By Prof. Payal S. Kapoor
For centuries marketers have fought the consumer mindshare battle – in a game of one upmanship customer attention and consideration, pique their interest and desire. It gets them to influence consumers to buy their brands, hopefully repeatedly, and perhaps spread the positive word. In a highly competitive environment, they have always had the same goal—to cut through the clutter and get the customer, who is otherwise fickle-minded and easily distracted, to commit. But now, this customer is even harder to get. Aside from the large number of advertising messages the customer is exposed to, these messages behave like stalkers and follow them.
With ad avoidance and banner blindness at an all-time high, marketers have been innovating new ways to engage audiences. Social media influencers have led the phenomenal growth of influencer marketing in the last decade. According to reports, influencer marketing was estimated to be worth 55 billion rupees in 2024, with a projected compounded growth of 25% over the next two years. But this space, too, is getting cluttered and losing its “unexpectedness”. Influencers are struggling in today’s social media landscape, characterised by information overload and numerous distractions. They face the challenge of engaging their audiences well. To address this, many of them use novel message modalities, and a burgeoning trend is using games in their brand-focused stories.
Imagine scrolling through a post by an influencer you follow that leads to a playful experience where your participation – it can be fun and psychologically rewarding. That’s the power of gamified influencer content. And now, imagine your brand being the centre of that gamified content.
In a recent research study published in the Journal of Travel Research, my co-authors and I, using controlled experiments, investigated influencer-generated gamified messages. Gamified messages offer influencers the creative freedom to develop content that engages customers and improves persuasiveness.
By integrating game elements (games such as crosswords, fill in the blanks, and word bingo, to name a few) into a typical influencer-led brand-focused post, they transform a conventional brand-focused message into an immersive, interactive, and fun experience for their followers, all the while allowing customer-brand engagement. Our study highlights how these game elements enhance realism, coolness, and novelty, making the messages more credible and engaging.
While our specific study focused on the tourism industry, it offers insights for all. Marketers are always looking for ways to deliver their messages to the consumer so that they get them. But the battle for mindshare is getting fiercer and fiercer. In an era where attention is the ultimate currency, gamified influencer messaging emerges as a breakthrough approach to capturing consumer interest and driving engagement.
About the author:
The author of the article is Prof. Payal S. Kapoor, Assistant Professor, Faculty In-charge Outreach & Communication, MDI Gurgaon.