Engaging audiences at Christmas through gamification

Engaging audiences at Christmas through gamification

Christmas is undoubtedly one of the most important times in your marketing calendar. But it’s also a time when consumers are bombarded with advertising messages. Why not take advantage of this by offering Christmas competitions to your audience?

Gamified marketing is a highly effective way of setting yourself apart from the competition and achieving your objectives.

Find out how gamification can maximise your brand’s visibility and your audience’s engagement during the festive season. We also share some original ideas for competitions to set up, depending on your audience and your objectives.

What do we mean by gamification?

Let’s start with a quick reminder

Gamification is a marketing strategy that involves incorporating animations and/or games into traditional marketing campaigns (email, display, website, etc.). The aim is to boost the engagement of your audience your business objectives (such as increasing your sales, for example).

Let’s take an example. At Christmas, gamification generally takes the form of an interactive advent calendar. Every day, from.1 to 25 December, participants discover a new box behind wihich a mini-game is hidden, giving them the chance to win a gift.

It’s an excellent way of captivating your audience throughout December. But it’s also a great way to vary the fun activities by inviting your prospects to spin a Wheel of Fortune, take part in a Christmas Quiz or win an instant prize.

Why create a Christmas competition?

Because of the various formats and contexts in which you can set up a marketing game, gamification offers many advantages to your brand. But the main benefits you can reap are:

  • Capture the attention of your prospects and boost your visibility. La gamification est en effet un excellent moyen de se démarquer de la concurrence. D’autant plus lors de temps forts comme Noël, le Black Friday, etc.
  • Engage your audience. The fun aspect and the possibility to win a reward encourage users to interact with your brand.
  • Incease your conversion rate. Providing free prizes or toher benefits can encourage your prospects o buy more from your brand. As well as bringing them to your site, you can offer them a promotion to trigger a purchase.
  • Collect and activate customer data. The marketing game is also an excellent way of collecting first-party data. You can then use it to refine your marketing strategy, adapt your offer to your customer’s expectations, etc.
Christmas competition

Christmas games ideas to engage your audience

Gamification is a simple and effective way of achieving your sales objectives in the run-up to Christmas. But what format should you choose? If you’re short of ideas for Christmas competitions, here are a few examples to inspire you.

1. Create a digital advent calendar for Christmas

The most popular Christmas device is undoubtedly the virtual Advent Calendar. This digital version of the traditional calendar allows you to immerse your audience in the world of your brand by creating a reccuring appointment from the first to the 25th of December.

Every day, participants discover a new game and can win prizzes (material or otherwie). In exchange, all they have to do is fill in a form on your site.

Brands that have opted for this marketing strategy and created an online Advent calendar game are gaining in visibility and boosting their conversion rate.

Click here for more advent calendar ideas.

2. The survey

The Christmas survey is a Christmas competition based on the classic survey. You ask your customers to answer a series of questions or give their opinion. Each participant can win points or advantages on your online shop. The best answer, for example, will be rewarded with an exclusive price.

This format is an excellent way of engaging your audience and gathering feedback about your brand. You can ask thel what they would like you to improve, etc. This data is a real goldmine for refining you marketing strategy and your offering.

3. Christmas competition

Another ultra-interactive feature you can offer your audience at Christmas is a competition. It’s an excellent way of stimulating the creativity of your community and generate UGC (user-generated content).This content is valuable for your brand because 97% of buyers under the age of 30 say that content by other consumers influences their purchasing decisions.

For example, you could launch a Photo Contest and invite your subscribers to post photos with your Christmas-themed products. You can also take advantage of the opportunity to get your teams involved to create an even stronger bond with your audience and share with them what goes on behind the scenes at your company.

4. Instant Win

Instant wins are Christmas competitions that are easy to set up. It’s also highly engaging, as participant know instantly if they’ve won a prize.

