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How to craft an AR gamification campaign for your packaging

February 27, 2023

A guy experiencing an AR gamification experience near a box of cereals

In today’s fast-paced and digitally-driven world, packaging can be considered a canonical, but still functional form of communication with customers. Some may argue that it was the first form of communication in the retail industry (although no one ever asked who was born before, the product or the packaging?).

Since its inception, however, packaging hasn’t evolved much: from the earthenware containers used to store and transport goods, the first real innovations were achieved by The Franklin Soap Company. The company produced a bar of soap that was wrapped in a colorful paper wrapper, which featured an image of Benjamin Franklin and the company’s logo, nothing exceptional when compared to packaging we see everyday nowadays.

The Franklin Soasp’s design was so innovative for its time that it helped the company to stand out in a crowded market. Other companies soon followed suit, creating their own unique packaging designs to promote their products.

In recent years, packaging has evolved beyond just being a means to contain and deliver products to customers. It has become an extension of a brand’s personality, an opportunity to stand out on the shelves, and a way to engage customers in unique and memorable ways.

How, you ask? With AR Gamification, we say.

AR Gamification can be a smart and appealing way to renew the packaging, offering value and new ways to interact with customers, while offering them memorable and entertaining experiences. It allows brands to create alluring and entertaining experiences for their customers by overlaying digital content onto their physical packaging.

Thanks to AR Gamification, brands can not only add elements of fun to the shopping experience but also help to address pain points, such as the challenge of standing out in crowded markets, increasing customer engagement and driving sales.

In this article, we’ll dive into the world of AR gamification for packaging and explore how brands can leverage this technology to create unforgettable packaging experiences. So, let’s start unpacking this!

Putting the Fun in Functional: how AR Gamification can enhance your Packaging

Before we will start to delve deeper into the world of AR gamification campaigns for packaging and to explore the key components that go into crafting a successful one, let’s see why you should create a Gamification campaign to market your product and what are the main benefits for using it.

In fact, this innovative approach to packaging not only creates a unique and fun experience for your customers, but it also offers numerous benefits for your business.

First and foremost, an AR gamification campaign can significantly increase brand awareness. By creating an interactive experience for your customers, you are creating an opportunity for them to spend time with your brand in a new and exciting way. This can help to increase brand recognition and recall, stay on top of mind and ultimately leading to increased sales and awareness (at the expense of your competitors who are not improving the look and the functionality of their package).

In addition to increasing brand awareness, an AR gamification campaign can also help you to collect valuable leads. By requiring customers to enter their information to participate in the game, you can collect valuable data that can be used for future marketing efforts. That’s what Dog Heroes did thanks to Aryel, with an outstanding 30% conversion rate on this AR Marketing campaign, and tons of new qualified leads. 

But that’s not all. AR gamification campaigns can also help you to drive sales, by creating a memorable experience for your customers, you are more likely to capture their attention and encourage them to make a purchase, for example including discounts or promos that can be unlocked in the game. 

Gamifying packaging? It’s like turning your customers into players and your products into prizes!

Game Over for bland Packaging: how to craft an AR Gamification campaign for your Product

The success of your Gamification marketing campaign depends largely on the design of your campaign, the fit between the product and the game, the reward system and the smoothness and fun attached to the experience. 

Before even starting to think about which quest your customers should embark on, you should have a clear understanding of what is the main objective of the campaign.
Setting clear and measurable campaign objectives is crucial to the success of any AR gamification campaign. You must identify the primary objective of the campaign, whether it is increasing brand awareness, collecting leads, or driving sales, and then create a specific experience (and its frame) that will drive the desired results.

Another critical factor that can greatly impact the success of an AR gamification campaign is the design of the game. Creating a game that is fun, and relevant to your brand (and product) is essential. It’s not just about making the game visually appealing, but also ensuring that it aligns with your brand message and objectives. To get started, consider what kind of experience you want to create for your customers. Do you want to make it challenging, educational, or purely for entertainment? 

Once you have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, it’s time to work on the mechanics of the game. Think about what kind of rewards you want to offer, how the game will progress, and how you will keep your customers engaged. Remember to make it easy to understand and user-friendly. The last thing you want is for your customers to be confused or frustrated by the game. By designing an experience that fits the product marketed and the target audience, you can ensure that the campaign is not only visually stunning, but also achieves the desired outcome.

The designing process of your game it’s for sure the most fun to do: you can mix interactive elements, the use of storytelling, gamification mechanics like badges, points or even a social leaderboard to make things stand out and to create buzz around the product. The possibilities are unlimited.

The distribution of the AR experience is also an essential consideration. Leveraging social media platforms can greatly amplify the reach of your campaign and enable users to share their experiences with their network. By encouraging users to share their experiences on social media, you not only increase brand awareness but also generate valuable user-generated content. 

Another effective way to encourage user-generated content is to run social media contests that incentivize users to share their experiences. To create content that’s just begging to be shared, think outside the box. What about a shareable leaderboard, the possibility of unlocking exclusive levels, or earning hilarious badges? Run a social media contest to get your customers hyped up and creating content that promotes your brand. Incentivize their creativity with some killer prizes, and watch the magic unfold. You’ll build an army of loyal, engaged customers who’ll come back for more. 

Finally, measuring the success of your AR gamification campaign is essential to understand its impact and identify areas for improvement. By considering all of these factors and crafting a well-designed AR gamification campaign, brands can create a truly unforgettable and impactful packaging experience that drives engagement, builds brand loyalty and ultimately drives sales.

From Boring to Buzzworthy: why AR Gamification is crucial in engaging Customers

And that’s a wrap! By now, you should have a solid understanding of how to craft an AR gamification campaign for your packaging.

With the right objectives, design, and social media integration, your campaign is sure to be a hit. But don’t stop there! Keep the fun going with user-generated content that gets shared on social media. By creating an experience that’s both memorable and engaging, you’ll leave a lasting impression on your customers.

If you’re looking for a way to make your packaging stand out, you should gamify it.

Just don’t blame us if your customers get addicted!