Gamers and Customer Engagement

Introduction

Since the 1970s, we have been witnessing the continuous spread of gaming systems. The proliferation of hedonic and entertainment-based systems such as games has affected other systems (such as utilitarian systems) and has brought many non-entertainment systems to be presented in a hedonic way. In parallel with the development of the gaming world, naturally, we have been facing an ever-growing audience of gamers over the years, as the internet and mobile technology have revolutionized the development of games and game-related areas. Currently, digital games have become mainstream entertainment, enjoyed by people from all demographic groups (Koivisto & Hamari, 2019: 191).

Moreover, the change in consumer habits has also affected consumer-brand relationships, therefore the marketing communication activities of brands. Changing media consumption habits (e.g., using digital tools instead of traditional media tools) requires consumers to be reached using new media tools. The next generation of consumers are individuals who are more familiar with games and have daily active player IDs: such consumers think like players and expect a game-like experience from their daily activities; thus, their consumption habits resemble games (Carstens & Beck, 2005). That is brands that face an audience of gamers have the impetus to approach the consumer relationship as a game.

Over the past decade, many utilitarian or entertainment-free information systems have been attempting to create game-like structures through articulated elements of games. Gamification is one of the most popular and widespread applications of this development in recent years. Information systems or technology are designed to meet some goals; for example, a shopping website should mediate the online sale of products, while a booking website should help make a reservation. Gamification turns these systems into a more entertaining structure to fulfill business goals (whether marketing, trade, education, etc.). Gamification transforms these systems into highly engaged platforms with game elements, while at the same time equipping them with a utilitarian structure that collects usage data in the background and meets certain objectives.

On the other hand, over the past two decades, there has been an emphasis among managers and researchers that the role of customers in their relationship with the brand either has changed or needs to change (Kotler et al., 2017; Pansari & Kumar, 2017). This approach, which has the effect of a relational marketing approach, focuses on establishing a long-term relationship with consumers in all areas. The active engagement of customers has a significant impact on the participation of customers within the activities of the brand, as well as in defending the brand or maintaining a continuous relationship with the brand. The main purpose of customer engagement (CE) is to create communities around the brand where customers are actively integrated through sales and non-sales activities; in this context, customer/brand engagement, in parallel with gamification, is one of the issues that managers and researchers have focused on in recent years.

The most important feature of games is that individuals are actively engaged in a voluntary and enjoyable experience (Huizinga, 1980; Gosling & Crawford, 2011). Therefore, gamification can be an appropriate tool to increase CE. In this respect, the role of gamification in marketing communication is to transfer game mechanics and solutions from games to the daily lives of targeted customer groups, creating more brand-loyal and engaged customers who are motivated towards a high and specific purpose-oriented behavior. However, while gamification provides a playful experience, at the same time gamified design should also help achieve set goals, solve problems, and complete tasks (Zichermann & Cunningham, 2011; Huotari & Hamari, 2012). Therefore, it can be reasoned that gamification features engagement in a two-dimensional manner.