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Gift cards and gamification, boosting customer engagement

Gift cards and gamification, boosting customer engagement

by | Dec 10, 2024 | Audience engagement, Engagement

Brands are constantly looking for marketing levers to engage and convert their audience. Gift cards are one of the most popular tools for boosting brand awareness and encouraging purchases or repeat purchases.

They are widely adopted by retailers, from fashion to restaurants, not forgetting supermarkets. However, gift cards are also used by smaller brands to engage their audience. They are all the easier to mobilise as part of an omnichannel customer experience. They can be physical or digital.

In this article, we’ll be sharing how to strenghten your relationship with your audience using gift cards. We’ll explore ways of gamifying a gift card program and making the experience interactive and engaging.

SUMMARY

The explosion of gift cards as a mtehod of payment

In 2024, brands reported an increase of almost 25% in gift cards purchases. Gift cards are no longer reserved for the festive season, when they are given as Christmas presents. It is now becoming more widespread during high points such as sales, Black Friday, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day (when consumers want to give pleasure or treat themselves).

Another new development is the dematerialisation of gift cards. Long confined to physical shops, they are now exploding in e-commerce. According to a Global POS analysis, the average value of gift cards activated on the web has riser from €50.73 to €59.56 in 12 months, an increase of 17.42%!

For consumers, they are becoming the preferred method of payment, both in retail and online. The distribution of market shares remains equivalent, with fashion leading the way in terms of usage. Nevertheless, we are seeing an increase in purchases made using this methods of payment during the sales period, demonstrating the growing importance of gift cards in consumer habits.

What are the advantages of gift cards for brands?

As well as being popular with shoppers, gift cards also offer benefits for brands. Theses include:

A significant increase in revenues

Gift cards are an opportunity for brands to increase their sales. This is an advance payment that is not always used by its holders. According to CEB TowerGroup, 10% of gift card balances remain unused, which represents a considerable margin. In one year, a brand like Starbucks can make a profit of 1 billion dollars from unused gitf cards. Buyer who use these cards generally spend more than the initial amount,increasing the company’s revenues. 61% of consumers who opt for this payment method spend more than thier balance.

An opportunity to acquire new customers

Many of the customers who buy a gift card are new customers. It is therefore a lever of brand awareness, which capitalise on recommendations to boost visibility. Overall , gift cards reduce acquisition costs. The brand takes advantage of the visibility and traffic of other brands to raise its profile by placing its gift cards in a distribution network (or on platforms such as my gift card).). C’est d’autant plus efficace quand elles sont affichées à côté de celles d’entreprises comme Amazon ou Netflix.

A lever for customer retention and loyalty

Gift cards improve the shopping experience by offering consumers greater flexibility. They benefit from greater flexibility of choice, and the dematerialisation of cards simplifies their use. This tool can also be a way of strengthening the loyalty program and make it stand out from the crowd. By sending them to customer who cross a threshold (or number of loyalty points), brands can increase the repurchase rate. It’s a way of strengthening the relationship with our most committed customers by rewarding them with an e-card.

A tool for collecting customer data

The use of gift cards enables retailers to improve their customer knowledge. They are able to track purchases and collect data (the time between the purchase of the card and its use, the amount of the purchase, the products or services purchased, etc.).

Dematerialised gift cards, sent via an email campaign (as part of a loyalty program), can be used to refine these analyses.. L’entreprise peut suivre le parcours client et calculer son ROI.

Galeries Lafayette - Gift card give away

How to gamify gift cards to boost buyer engagement

While the gift card is a tool for expanding and engaging its audience, it remains a competitive arena. To stand out from the crowd, brands can enhance the experience by opting for gamification. Gamification strengthens the interaction between the company and the consumer, through playable formats and attractive rewards. In the context of a gift card program, this can take the form of:

 

  • Interactive promotional campaigns. Playable Marketing is an excellent way of boosting visibility and encouraging audiences to buy gift cards. the brand can launch a gamified campaign on social networks in order to generate leads and acquire new clients. Le format du contests increase the virality of the campaign and makes it more attractive.

  • Gamified rewards: shoppers can increase the value of their card or unlock rewards (free goodies, free delivery) by taking part in a marketing game or challenge. The brand can integrate a QR code into its gift card, taking consumers to a winning instant to encourage them to buy one.

Conclusion

Gift cards are all the rage, both in-store and online. They’re ideal for raising your brand’s profile and engaging your audience. To make them more attractive and generate more sales, gamify your shopping experience with our interactive mechanics!

In just 30 minutes, we’ll show you how to launch your own high-performance interactive marketing campaign.

