROI.

In particular, the brand can reward visitor interaction with prizes in the form of purchase incentives. The prizes up for grabs in the Lidl one-armed bandit competition were vouchers to be redeemed directly in Lidl shops.

Similarly, promotional codes shared via an instant win can encourage visitors to complete a sale at the show. Simply adding a validity date (e.g. the duration of the event) can create a sense of urgency and boost the company’s conversion rate.

To maximise the impact of hosting a trade show, companies need to think through their strategy from A to Z. Here are the steps they can take to ensure that they leave no stone unturned in their conversion funnel:

• Define the objectives of your interactive marketing game. What results does the company want to achieve through gamification? For example, it may want to increase the number of visitors to its stand, generate leads or win new customers.
• Choosing the right gamification mechanics depending on its objectives and audience. The phygital device via which the game will be presented is also very important. Depending on its budget, the company may opt for an interactive terminalor tablets. It is also important to ensure that the game reflects the company’s identity and that it is clearly identifiable for participants.
• Defining attractive endowments to boost the participation rate. Depending on the audience’s expectations, the company can offer benefits to all participants (100% winner) or offer physical prizes to the big winners;
• Distribute your marketing game beyond the trade show. Companies can also use gamification to boost their visibility and their online message. The animation can also be made available via social networks or directly on the company website.
• Analyse the results and activate the data collected. Gamifying your exhibition stand can help you generate more leads. But this does not guarantee that they will convert into customers. To do that, it will need to follow up its prospects by sending them personalised content and progressively advance them along the sales funnel. Analysis of the data collected will also enable better segmentation of its customer base.

Conclusion

Trade shows are much more than just an event at which your company presents its products and services. It’s an opportunity to connect with your audience and build a loyal and engaged community. To increase the ROI of your exhibition stand, rely on our playable marketing mechanics!