Top 4 Benefits of Gamification

by Ashley Haugen

@AshleyKaia

Gamification, the act of integrating game mechanics into products or services, has rapidly taken over marketing campaigns. Now, we can check-in for badges on Foursquare, try to beat our various social media scores, and earn rewards for shopping at our favorite stores. It seems like everyone has jumped on this “playful” bandwagon to reap the rewards of engaged customers.

It’s an important trend to be a part of. According to Gartner, Inc., "by 2015, more than 50 percent of organizations that manage innovation processes will gamify those processes.” Even more eye-opening is their prediction that by 2014, gamified services will become “as important as Facebook, eBay or Amazon, and more than 70 percent of Global 2000 organizations will have at least one gamified application.”

Business leaders must keep their eye on gamification and the benefits it can bring to their brands. Below I have outlined a few of the greatest rewards game mechanics can reap:

1. Response Time 

• Immediate engagement by users allows for a faster and clearer feedback loop. Instead of waiting for research results and other time-consuming, expensive reports, gamification often lets marketers immediately see what is effective and what is not. Because respondents are playing in “real-time,” marketers will often see the results of their efforts in “real-time.” Lending itself to the coveted opportunity to make tweaks and changes for a higher success rate. 

2. Call-To-Action

• Games usually have a clearly articulated structure, quite opposite of our chaotic and undefined lives. Clear calls to action are easy for users to follow and complete. This simplicity drives interaction. 

3. Brand Exposure

• The viral nature of gamification increases brand exposure. Most games are meant to be shared and even played in competition with other customers, giving it an exponetial reach. Not only that, but it helps foster brand advocacy, as it rewards customers for using their business. Who wouldn't want to be recognized for brand loyalty? 

4. Image 

• Staying on top of trends not only shows that you "get it," but also shows that you have the volition to actually put it into action. Using gamification for your product or service can help encourage a youthful, cutting-edge image. 

Whether or not gamification is just a fad or here to stay, it has found the inner-child in all of us. Either way, it's a trend that will only be growing. So what's the next era of gamification? Look for it to manifest in the workplace, as it motivates employees to achieve business goals, participate in health programs and drive productivity. 

May Is The Month Of Minnesota Museums

by Nick Egner

What state has twice as many museums to residence ratio than the national average? What state has attracted more than double the museum attendance than it's top five professional teams combined? Well, that last stat isn’t as impressive due to the caliber of teams the state has produced lately...

Welcome to the month of May and the month of Minnesota museums! A partnership of museums, tourism agencies, media, and other affiliated organizations have joined together to spotlight the importance of museums in the community, and probably make a few bucks while they are at it.

With that being said, this is a great program with a heavy dose of social media influence. You can follow the organization on Facebook and Twitter. You can expect a steady update on deals, events, visitor photos, shared visitor stories, and a general dialogue within the community.

I thought this might be a good time to share a few of my favorite museums, what they are up to, and how they use social and on-line media to enhance the visitors experience. 

Science Museum of Minnesota
ARRRRRG, there arrrrre Real Pirates! Check out more than 200 artifacts from North America’s only authentic pirate ship, and catch an Imax movie while you are at it (runs through 9/3). Fun fact: Do you know why pirates would often wear an eye patch? So when they went under deck one eye would already be adjusted to the darkness. That’s right, living and learning is what the science museum is all about. And for you adults 21 years and older may I suggest checking out an event called social science. Why not enjoy the Museum with an ice cold Summit? Social Science is designed to keep the more mature science enthusiasts entertained with a variety of activities. 

How do you keep updated with the goings on at the Science Museum? Follow them on Twitter (@ScienceMuseumMN) which is active about 3 or 4 tweets a day. They also have designated hash tags so patrons can participate in a real time discussion. And don’t be surprised if Iggy asks you a question or two.

Walker Art Center
Holy hipster Batman! All joking aside, the Walker is such a great experience. If you want an artistic multi-media experience second to none this is the spot. The content of the museum is extremely well represented through their online/social media channels as well. Very active on Twitter (@WalkerArtCenter) with about 6 tweets a day, but that really isn’t the half of it. Check out their flickr account. It is a truly beautiful display of pictures that does a good job at capturing the exhibits! 

For another treat, click the media tab on their website and prepare to get lost in an internet time warp. From the blog posts with a variety of focuses, to the Walker video channel, to the real time webcasts, the Walker has done a great job matching the style and feel of their museum to their on-line media content.

