When you hear gamification, you probably imagine the likes of a mustachioed plumber, a supersonic hedgehog, or a ghost dodging yellow dot consuming smaller dots (is that problematic?).
Gamification in pharma can be a bit of a misnomer—people often think it means playing actual games. In reality, it’s about driving engagement, fostering understanding, and helping patients. This might involve anything from simple matching games to immersive augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and extended reality (XR) experiences. The possibilities are endless.
As humans, we’re naturally competitive and curious. We crave that dopamine hit when we achieve something, and gamification taps into this. Imagine a game where healthcare professionals (HCPs) match elements of a drug to learn about its uses and contraindications. It's educational, but it’s also entertaining.
Building empathy and understanding with HCPs is crucial—they work incredibly hard and often face routine challenges in their day-to-day tasks. Using gamification to make learning more interactive and meaningful can transform routine tasks into engaging experiences.
(Molecule Blaster: Because every once in a while, it's fun to build something frivolous.)
Don't Pass Go or Collect $200: Start With a Sound Strategy
A successful gamification strategy starts with understanding your audience and setting clear goals. Different HCP groups have different preferences for how they like to learn. Our research shows that oncology professionals might prefer live learning, while dermatologists may favor passive learning methods like downloadable PDFs. Tailoring our gamification strategies to these preferences can make them more effective.
Setting clear, measurable objectives for any gamification initiative before implementation is essential. Whether the goal is to increase knowledge retention, improve engagement, or foster empathy, having specific targets helps design the gamified experience.
How We’ve Run-up the Score at Major Congresses
We’ve successfully implemented various gamification techniques over the years. Recently, we implemented an arcade-style activation at a congress.
You might think that sounds cool, but what’s the strategy?
Our goal was to capture the attention of the 35–50 age demographic through an immersive and interactive experience that encouraged engagement and retention.
Here’s how we did it:
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The arcade-style setup was designed to draw people in by leveraging nostalgia and appealing to their natural curiosity.
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We enhanced our game’s sound design by incorporating specific audio frequencies that cut through noisy environments. This subtle change ensures the game's audio remains audible and distinct, even amidst the general hubbub.
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We immersed people in an environment where they could explore and interact with the content. For instance, we’ve used interactive elements where users move a slider left and right to reveal different areas, providing an exploratory, multisensory learning experience.
These tactics not only sparked the curiosity of our target demographic, drawing them to our booth but also led to meaningful interactions with our content, showcasing just how effective gamification can be.
House Rules: How We Measure Success
Success in gamification isn't just about how flashy or fun something is—it’s about engagement and education.
We look at how long someone interacts with the content and whether there’s a more significant uptick in marketing engagement post-event. It’s also about the human element—seeing people walk up to an installation or just keep walking.
Quantitative Metrics
It's essential to understand the hard data behind an activation. We look at overall statistics, like how long users interact with the gamified content and the drop-off rates at different stages. These metrics help us understand if the content is too challenging or not engaging enough.
We also monitor post-event analytics to gauge success, such as increased traffic to our related content hubs or websites. Badge scans at congresses measure reach and expand our mailing lists for more targeted follow-ups.
Key quantitative metrics include:
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Overall engagement time: How long users interact with the gamified content.
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Drop-off rates: Points where users disengage from the content.
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Post-event activity: Increase in visits to related content hubs or websites.
Qualitative Insights
Qualitative insights are equally important. These include direct observations of how people interact with the gamified elements. Do they seem excited? Are they spending time exploring or do they keep moving to the next attraction?
It's easier to see if people are genuinely interested or just going through the motions in person. For instance, during live speaker training, we can gauge the room's energy and see if the audience is drawn into the content or scrolling through their phone.
Key qualitative insights include:
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User enthusiasm: Observing whether users are excited or merely going through the motions.
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Behavior patterns: Noting which elements keep users engaging and which do not.
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Feedback loops: Gathering direct feedback from users to improve future gamification efforts.
Avoid Compliance Pitfalls
When implementing gamification in the pharmaceutical industry, it’s important to keep data compliance top of mind. Strict regulations govern how data can be collected, stored, and used when dealing with HCPs and patients. The challenge is in balancing the need for engaging, personal, data-driven experiences with evolving data privacy laws such as GDPR and HIPAA requirements.
Implementing robust data protection measures, such as encryption, anonymization, and strict access controls, is vital in ensuring data security during gamification activities.
Users must be fully informed about what data is being collected and how it will be used. Transparent data practices are a legal requirement and crucial for maintaining user trust.
Hear how we think gamification can transform healthcare:
The Gamification World Is Open, Go Beyond the Map with Us
The future of gamification is not just about more advanced technologies but also about better understanding and meeting the needs of our users. Tailoring our gamification strategies to these preferences can make them more effective and engaging.
Want to see how gamification can revolutionize your medical education strategies?
We'd love for you to connect with us. The Avant team is passionate about creating engaging, effective, and impactful experiences. Let's collaborate to bring your vision to life.