Purposeful Gamification: Transformation of user engagement and loyalty

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Trigam Mukherjee 4 min read 26 May 2025, 05:40 AM IST with more than five billion people who are active on social media, and the average Indian user who spends almost 190 minutes a day online, now trusts on social platforms to drive. Summary When play becoming a method from on board, discovery becomes a natural extension of involvement. The user is not targeted – they participate. On their terms. The concept and understanding of consumer involvement is no longer what it was. In fact, the traditional form of involvement, which became digital decades ago, is now outdated. With more than five billion people active on social media, and the average Indian user who spends almost 190 minutes a day online, 96% of world businesses now trust on social platforms to drive growth. And yet the right struggle does not lie to achieve audiences, but to meaningfully link them to an environment that is noisy and junk. Read also | Die advertising agencies? For a long time, the art of persuasion of Facebook’s involvement rate may have a sharp decline, with the average organic rate per post dropping to 0.07%, from 0.09% in 2023. This decline is often attributed to changes in the algorithm of the platform and the migration of younger users to other platforms such as Instagram, which has also been a stable drop in the past two years. The desire for instant gratification is endless browsing, a passive engagement loop where advertisements such as background sounds are recorded. Your content can be seen, but it is rarely remembered. Read also | Advertising sentiment remains subdued during festive quarters, such as voting during a commute in the radio: We hear it, but nothing holds on. With the attention, even about eight seconds, even the best content risks disappear. So the measure of real involvement today is not what social media throws at you or the legacy measurement frameworks, but something that only extends a vanity metric. Although Big Tech made the convenience and scope a revolution, it did not solve some of the most critical problems for brands. If there is anything, the ecosystem has made it more difficult to build direct relationships with audiences. The cracks in the walled gardens are visible – brands are reconsidering how they are involved, how they collect data and who owns the client. There is a growing shift to independence. A desire to regain budgets, control and outcomes. The surge in direct-to-consumer platforms on digitally adult markets is no coincidence. The slow erosion of advertising income for social giants is also not. The signal is clear: brands want more than just impressions. They want connection. Because therein lies the secret to true brand loyalty. Read also | Leo seeks to create creative legacy amid the digital shift of advertising and the connection is redefined. One that is not built on volume or virality, but on value. About creating moments that are personalized, authentic, participating and performances. Although AI and Video Commerce have already been effective, one underutilized strategy is quiet in the spotlight: Gamification. Not as a loyalty tool. Not as a time-spending gimmick. Definitely not in the avatar, it has always been present. But as a leading function driver of user discovery and behavioral insight. This is where things get really interesting. Purposeful gamification, focusing on muti-dimensional discovery and meaningful participation, can transform businesses and have a direct influence on the bottom lines. Imagine you engage users after buying, but before. With interactive value exchanges that reward curiosity, not just conversion. When play becomes a method of onboard, discovery becomes a natural extension of involvement. The user is not targeted – they participate. On their terms. Gamified elements, challenges, micro-reward and dynamic directions enable businesses to understand motivation, preference and behavior early. And with that comes a gold mine of feasible, verifiable first-party data. Not just click and views, but signals that tell you who someone is and why they choose to get involved. It becomes a two -way conversation that confirms the fundamental communication rules. The value of such insights can have a profound impact on the life of the customers (CLV). Personalized marketing and product recommendations powered by this data increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, drive repurchase purchases and reduce churn and advertising spending. Studies show that using first-party data can make clients 81% more likely to return, while also enabling more cost-effective marketing campaigns compared to the dependence on third parties. Furthermore, this form of marketing gamification encourages continuous involvement, to transform the initial curiosity into sustained interaction, which nurtures long-term relationships and maximizes the value derived from each client over time. This strategy does not only drive better acquisition. It unlocks smarter personalization, sustainability and a better return of advertising spending. The answer to better involvement begins on your own platform with deliberately designed Gamification modules rather than anywhere else. When engaging starts at the point of curiosity, each step afterwards becomes more meaningful and measurable. Trigam Mukherjee is a marketing strategist and co -founder at CSIR. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. 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