Minneapolis Institute of Art
What type of a museum is the best? Is it science? Is it contemporary art? Nope! The best type is free! The MIA is free daily for you to come down and check out their exhibits. I’d recommend “The Sports Show,” but it ends May 13th. My favorite thing about this museum, other than its price, is the “Third Thursday” event. Not only are you invited to check out the exhibits as always, but you are treated to a Summit beer and live music. What is the next “Third Thursday” event? Craft Brews. I’ll see you there! To keep up-to-date with the MIA follow them on Twitter (@ArtMIA). They also have a very nice Flickr account.

Happy Minnesota Month!

Marketing: How Large Conglomerates Succeed

by Natalie Bell

@nebell90

Take a good look at the map above -- I bet you will be surprised.  Did you know that the majority of these small goods are owned by ten corporations?  This graphic comes is from the French blog Convergence Alimentaire.  The blog gives explains the impacts of having a small number of companies own a large number of brands -- environmentally, economically, politically, and consumer-wise.  What we PR/Marketing people think of is how the companies survive if they are selling their own similar brands as competitors.

For instance, take a look at Proctor & Gamble.  They own multiple types of laundry detergents -- each of whom compete against the others for consumers, at least from the outside.  Taking a deeper look into the detergents, however, each brand features a different benefit.  Tide is the classic detergent that focuses on cleanliness of washed clothes; Gain targets people who are highly concerned about the scent of washed clothes; Downy attracts consumers with a priority for soft washed clothes.  By advertising each brand as being the best for each purpose, Proctor & Gamble ensures that, in the end, their company gets almost all detergent revenues.  

Other companies are doing the same thing: Pepsico owns five fast food chains, but they all have unique menus from the others.  Coca-Cola sells three different energy drinks all targeting different audiences.  These products do not have extreme differences.  So what makes them different in our minds?  Marketing, my friends, marketing.  Creating unique ideas for each brand makes the products unique to consumers.  Without this created brand image detergents would all seem the same.  Energy drinks would be the same.  Marketing allows for choices and preferences between similar products, and what kind of world would we be in without choices?  

4 Ways To Reach Out To Bloggers On Pinterest

by Shelly Gustafson

Visually inclined bloggers have found a home on Pinterest - where they have an outlet to easily post their favorites photos and videos as well as interact with other like-minded bloggers and fans.

But can PR and marketing teams use Pinterest directly to effectively reach out to these influential individuals?

The answer thus far is both yes and no.

Yes, because Pinterest simply gives more insight to the blogger’s world and interests rather then simply reading their blog. Perhaps you’ll find through combing through the various pins and boards that an influential mommy blogger has a secret love for gardening or is on the search for healthy recipes for her kids.

However, reaching out to a blogger through Pinterest should be handled with extreme care. Pinterest thus far has developed as a very simple concept, much like Twitter did, and marketing and commercialism is still finding its place among the shuffle.

This, of course, does not mean you can’t utilize Pinterest to get you and your product noticed by these bloggers in a more subtle way. Below I’ve listed a few ways to slowly integrate yourself into these blogger’s world via Pinterest:

1) Get involved yourself. Join Pinterest and start your own boards with your interests and ideas on display.

2) Follow, Follow, Follow Similar to Twitter you can follow too many people on Pinterest and end up being overwhelmed by your feed. When you are starting out its incredibly important to start following the right people and for PR and marketers the right people are often the influencers in their field.

But don’t limit yourself to following a couple bloggers – look at who they follow and what interests them as well. Do they have favorite companies that they follow and interact with or perhaps other bloggers that you can add to your influencers list?

3) Repin / Like / Comment Pinterest offers three options for someone to show agreement or appreciation for another users contribution and all three of them end with you being listed in the individuals Pinterest update.

• Repin 
• This option should be used when you really like someone’s pin and want to add it to your own personal boards. It will remain there until you remove it however so use with caution.

• "Like" 
• The pinterest equivalent of the “retweet” a like on Pinterest shows a little less commitment that a repin but will still add you to the bloggers daily pinterest feed. 

• Comment
• Commenting on a pin will allow you to be associated with any repins that other individuals may do, so it can give you an even bigger reach. 

4) Contact Via Email 

Once you’ve establish yourself on Pinterest and feel you have a good feel for the bloggers style and interests reach out to them via email. Mentioning that you enjoy their boards on Pinterest can only help your cause and may even jog their memory back to some of your repins/likes/comments. 

Leverage Social Media By Knowing Which Network To Use

Wordless Wednesday Post: