Gaming attribute preferences in social marketing programmes

Abstract

Purpose: There is growing evidence serious games can be effective tools in social marketing programs. Although multiple (serious) game attribute frameworks exist, there is limited knowledge about which game attributes are applicable for sensitive social marketing issues.This research aims to fill this gap by (1) compiling a taxonomy of game attributes for serious games based on the existing literature; and (2) to investigate which of the game attributes users prefer in the context of an alcohol program targeted at adolescents.Methodology: Three serious games were administered to a sample of adolescents as part of a larger trial. Game feedback data from 640 participants were coded and compared using our synthesised classification taxonomy of reward-based and meaningful game attributes. Findings:The findings suggest meaningful game attributes were more frequently preferred than reward game attributes across all three serious games. Implications:This study proposes meaningful game attributes are more important than reward game attributes when designing serious games for (alcohol) social marketing programs. Nevertheless, social marketers must also recognise that reward based game attributes are important attributes as they are essential to making and motivating gameplay.Originality: This research is the first social marketing study that provides insight into game attributes which are preferred by users of serious games or gamified technology in social marketing programs. Research limitations:This study examined serious games targeting only one specific context (alcohol) in one market segment (Australian adolescents) on one gaming platform (online).

Gamification and online consumer decisions: Is the game over?

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Reward‐based or meaningful gaming? A field study on game mechanics and serious games for sustainability

“…We suggest this is an important direction for future conceptual and empirical studies in digital gaming as our results suggest the influence of different variations of reward‐based mechanics should be considered. The second implication of reward‐based game mechanics influencing sustainability knowledge, while meaningful mechanics did not, contrasts with the conceptual arguments of Nicholson (2015) and empirical findings of Dietrich et al (2018). A potential explanation for this result may be that when game players already have knowledge about the serious game topic (i.e., sustainability), meaningful game mechanics (educational messages) do not make a difference to outcomes of value‐in‐behavior.…”

“…Interestingly, while there is a considerable body of literature on digital games in marketing, limited studies have examined how game mechanics contribute to desired outcomes. Specifically, studies in the gaming literature have begun to suggest game mechanics can be classified as rewards‐based (e.g., mechanics, such as badges and points) or meaningful (e.g., mechanics delivering information and exposition) (Dietrich et al, 2018; Nicholson, 2015); however, these discussions have largely been conceptual. We seek to extend this thinking into the marketing literature by empirically investigating if both reward‐based and meaningful game mechanics can enhance sustainability outcomes.…”

Creative Economy of College Student Gamification based on E-Commerce

“…The implementation of the Open Journal System (OJS) of the PKP (Public Knowledge Project) as a basis is able to provide convenience, speed, and integrity in managing journals [26]. In the initial appearance of Pandawan there are 5 main menus namely About, My Account, Success Stories, Checkout and also Cart.…”