You can integrate them directly into your e-commerce site, but also via your marketing emails or social networks. The one-amed bandit, the wheel of fortune or a Flip and Win mechanism are excellent examples of instant prizes to engage your audience.

our tips to maximise the impact of your Christmas games

Now all you have to do is launch your Christmas competition. To maximise its impact, remember to follow these best practices:

  • Launch your competition at the beginning of the month : get ahead of the game to grab your audience’s attention as early as possible. But also to ensure that your gifts arrive before Christmas;
  • Optimise the distribution of your Advent calendar. Utilisez tous vos canaux de communication pour amplifier l’impact de votre jeu concours. Mobilisez vos réseaux sociaux, mais relayez également votre campagne via votre newsletter, votre site web, en magasin (via un QR code) ou en vous associant à des influenceurs ;
  • Choosing the right rewards : be relevant in your choice of prizes. And be generous to encourage your audience to take part (for example, by offering delivery costs to the losers on the final page).
  • Think retargeting: increase audience retention by sending instant, personalised emails to participants to build loyalty.

Launching Christmas competitions is therefore a powerful marketing strategy for engaging your audience, generating leads, collecting qualified data and boosting your sales. To create your own interactive Christmas game and gain a significant competitive advantage during this busy period, discover our gamification platform.

Influencer marketing campaign: the example of Celio

Influencer marketing campaign: the example of Celio

It cannot be repeated often enough: social networks have completely transformed the way brands communicate. Influencer marketing is adapting to these new codes and is now focusing on levers such as gamification, interactivity and influence.

The brands that come out on top are those that take advantage of these levers to create highly engaging campaigns. This is particularly true of Celio, the men’s ready-to-wear brand.

In the run-up to Father’s Day 2023, Celio has organised a campaign which combines all the ingredients we’ve just mentioned. La caisse des Pères combines gamification, interactivity and influencer marketing in collaboration with content creator GMK.


Launched via our gamified marketing platform, this article takes you behind the scenes of an example of an original and effective competition. You’ll also find some best practices for launching your own marketing campaign.

La caisse des Pères: a perfect example of an influencer marketing campaign

To celebrate Father’s Day and promote its collection of t-shirts created for the occasion, Célio opted for a marketing game. The principle was simple: participants had to :

For the version of the competition on the Celio website (and not on social networks), participants had to fill in a form.. In-store, the brand’s customers could simply scan a QR code to go straight to the entry form.

influencer marketing game competition campaign

The prize for this no-obligation competition is a second-hand (77,990km) 2017 Audi RS6 avant performance 605, registered in France and with a street value of €81,900.

And the results are in: in just 3 days, 780,000 people signed up for the competition and Celio’s Instagram account registered over 800,000 new followers! It’s an excellent example of an original marketing campaign that results in an unprecedented boost in visibility and engagement!

Marketing game mechanisms to borrow from Celio

If Celio’s competition has had such a huge impact, it’s not just because the brand is serious about Father’s Day and has pulled out all the stops for the occasion, as it explains in its press release.

Above all, it’s because it has a good understanding of gamification mechanisms to apply to your marketing campaign. you can take inspiration from this by following the best practices that have been applied for this marketing game.

Choosing the right prize

The success of a competition depends above all on the appeal of the prize. In the case of Celio, the brand had put a car up for grabs, presented as every father’s dream car. Valued at over €80,000, the prize is very tempting indeed.

What’s more, to maximise the impact of its marketing campaign, the brand teamed up with an influencer specialising in sports cars. The community that was redirected to Celio’s competition was obviously very interested in the chance to win an Audi.

Simple (for participants) and effective (for the brand) participation conditions

As mentioned above, the Celio competition was open to everyone, with no obligation to buy. So you didn’t have to buy anything from the brand to win the car. Celio is thus considerably widening its audience and proving its generosity (since in exchange for such a gift, it expects nothing more than a little strength on the networks or the sharing of personal data).

In addition to its marketing campaign on Instagram, Celio also ran its competition on its website via a simple form to fill in. This was an effective strategy, as it was easier for the brand to implement, while at the same time allowing it to naturally redirect participants to its site (and thus encourage them to place an order on its online shop).

So it kills two birds with one stone and collects more :

  • visibility and engagement on its social networks;
  • traffic to your website and therefore potential sales in your shop.

A multi-channel competition for even greater impact

In addition to the very accessible participation conditions, Celio succeeded in multiplying the impact of its marketing campaign by launching it across several channels. Audiences could participate via social networks, directly on the brand’s website, and also in-store by scanning a QR code to access the form.