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Our advice for a successful interactive campaign

Our advice for a successful interactive campaign

by | Feb 27, 2023 | Audience engagement, Engagement, Engagement, Audience engagement

Every marketing plan, whatever the sector, begins by defining its objectives. These can be many and varied: raising awareness of your offer, increasing sales, etc. To achieve theses objectives, it is customary to plan several marketing campaigns of various kinds throughout the year. here, we’re going to take a look at marketing gamification.

Interactive advertising campaigns stand the best of time, thanks to their many advantages: variety of mechanics, great capacity for personalization according to objectives, and ease of distribution. But to achieve ten times the performance of more standard campaigns, it’s important to be aware of a few essential best practices.

Here are 8 tips for a successful interactive campaign, from conception to delivery to audiences.

 

SUMMARY

  1. Take the time to choose the right game mechanics
  2. Optimise the entry form
  3. Adapt the look of the operation to your world
  4. Choose attractive prizes
  5. Spread your campaign using outbound marketing
  6. Highlight the campaign on your website
  7. Boost your performance through media coverage
  8. Capitalise on data activation to increase your ROI tenfold

1. Choose the right game mechanics

Marketing gamification brings together a number of techniques, which can be adapted to suit your needs. From simple forms to more elaborate scenarios, the possibilities are endless! Here are a few examples of concepts:

  • Animation, qualification: to capture the attention and spend time with your audience while standing out from the crowd, you can offer a score-based competition. The aim is to achieve the best possible result to enter a prize draw. It is also possible to offer a quiz to raise awareness and qualify participants.
  • Lead generation and conversion : to maximise conversions, it’s possible to offer an animation that lets audiences find out immediately if they’ve won a coupon. The game mechanics that work best are the wheel of chance, scratch cards and the one-armed bandit.
  • Product preference, data collection (first-party, behavioral): there’s nothing like a shopping list (the participant chooses their favorite product form a gallery) to gather valuable information about potential customers. They are then redirected to the product page on the website.

Each mechanism must be adapted to the brand’s universe and image.

2. Optimize the entry form

The entry form is at the heart of the system. In today’s context (cookieless world), it makes it possible to collect first-party data while rewarding visitors for their participation.

To ensure qualified data collection, there are certain principles that need to be respected if you are to achieve your objectives, particularly in terms of volume. A visitor’s attention span depends on the balance between the information you are prepared to provide and the result (gain) you hope to achieve. The form must therefore be sufficiently complete, but care must be taken not to overload it.

A few practical tips:

  • 1 field (email): better transformation, but no qualification
  • 2 to 3 fields: the form is optimised, with a conversion rate of around 70% and a good level of qualification
  • More than 5 fields: the form is poorly optimised and has a 50% chance of converting. Visitors will leave before taking part. To gather more information, it is advisable to add a 2nd qualification form a little further down the site.

3. Adapt the look of the operation to its universe

The packaging of the operation is also central to its success. Graphic designs must be adapted to the brand universeThe main elements highlighted on the first screen should be the prizes you can expect to win if you take part.

Different platforms offer different levels of customization, depending on the ressources and knowledge available. Some platforms offer time-saving graphic design and configuration services. Others also offer pre-configured templates taht you simply need to adapt.

4. Choose attractive endowments

Endowments to attract visitorsand encourage them to get involved. It is very important to choose these and to highlight them in the communications surrounding the operation.

High-tech prizes always work very well with target groups, but depending on the context, you may want to opt for gifts that are consistent with the brand’s universe (offering a product range for a launch, for example).

In the case of instant wins, it is preferable to offer smaller prizes that will boost conversion, such as discount vouchers, gift vouchers, free delivery, etc.

Gamification and endowment
endowment gamification guide

The interactive campaign is ready. But in reality, only part of the work is finished. Most of the effort has to be devoted to the dissemination part, to be able to hope for a high-performance ROI. This has an impact on costs, which are higher for distribution than for configuration. We take a look at the best practices for each of the following areas mode of distribution.

A quick reminder before we start: an interactive campaign can be cross-channel. Cela veut dire qu’elle peut techniquement être diffusée partout, soit via une url (partagée ou cliquable), soit intégrée à une page web par exemple.

5. Spreading your interactive campaign with outbound marketing

The operation can be announced in advance of its launch (teasing) to maximise traffic the day it starts. It’s very important to maintain regular communication throughout the campaign. At the end of the game, it’s important to keep in touch with the new leads collected, thanking them for their participation and congratulating the winners.

The outbound marketing of a campaign differs accorindg to the objectives pursued. To generate traffic to a website or in-store (drive to sotre), for example, we communicate via emailing sequences and/or posts on social networks. Vouchers can also be added, to be won and redeemed online or in-store. Resulst in terms of generating qualified leads is even more effective via social networks such as Facebook and Instagram.

