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KATCHUCK. Gamification in PR
KATCHUCK. Gamification in PR
how Games and gamification are becoming widely used public relations
strategies That have gone beyond simple entertainment. These games do more
than Just inform or instruct. Gamified activities and campaigns now motivate
and Impact behavior in areas from health (góbel, hardy, wendel, mehm, &
Steinmetz, 2010; wong et al., 2007), to acculturation (kayali, 2011), to sus-
Tainability (zografakis, menegaki, & tsagarakis, 2008). This chapter provides an
Overview of relevant and related communication theories that are put into
Practice through gamification, with concrete examples used in public relations
Today.
"Gamification" refers to the use of game mechanics or techniques, such
as Rules, competition, challenges, and so on within communication
environments That are not in and of themselves games. For example, this could
include Motivating users to perform some sort of action like purchasing
something, or Increasing brand awareness and loyalty. According to sebastian
deterding, Founder and organizer of the gamification research network,
"Gamification is An informal umbrella term for the use of video game elements
in non-gaming Systems to improve user experience (ux) and user engagement"
(deterding, Khaled, nacke, & dixon, 2011, p. 1). Gamification is defined by
bunchball (2010) — a gamification application developer — as: integrating
game dynamics Into your site, service, community, content, or campaign, in
order to drive Participation (p. 2).
Gamification experiences may begin online, but need not end there. Suc-
Cessful gamification can result in real life actions taken by players, either
directly Tied to the game or indirectly, as a result of shifts in attitudes that can
be spur- Red by the game experience. T hus gamification can not only build a
fan com- Munity, but also address real-world problems by making real—world
actions More fun. For example, in a gamification project that i helped to
develop, Players were rewarded with points online for taking real-world actions
that Decreased their environmental impact by doing things like taking public
Transportation or car-pooling.
It is helpful here to note what gamification is not, as there are related
com- Munications strategies and online experiences that look similar. One type
of Game that is often confused with gamification is the field of serious games,
Which are often immersive game-like simulations designed to teach or enforce
Real actions. Notable serious game designer jane mcgonigal in her book, rea-
Lity is broken (2011), makes a call to action for games to address real-world
Problem-solving. For example instead of playing simcity, people could play
Something like her game, world without oil, where they address the problem Of
living in peak oil real-world simulations. Mcgonigal's game superbetter, in
Contrast, is more typical of what we mean by gamification as players choose a
Personal health goal and get points for doing things to help achieve it. For
Example, a player can choose an exercise challenge and earn points by gomg
for A walk around the block.
Gamification does not mean social games, although social engagement
is Often an important feature of gamification. Social games, as a category, are
Games like those from zynga or other facebook—like network games and
Smartphone game apps, in which people are most often playing with a profile
That is closely tied to their real-world identity, such as facebook profiles.
However, while marketers and advertisers use these types of games as
advertis- Ing vehicles, these are not considered gamification as they are purely
enter- Tainment, with no larger goal of imparting new knowledge, or changing
Attitudes or behaviors in the real world. A simplified delineation of these dif-
Ferent game environments is that serious games focus on the world, social
Games focus on the game, while gamification focuses on the player, and for pr
Practitioners, this means your audience.
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