Gaming as a Marketing Tool

In this new model of branding keynote Tim Jones discusses how gaming can be used to change the way companies brand their products. Games are fascinating and addictive because they present an irresistible problem that we love to solve. The brain will oftentimes turn certain activities and objectives into a gaming scenario in which the emotional rewards are compelling and motivating.

This commercially valuable behavior can be witnessed in certain areas such as frequent flyer miles. Travelers will sometimes take unnecessary trips just to accumulate more points, demonstrating that emotional rewards can change the way people behave even if it borders on the irrational.

Tim Jones breaks down the gaming model of branding in four steps: select a behavior to game, set the win condition, provide the tools and help them win. The innovative marketer ends his presentation with the message that "gaming provides the tools for a new model of branding, a model that relies on behavior rather than attitudes and delivers a series of interactions rather than a series of messages."