6. Showcase your campaign on your website

The inbound marketing is all about offering visitors content that allows them to engage freely (by sharing their data or buying a product, for example).

In the field of gamification, the home page banner of a website is a format that works very well. It catches the eye and makes people want to take part. The visitor attention span on a site is lengthened, which is a key factor in capturing leads. It also helps to shed light on a particular offer or product.

interactive competition

7. Boost performance through media coverage

In order to achieve satisfactory results from a campaign, the choice of media coverage is inevitable. The first step is to give visibility, then the possibility to better control the volume of impressions, clicks and leads expected. As a result, media coverage accounts for a large proportion of the total budget for the operation.

Here are a few best practices for optimised, high-performance media creatives:

  • Highlighting the name of the operation, the prizes and the swipe up for stories.
  • Light background
  • Text elements smaller than the visuals, and above all lighter (no more than 20% of the ad)
  • Do not display endowment amounts or your advertisement will be rejected

Here are some good media practices in general:

  • Customise targeting according to criteria such as age, interests, fans, subscribers, lookalike audiences, etc. You can exclude lists from your database if necessary.
  • AB testing on targeting, graphics, content and creative
  • Daily analysis of campaigns to optimise them and boost performance in line with results
  • Place a tracking pixel via the solution chosen to set up the campaign. This identifies the transactions made on a website via the campaign participants. This is a highly effective way of measuring the sales generated by the campaign and calculating ROI.

    8. Capitalize on data activation to boost ROI tenfold

    By capitalizing on the data collected, it is possible to send personalized promotional offers all year round during future targeted actions. Capitalizing on collected proprietary data boosts campaign ROI tenfold. Solutions generally include CRM tools integrated in a 100% personalized way with your own CRM tools, for immediate, automated reactivation (targeted advertising based on product preferences).

    To conclude, it is important to remember that 80% of the work on your interactive campaign lies in preparing the distribution plan. In a nutshell: without a distribution plan, there’s no data, and therefore no results. Would you like to find out more about our solutions for creating and distributing interactive marketing campaigns?

    In 30 minutes, we show you how to launch your own high-performance interactive marketing campaign

    Request a demo

    Maximising conversions: 4 effective methods

    Maximising conversions: 4 effective methods

    by | Feb 14, 2023 | Audience engagement, Conversion

    In the context of a marketing strategy, the issue of conversion is crucial. Indeed, to convert means to achieve a set goal. This goal varies depending on the activities. Maximising conversions can mean boosting sales or increasing foot traffic in stores.

    Today, marketing teams must be increasingly resourceful to achieve their conversion goals. The volatility of visitors makes the issue of retention very challenging. Advertising saturation distorts the online commerce landscape. These are just a few of the challenges that must be overcome to ensue a step-by-step response to the main conversion issues.

    In this article, we invite you to discover four effective methods to maximise conversions while standing out from the competition.

    SUMMARY

    Boost revenue with promotional codes

    Catch the attention: a strategic challenge

    Opportunities to generate visibility and boost traffic towards a website, store, are numerous. In fact, the launch of a product, a new collection, private sales, a brand or seasonal highlight can be part of this.

    In the current contest of advertising saturation, successfully capturing attention of potential customers who arrive on a page is a strategic challenge. Next comes the question of increasing the time spent on the page. It is possible to draw them in with an advertising campaign to which they are not accustomed. For this type of objective, the interactive formats prove to be an excellent compromise between originality and ease of implementation.

    The first method, the simpliest to conceptualize and implement, is a campaign broadcasted on the brand’s communication channels (social media, newsletter, etc.). To access it, the visitor is redirected to the homepage or a page on the website. On this page a competition game mechanism is set up. Allowing, for example, participants to try and win a discount voucher to be used immediately on the site (instant win system). This type of operation allows influencing the purchasing act and therefore maximizing sales.

    Media coverage for campaigns

    It is possible to go even further in performance through the mediatisation of these marketing campaigns on social media. With a boost in post visibility, personalised targeting, etc.

    Here are some examples of inspiring marketing campaigns that have allowed brands to achieve their conversion goals.

    The brand TAO (Tape à l’oeil) chose to offer a Wheel of Fortune. To celebrate its 29th anniversary. It was an opportunity to reward everyone with a 100% winning instant win game. The vouchers offered at the end of the campaign promote traffic to the site and impulsive purchases.

    As for Aushopping, the choice was made around the back-to-school season to engage their audiences with a Catch All and a scratch card game. It was about winning gift cards instantly. The brand was able to collect qualified data to activate throughout the year while spending time with visitors.