This multi-channel strategy makes it possible to reach a larger number of potential participants. It also helps you to achieve a number of different objectives: gather data on your target audience, boost sales, increase your profile on social networks and expand your audience.

Influencer marketing: an effective lever for your marketing games?

The great strength of Celio’s original competition was also its partnership with an influencer. As already mentioned, GMK is a particularly good choice because its community is naturally interested in the prize, and therefore more likely to take part.

But above all, with almost 4 million followers on Instagram, Celio is considerably increasing the reach of its marketing campaign among an audience of young men who are a good match for its buyer persona.

The partnership with GMK was not limited to announcing the marketing game, as the influencer regularly posted updates on the random drawing and the discovery of the car by the winner and his father. Celio has perfectly understood how to maximise the impact of influencer marketing.

influencer marketing

The brand is banking on a privileged, long-term partnership with the content creator. And she’s taking advantage of GMK’s publications to tease a new competition in the near future to win another car!

Want to launch your own gamified marketing campaign? Discover our solutions for creating a marketing campaign as powerful as Celio’s.

Cookieless: how can marketing rise to the challenge?

Cookieless: how can marketing rise to the challenge?

At the dawn of the cookieless era, the digital marketing landscape is undergoing a radical transformation. Growing concerns about privacy and changing regulations have prompted industry players to rethink their data collection and advertising strategies. So this is the perfect opportunity to revolutionise your digital marketing!

In this context, several approaches are emerging: contextual targeting and semantic targeting. At the same time, Google’s evolution, with the end of third-party cookies and the introduction of the Privacy Sandbox, offers a new path for privacy-friendly digital marketing.

It’s not easy to find your way around this new cookieless era, which is why we’ve brought together the most relevant schemes to help you see things more clearly, in our article!

Google and the end of third party cookies

Google has announced the end of thris-party cookies in its browser by 2024, causing an earthquake in digital marketing. The decision follows a growing awareness of privacy concerns and the collection of users’ personal data.

However, Google is not leaving advertisers in the lurch and is offering an alternative called Google Privacy Sandbox!

Privacy Sandbox: Google’s answer to the cookieless world

The end of third-party cookies means that advertisers will no longer be able to directly track users across different websites to target their ads. However, Google’s Privacy Sandbox introduces privacy-based targeting techniques that preserve users’ anonymity while allowing them to deliver targeted advertising.

Google’s Privacy Sandbox is based on the use of techniques for processing data on the user’s device, rather than sending it to remote servers. These approaches, which focus on confidentiality and the protection of user data, mark an important turning point in the online marketing industry.

However, marketers will have to adapt to these new segmentation methods, which focus more on the context and aggregate users’ behavior, rather than on individual data.

After years of relying on thirs-party cookies provided by Chrome, cookieless marketing is proving to be a real challenge!

Yet this is a real opportunity to do digital marketing differently, while respecting users’ privacy rights and guaranteering a secure online experience.

SSO: a solution form the cookieless world

In today’s digital world, Single Sign-On (SSO) is emerging as an effective solution for simplifying the user experience while strengthening data security.

SSO allows users to access multiple applications and websites using a single set of login credentials. This approach reduces the need to remember multiple passwords, making life much easier for users.

From a marketing perspective, SSO also offers new opportunities to help you optimise your advertising campaigns and understand the behavior of your users.

With SSO, users can voluntarily share their credentials with thirs-party platforms, providing access to valuable demographic and behavioral data.

By using this information, you can personalise your advertising according to users’ preferences nd interests, creating more relevant and attractive messages!

Data collection

targeted data: the future cookieless through segmentation

In the cookieless era, where user privacy has become a major concern, contextual targeting and semantic targeting enable data to be segmented by analysing the content of a web page and the associated keywords. This method is making a comeback in response to the disappearance of thirs-pary cookies.

Contextual targeting

Contextual targeting focuses on the content of a web page and the contextual information that surrounds it.

By analysing the keywords, themes and general context of a page, you can place your adverts in a relevant way, ensuring that they reach an audience with an affinity with the page’s content.

