By Brian Chica-Herrera
ABSTRACT
This Editorial will cover two marketing strategies in particular: Gamification and Scarcity Creation. ‘Gamification’ refers to designing company-consumer interactions with challenges, points, and more to hook an audience into having fun with the company. Popular examples of heavily gamified companies include Duolingo and Peloton; these groups rely heavily on building up merit for their consumers and keeping them involved with rewards systems. ‘Scarcity Creation’ refers to the practice of limiting opportunities for consumers to access company products, creating a sense of urgency to attract buyers. Popular examples of scarcity-relying companies include Yeezy and Louis Vuitton; these groups use one-time “drops” and limited edition sales to push consumers into “buying” exclusivity and innovation as a byproduct of purchasing these name-brands. However, what I find to be the most interesting marketing strategy is a mix: gamifying customer experience and limiting availability of playing said “game”. Through combining these means, companies can make the most out of their marketing campaigns.
Reminiscing: Positive Memories and the No-Longer-Accessible, Flappy Bird
At some point every few weeks, I am reminded of one iconic iOS game: Flappy Bird. After being taken down from the Apple Store in 2014, the popularity of the game did not exactly decline. In fact, Flappy Bird is being resuscitated onto iOS and Android devices come early 2025 because dedicated fans bought the game’s rights from its previous owner.
Flappy Bird took off in 2014 because it was simple, fun, and addictive (as noted by the developer himself) (Forbes, 2014). However, I would argue the remaining prevalence of Flappy Bird stands as a testament to the allure of nostalgia and the “limited edition.” Flappy Bird was one of the games of the early 2010s. Being locked into the timeframe of the 2010s allows us to fondly reminisce about it. No one can guarantee that Flappy Bird would have remained as enticing ten years down the road, but it is undeniably stuck in our memories. Thus, from the limited-edition-experience of the game, Flappy Bird, companies can learn something about leaving positive memories in consumers’ minds..
Applications of Scarcity-Creation Alongside Gamification
What if Peloton added time-limiting or consumer-limiting qualities to their gamification strategy. If Peloton released a notice saying that if a person participated in X challenge available only on New Year’s Day, would consumers not feel a sense of urgency to get on the bike? If Louis Vuitton were to gamify their website during limited-edition drop season, consumers might get hooked onto a game that keeps on the LV website beyond making a purchase. By mixing the addictive qualities of game-experience with the urgency qualities of scarcity-creation, marketing campaigns create the perfect formula for increasing sales.
In my mind, the internet is the easiest selling spot for limited-time minigame events. These collaborations/events have certainly happened in the past: Ralph Lauren’s “Winter Experience” on Roblox that had ice-skating and treasure hunt activities or Google’s seasonal Olympics and PacMan browser games. These brand gamifications may have been augmented by a sense of urgency and FOMO that come along with limited-time/limited-edition events. However, it is important for companies to acknowledge that these tactics alone may elicit different market reactions. MIT researchers write that scarcity, in particular, can be a double-edged sword; it was found that introducing scarcity to a situation had an absolute amplifying effect. If done in the wrong cases, scarcity could amplify a situation in a negative direction. Knowing this, companies that are unsure of adopting urgency-inducing means should remember that if gamification increases satisfaction/engagement in consumers, scarcity would serve as a positive amplifier.
Duolingo is one of the clearest examples of a brand that relies heavily on gamification AND creates urgency. The midnight deadline line (time-scarcity) of maintaining your hard-earned streak (gamified) is a formula that has pushed the brand to 500+ million total users. (RAW Studio)
CONCLUSION
The goal of all marketing campaigns is to increase sales and positive image. By taking the time to weave gamification and scarcity into customer interactions, a brand will benefit in two ways. Primarily, urgency and FOMO will attract initial customers. Second, consumers will be able to look back on their dopamine-inducing game-interaction (nostalgia) and associate it positively with the brand from there on out. These tactics are designed to psychologically interact with the customer and provide them with the best brand short-term and long-term experience possible.
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