    Focus on post-purchase to drive even more sales

    Capturing leads through an attractive marketing operation engages the participant in a process of commitment from which both the participant and the brand benefit. Engagement is a twofold concept. Involving a prospect in a marketing interaction allows them to regain their decision-making power (for the donation of their time and personal data), while also offering them a reward.

    How to influence purchasing journeys in a less intrusive way?

    By transforming a passive visitor into an active lead who may or may not engage in the advertising campaign. From the brand’s perspective, engagement directly serves conversion (impulse purchases collect zero-party data which is the “clean gold” of tomorow’s marketing, through the participation form, etc.)

    For the second method, what if we told you that a marketing campaign is also very important after the purchase? When we imagine having to scan your the receipt at a kiosk upon leaving the store to win gift vouchers, it resonates with everyone. And what if this type of setup could be easily installed on your website, social media, etc?

    The purchase requirement mechanic

    Leading up to Easter, Lindt decided to launch a campaign focused on increasing sales. Participants were invited to enter the code printed under their chocolate bunny into a form. The brand was able to offer attractive prizes to some lucky owners of the golden bunny. Players could also choose not to enter a code and simply play a game Hiden Object to return later with their bunny and their code. This purchase-required mechanic allowed the recruitment of nearly 40,000 participants, with 8,000 codes used. This results in a conversion rate of 20%!

    You don’t sale golden bunnies? No worries, the code can simply be printed on receipts, flyer, etc.

    In a slightly different concept, Flunch offered a 100% winning campaign with an original concept. Participants could play a one-armed bandit to win a voucher and discount tickets for drinks or other products. Once at the checkout, they could retrieve a code that allowed them to enter a draw to win a trip to a sunny destination. The game enabled the brand to boost its sales by creating a desire to purchase.

    Marketing automation: adding interactivity to sequences

    The email automation at the center of marketing strategies, is often perceived by audiences as an intrusive advertising process. However, email remains the preferred communication channel between brands and consumers for the French! It is essential to offer more impactful emails that stand out from the competition.

    To introduce this third method, we invite you to discover some scenarios to maximize conversions through marketing automation.

    Focus on engaging scenarios

    In a strategy for onboarding new scenarios for example, it is interesting to include impactful elements, such as scratch-off promo codes to be used for the first time purchase, in welcome emails.

    It is also possible to include a fun personality quiz in emails that collects product preferences (stored directly in a CRM). At the end of the operation, it will be possible to distribute promo codes to encourage purchases. This allows for automatic customer loyalty management. Some solutions allow for retargeting emails to be sent directly through the platform. This provides brands with a complete system connected to their CRMs, and fully automated.

    Indeed, as for customer loyalty, it is a long-term process. It helps boost sales throughout the year (customer birthdays, post-purchase operations, private sales, etc.).

    Here is an example of an automated marketing campaign that puts gaming at the heart of the initiative:

    At DejBox, once the order is placed, the customer automatically receives an email granting access to a game without a form (JWT technology). The objective is to encourage the customer to return after their first order, through a system of discount vouchers offered at the end of the game.

    Live Shopping: converting qualified audiences and maximising conversions

    How to refresh the formats offered to audiences in the face of the advertising saturation felt by internet users?

    To illustrate the fourth method, we invite you to discover the Live Shopping format and how it can be adapted to various marketing contexts.

    What is Live Shopping?

    Now indispensable, this new marketing format was born in 2020. In response to the course of retail locations, retailers chose interactivity to recreate the connection between consumers. This original experience addresses several issues in the retail sector today:

    • The promotion of new products in an era of advertising saturation
    • The boost in sales during increasingly frequent prootional periods, which attract less and less.
    • The restoration of the relationship with customers in the digital age, allowing for the removal of barriers to online purchasing.

    How does it works?

    1. Before the live session, we collect registrations from those interested in the brand, and the product is highlighted
    2. During the live session, we capture attention, engage the audience and make a lasting impression
    3. After the live session, we engage participants by offering them targeted content.

    A Live Shopping operation is an utlra-engaging experience. It therefore features a highly qualified audience, with a conversion rate more appealing than that of traditional channels.

    There are solutions today that can help capture qualified audiences through interactive formats. These are offered to participants during the live session (social gauges, polls, quizzes, raffles, etc.). The prizes offered at the end of the session boost registrations and help maximize conversions.

    During the live session, game formats can be integrated into the brands initiatives to collect real-time product preference data. This allows for feeding retargeting campaigns post-event. It’s an effective way to direct traffic to product pages and boost sales after the live event.

    Would you like to lean more about the strategies presented in the article to maximise conversions.

    Request a demo