This approach enables companies to maintain a degree of advertising effectiveness while respecting users’ privacy concerns, as no personal data is required for targeting. This makes it an indispensable strategy today.

segment data

Semantic targeting

Semantic targeting takes into account the meaning and intent of the words used in online content. Thanks to sophisticated machine learning algorithms, you can analyse the semantic context of a text and understand the nuances and associations between the words used.

This enables advertisers to target their advertising based on key concepts and users’ search intentions, rather than relying solely on cookies and personal data.

In this way, semantic targeting offers a more subtle and precise approach to reaching users interested in a specific subject, while preserving the confidentiality of their data.

Beyond third-party cookies: the power of first-party data

As restrictions on thirs-party cookie increase, advertisers need to rethink their data collection strategies to continue to target their audiences effectively. This is where the collection of first-party data takes on its full meaning.

By focusing on information provided directly by users, you can build a relationship of trust and obtain valuable data for personalising the user experience. First-party data collection offers a clear advantage, as it is based on consent and provides a better understanding of consumer preferences, behaviors and needs.

First-party data collection is therefore an essential strategy in this cookieless environment, enabling you to continue to collect valuable data directly from users, while strengthening your relationship with them.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the advent of the cookieless world has propelled online marketing into an era of change and adaptation.

Contextual targeting and semantic targeting offer alternative approaches to reaching consumers without the use of third-party cookies, by focusing on the relevance of content and the meaning of words.

Google’s initiative to put an end to third-party cookies and the introduction of the Privacy Sandbox offer you new opportunities to deliver targeted advertising while preserving the confidentiality of your users.

However, it is crucial that these developments are accompanied by an ethical approach that respects privacy. Not only to comply with the new regulations, but also to strengthen the bond with its consumers.

You’re now ready for the cookieless era! Now it’s up to you to revolutionise your digital marketing strategy.

4 AdTech trends to incorporate into your marketing strategy

4 AdTech trends to incorporate into your marketing strategy

La manière dont nous communiquons en ligne ne cesse d’évoluer, notamment avec l’usage de l’AdTech. Cela vaut pour les particuliers et pour les marques, qui doivent s’adapter aux nouveaux canaux et stratégies marketing pour garder une longueur d’avance sur leurs concurrentes.

En quelques années, nous sommes passés des encarts publicitaires télévisés ultra scriptés à des campagnes marketing natives sur les réseaux sociaux, créées et portées par les consommateurs. Les marques adoptent ainsi une communication authentique et engageante en misant sur des leviers comme les jeux marketing, les challenges sur les réseaux sociaux ou encore l’UGC.

Ces stratégies marketing repose sur l’usage des nouvelles technologies publicitaires, que l’on appellent aussi AdTech. Quelles sont les tendances fortes pour optimiser la manière dont votre entreprise communique avec son audience ? Comment les intégrer à votre calendrier marketing ? Nous répondons à toutes vos questions !

What is AdTech?

Le concept d’Adtech fait référence à un éventail de technologies et solutions qui permettent à votre marque de créer et diffuser ses campagnes publicitaires. Il peut s’agir de logiciels ou de plateformes SaaS offrant différentes fonctionnalités. Mais encore d’outils plus ciblés qui se concentrent sur la personnalisation, le ciblage, ou le monitoring de vos publicités digitales.

Un très bon exemple d’AdTech est le système de header bidding. Il s’agit d’un programme informatique qui permet de gérer les enchères et de fixer le prix le plus juste entre la régie publicitaire (par exemple Google ou TikTok) et l’annonceur (comme votre marque).

4 tendances AdTech à surveiller en 2023

Le monde des AdTech évolue à vitesse grand V. Pour booster la visibilité de votre marque et maximiser son taux d’acquisition, il est crucial de garder un œil sur les nouvelles technologies publicitaires à intégrer à votre stratégie.

Voici les tendances fortes à surveiller en 2023 :

Advertising programming

La programmation publicitaire (ou programmatic advertising) consiste à automatiser l’achat et la vente d’espace publicitaire sur un large spectre de canaux de diffusion. Mais aussi pour un large choix de format display (y compris les annonces display responsive, qui s’adaptent à l’appareil de l’utilisateur).

