The digital revolution of luxury
The change has begun, the virtual world has now a more than important place in the world of fashion and clothing. A new generation, young and full of passion for fashion, is emerging and imposing their expectations. Ultraconnected, this new audience is shaking up the classic codes of fashion and from now on the shows are no longer done on the famous catwalk but through screens and video games. A digital revolution of luxury is launched through gamification. We will therefore ask ourselves a simple question, is Gamification effective?
Understanding Gamification
Gamificication is the application of game mechanics to enhance the customer experience.
So, we don’t define Gamification exclusively by digital interaction. Let’s remember that the most famous Gamification in history dates to 1987 with the cooperation of McDonald’s and Monopoly. They have created a real connection with the consumer and pushing fast food fans to consume more to try to win big.
Through “competitiveness”, “incentives” and the dopamine release of achieving a goal, the audience is stimulated.
In addition, companies can use different triggers to stimulate engagement and experience.
There are 4 main types of gamification strategies:
– Game of chance: based on algorithm and chance, for example: slot machines, raffles, mystery boxes.
– Game of skill: The ability to use certain skills to achieve a goal, e.g. trivia questions, speed of response, etc.
– Team Activity: The concept is to create a team to accomplish something, the more participants the greater the likelihood of success.
– Quest-based games: Not necessarily driven by competition or specific skills, these games are based on quests and rewards, for example PokemonGO.
The new luxury trend: digital
In many ways, it would have been hard to imagine a few years ago that we would be buying clothes for our avatars, even from top designers. In 2019, however, Louis Vuitton has taken the plunge by partnering with one of the world’s most played video games: League of Legends. Nicolas Ghesquiere (LV Artistic Director) let himself be carried away by a digital trend to reach a new clientele much younger than before by promoting his collection (prices ranging from 145€ to 4200€) via the video game. The results for this first? The collection was sold out in less than an hour. A new example with the release of the code-breaking video game Balanciaga, Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu_08WchxnU).
Let’s try to find some explanations. The world has never been so connected. It has never been so easy to get information, to buy products on the internet and luxury has perhaps become more accessible than it has ever been. In 2020, 57% of luxury shoppers are 35 years old or younger. With new values emerging around inclusion, activism, and sustainability. Many platforms are trying to sell high-end products such as Farftech, Mytheresa or Lyst and this is perhaps where this new digital fashion starts. It is estimated that digital sales will reach 50% of total sales by 2023. Despite this, can we say that gamification is effective? Not yet.
Gamification explosion
The arrival of the pandemic has turned everything upside down. New platforms are appearing, the screen becomes the only way to effectively communicate its brand. There are many options to get closer to the consumer and make him participate actively in the development of the brand.
With these new methods, the audience has never been so close to the brand. Valentino and Marc Jacobs appear in Animal Crossing, Burberry installs an interactive game directly on its website, Gucci and Moschino follow the trend joining the Sims.
The big brands have understood that gamification is a simple, inexpensive, and very effective way to make their name shine on all phones. Thanks to the different social networks such as snapchat or Instagram, it only takes a few seconds to add a filter on your face with the codes of a brand.
Our advice
The use of gamification requires creativity and simplicity above all. The customer wants to be able to easily access the tools that the brand puts in place. It must therefore remain intuitive and be fun to use.
Find a way to bring multiple players together simultaneously. How? By offering the ability to participate as a group with team activities and various quest-based games.
Make your game appealing so that the experience is unique, i.e. offer a multitude of choices, prizes to win or avatars in games of chance and games of skill.
Keep in mind that gamification also has its limits. A part of your audience could hardly accept to focus campaigns only via digital channels. You don’t want to lose loyal customers who are not adept at these methods either. Don’t overdo it, don’t prolong digital campaigns too long to avoid that your audience doesn’t see a certain exclusivity.
Is Gamification effective? With a changing audience, brands are adapting to an unprecedented acceleration of customer expectations of change. It’s time to try new concepts and build loyalty in a new way with gamification. We can say for now that yes. Gamification is effective and has been an excellent solution to overcome the arrival of the Covid era.
