Gamification will continue to grow as a trend for the foreseeable future. We’re seeing many different industries effectively employ it. Done well, gamification engages customers; playing your brand’s promotional game can even become a part of a consumer’s routine.
Redeeming prizes is typically a non-issue, as the rewards are typically discounts that can be redeemed by scanning a phone. But if the prizes are physical, fulfilling them can get tricky. A new partnership seeks to address that particular case.
Xperiel, inventor of the Real World Web (RWW) platform, has announced that it will use Amazon GameOn to fulfill prizes for augmented reality gaming and predictive gaming activations at NBA games. Customers can participate in Xperiel’s activations during Sacramento Kings games, and Amazon GameOn, a set of flexible cross-platform APIs, awards and delivers prizes to fans who participate in-stadium or at home. The GameOn integration helps Xperiel deliver unique fan experiences that increase loyalty through engaging play.
“There’s nothing like playing a game that’s delightful and engaging from the moment the timer starts to when the winner receives a prize,” says Marja Koopmans, Director of Amazon Competitive Gaming. “And nothing puts a damper on the joy of winning—or wanting to play again—like realizing redeeming your reward is a headache. That’s why Amazon is excited to work with Xperiel to delight NBA fans both in stadium and at home.”
Previously, if a fan won a prize through an activation at a game or between games, it meant going to the stadium at a certain time to pick up the prize, with the hassle of searching for a designated pick-up area and taking time out of an evening with friends. Fans do not want to carry around prizes with them after a game when they are at the bar celebrating a win. It was a burden on both the consumer and the team to find an agreeable way to get prizes in the hands of winners.
In the past, a representative from the sports organization became responsible for ordering game winning prizes, finding the address, and shipping the prize to the fan, with the sports team shouldering the cost of shipping the prize. Now, this cumbersome process has been simplified, as teams can now ship prizes directly to fans from Amazon, reducing the cost and complexity of prize fulfillment.
The Sacramento Kings have won awards for their dual-mode mobile Sacramento Kings + Golden 1 Center application, produced by Xperiel. Through the app, fans can engage via a free-to-play gaming experience called Call the Shot and make real-time predictions on game action. Correct guesses award virtual credits to players that can be used for in-app prize opportunities or to continue playing until the end of the game.
“Harnessing the Amazon GameOn API through the mobile app activations we created within the Sacramento Kings application has become a driving factor for increased consumer engagement,” says Alex Hertel, CEO and Co-Founder of Xperiel. “Prize fulfillment is consistently a challenge and in working with Amazon we have found a truly seamless solution that provides accurate and efficient delivery of prizes for our immersive activations with professional sports teams.”