Cette technologie permet à votre entreprise d’allouer son budget efficacement et de s’assurer que ses campagnes aboutissent au résultat attendu (nombre de clic, taux de conversion, etc.)

La programmation publicitaire devrait continuer à connaître une forte croissance ces prochaines années. En 2019, plus de 86 % des dépenses publicitaires display ont été programmées. Ce pourcentage dépassera les 91 % en 2023.

Artificial Intelligence and AdTech

L’IA prend de plus en plus de place dans le secteur de l’AdTech. Elle permet d’optimiser la segmentation, d’affiner le ciblage ou encore de personnaliser votre message en fonction des comportements de chaque consommateur.

Netflix utilise par exemple l’intelligence artificielle pour définir automatiquement parmi plusieurs choix de vignettes celle qui a le plus de chances de pousser ses utilisateurs à regarder un film ou une série.

Mobile-first advertising solutions

Les annonceurs reconnaissent de plus en plus l’importance de répondre aux besoins des consommateurs qui utilisent principalement leur mobile pour se connecter à Internet. Les entreprises de l’AD Tech développent donc des formats et stratégies spécifiques aux mobiles, notamment la publicité intégrée aux applications.

The gamification boom in AdTech

L’AdTech est de plus en plus liée au gaming en ligne. Cette connexion se fait à tous les niveaux. On assiste à un véritable boom de la publicité native dans les jeux, en particulier dans les applications de jeu gratuites. Les utilisateurs sont invités à visionner une publicité avant de pouvoir commencer ou continuer leur partie. Cette pratique est de plus en plus populaire, notamment pour les applications partenaires de la plateforme de streaming Twitch.

En parallèle, les publicités intègrent une dynamique de gamification. Les consommateurs étant exposés chaque jour à plus de 1 200 publicités, ils ont développé une forme de banner blindness (soit le fait d’ignorer les informations partagées dans les bannières publicitaires classiques).

Pour gagner la bataille de l’attention, les marques ont donc dû inventer de nouveaux formats, plus ludiques. C’est dans ce contexte que sont apparus les Playables Ads (soit littéralement la publicité jouable). Ces formats display interactifs sont en effet idéaux pour donner de la visibilité aux campagnes, renforcer les performances publicitaires et améliorer la notoriété d’une marque.

Concrètement, la playable ad est donc un mini-jeu qui va s’exécuter pendant quelques secondes. Ce format est devenu si populaire qu’il ne se limite aujourd’hui plus aux applications de jeu mais aussi aux marques généralistes. Elles peuvent ainsi capter l’attention et engager leurs prospects à travers un jeu marketing.

The benefits of Playable Ads for your brand

The Playable ads advertising format offers your brand a number of advantages. The first is to capture the attention and boost the acquisition of your targets by offering them unique and entertaining content.

In the world of gaming, playable advertising is a bit like the interactive trailer for your mobile application. But for a brand in another sector, such as beauty, telecoms or sport, this gamified format is an extension of your game marketing strategy.

Your playable ad allows you to promote a new product or service by letting players discover it in an immersive virtual environment.

Playables ads help you to achieve several objectives:

  • Brand awareness: by raising awareness of your offer and demonstrating its added value;
  • Engagement: by encouraging users to interact with your brand. Playable ads attract 47% more attention than traditional video ads.
  • Conversion: by boosting traffic to your application or website.
  • Qualification: by gathering insights that will enable you to capitalise on consumer preferences.

Examples of interactive and playable displays

When it comes to gamification scenarios, you’re spoilt for choice. Memory, Battle, Swiper or Rattrape-Tout. Your brand can draw inspiration from different game mechanisms depending on the product to be promoted and its target audience.

Annonces jouables memory red sfr

To give you an example of a promotional campaign in the form of Playable ads, RED by SFR recently used the Memory game mechanic to present its range of packages. The interactive format makes the advertising more engaging. But the very nature of the game also encourages better retention of the information presented (and in particular the value delivered by the company).

Conclusion

The new advertising technologies (or AdTech) enable your brand to meet its key marketing challenges and stand out from the competition. Your ability to create unique interactive experiences will be a powerful lever for attracting and converting new customers, as well as gathering and activating valuable insights into your market. Discover our turnkey solutions for creating your Playable ads or opt for customised support for your next campaigns.

Live Shopping et gamification : boostez vos performances marketing !

Live Shopping et gamification : boostez vos performances marketing !

Live shopping has really taken off over the last two years, and the popularity of the practice continues unabated. It has become commonplace for brands to go live to showcase products and generate sales.

But this sales channel can be optimised to meet more than one objective. By introducing gamification before and after the live event, brands and chains can engage consumers, collect preferential data and generate qualified leads. Let’s take a look together at the benefits of this Swiss Army knife, which you can incorporate into your marketing strategy straight away.

The reinvention of live shopping

The figures don’t lie: live shopping is an enduring trend in our consumer habits.

But what exactly is live shopping? Live shopping is a way of buying products during the broadcast of a live video, through an influencer or a brand.

According to a McKinsey study, this practice is becoming increasingly popular, and will account for up to 20% of e-commerce by 2026.

According to a McKinsey study, this practice is becoming increasingly popular, and will account for up to 20% of e-commerce by 2026.

online sales

Gamification and live shopping: the sales promotion duo

To build customer loyalty, it’s essential to understand their needs and expectations. To do this, you can use different tools such as data analysis, focus groups or feedback.

Surveys and e-mailing are also powerful tools in the quest for customer loyalty. By gathering information, you can improve your product or service offering by proposing solutions that are better adapted to your customers’ needs.

Online sales and commitment

Take surveys, for example. By questioning customers directly, valuable information can be gathered and then used by brands and chains.

The questionnaires can be distributed via different channels, such as e-mail campaigns, on the merchant’s website or on social networks. Customers then log in to their account to take part in the survey.

Once the responses have been collected, companies can analyse them to identify trends and customer preferences. On the basis of this information, product or service offers can be tailored to better meet the needs of their customers, and thus improve customer loyalty.

Live shopping: a tool for getting to know your customers

As well as analysing in-store behaviour, live shopping also makes it possible to observe trends that are popular with consumers. Through chat or surveys, it is possible to gather information that can then be activated.

With a post live game, ask participants for their opinions and collect qualified data. An email campaign including promotional offers will boost conversion.

Lead recruitment guide

Generate live leads

Live shopping allows you to talk to potential customers, but not to identify them! Although social networks can provide valuable information about participants, that’s where the data collection stops. In order to be RGPD compliant, it is essential that users voluntarily provide their data. Gamification is the ideal way of collecting first-party data.

Live Shopping figures

How do you set up a gamification campaign for Live Shopping?

To be effective, your Live Shopping site must meet a number of criteria:

  • Benefit from a large audience and qualified subscribers with an affinity for the brand. They will be responsive to product demonstrations to ensure a good conversion rate

  • Be engaging and interactive to capture this audience from the beginning to the end of the Live Shopping session

Preparing for Live Shopping

Before the live event: collect qualified registrants who have an affinity with your brand thanks to a very simple game that allows users to register for a random drawing that will take place during the Live Shopping event.

Coupled with a social gauge, this system will ensure a high level of virality to boost Live registrations. The social gauge is a widget that gives participants extra chances in the random drawing every time one of their friends signs up.

Capturing attention during the live show

During the live event: engage to maximise attention and encourage memorisation. Offer live participants the chance to take part in an interactive game displayed directly on the live window. This type of feature allows instant-win discount offers to be won and encourages conversion.

Online advertising

Boost your online sales after the live show

After the live event: activate participants with targeted content to boost conversion. Invite live participants to take part in an exclusive game and distribute discount offers to trigger purchases. An opinion game mechanism can also help you detect purchase intentions and get to know your audience better so you can segment your CRM base.

Conclusion

Live Shopping combined with marketing games offers huge potential for brands and retailers looking to boost their engagement and conversion rates.

By offering consumers an interactive and entertaining experience, brands can create deeper emotional bonds, promote their products interactively, identify qualified prospects and boost sales. So don’t miss out on this new channel, which is increasingly becoming a sales channel in its own right.

Now it’s your turn!