Gamification in Action - 11 Examples of Gamification for Engagement Success

Gamification has quickly become one of the most powerful tools in modern marketing, enabling brands to create interactive, immersive, and engaging experiences that drive customer engagement, loyalty, and retention. The global gamification market is projected to grow from $12.94 billion in 2023 to $74.17 billion by 2031, reflecting a CAGR of 26.9%. This growth underscores the pivotal role gamification plays in marketing strategies across industries, as it not only captivates customers, but also delivers measurable business results.

The power of gamification lies in its ability to transform traditional marketing into dynamic, engaging experiences. Gamified elements such as quizzes, spin-to-win promotions, scavenger hunts, leaderboards, achievement-based rewards, and interactive challenges are increasingly integrated into marketing campaigns. Emerging technology such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) is further enhancing these experiences, enabling hyper-personalised engagement and real-time interactions.  

Brands are rapidly incorporating gamified elements into their strategies to drive:

With 70% of global 2000 companies already using gamification as a core marketing strategy, it’s clear that this approach is no longer a trend – it's a necessity. As brands continue to evolve their digital experiences, gamification offers a powerful way to strengthen customer relationships, drive deeper engagement, and build long-term loyalty. Here are some examples of gamification programs by leading brands to inspire your next activation.

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11 Gamification Marketing Examples to Inspire Your Next Campaign

1. Duracell & Williams Racing

Duracell launched a gamified F1-inspired experience to engage Williams Racing fans and extend brand interaction beyond traditional advertising. Through a purchase-based gaming promotion, consumers who bought Duracell batteries could submit their receipts to unlock access to a custom-built online game. The game featured six reaction-based mini-games, including starting light reflex tests, battery drop timing challenges, and rapid tile selection puzzles—all designed to mimic the speed, precision, and quick decision-making of Formula 1 racing. Players competed on a live leaderboard, with top performers winning exclusive F1 prizes, such as race tickets, pit passes, and meet-and-greets with Williams drivers. By merging gaming, competition, and purchase incentives, Duracell successfully deepened consumer engagement, built stronger brand connections, and delivered measurable participation outcomes.

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2. Tito's Vodka Spin to Win

Tito’s Handmade Vodka launched an instant win gamification campaign to drive engagement during the holiday season, through a spin-to-win game where consumers could simply register at an age-gated Tito’s Holiday website for a chance to win one of five holiday-themed rewards, including Tito’s Ugly Sweaters (for humans or dogs), a dog toy kit, a dog blanket, an ugly stocking, and an ugly beanie. Winners were instantly notified, and participants were encouraged to return daily for another chance to win, keeping engagement high throughout the campaign. 

3. McDonald’s Monopoly

McDonald’s has been running its iconic Monopoly Game promotion, a gamified experience that encourages repeat visits and higher sales. Customers earn game pieces with food purchases, which they can collect to win instant prizes such as cash, cars, and other rewards. The excitement of the game and the pursuit of completing sets motivates customers to visit McDonald’s more frequently, creating a fun, interactive experience that drives brand loyalty and boosts foot traffic.

4. M&M’s Eye Spy Pretzel

M&M’s created an online gamified experience called Eye Spy Pretzel to promote their new pretzel-flavored candies. The simple hidden object game challenged users to find a hidden pretzel among M&M’s characters presented in a colorful image. With engaging visuals and easy social media sharing, this strategy boosted user engagement, increased product awareness, and created a memorable brand experience, resulting in viral success and increased interaction with the brand across social platforms. The  game went viral, earning 25,000 new Facebook likes and around 6,000 shares.  

5. Heineken Star Player 

Heineken’s Star Player app gamified the UEFA Champions League experience by allowing users to predict match outcomes in real-time while watching live games, creating a social interactive experience for football fans. Users could download the app and while watching the game, answer predictive questions such as, "will a goal be scored in the next 30 seconds?", for correct predictions users earned points and could also compete with friends on leaderboards, increasing engagement with both the games and the brand, and strengthening Heineken’s association with football while appealing to a younger, tech-savvy audience.  

6. Sephora Beauty Insider Challenges

Sephora has added a gamified experience to its Beauty Insider loyalty program, to engage more with Gen Z customers. This feature, called “Beauty Insider Challenges,” allows members to earn points by completing various tasks, both related to purchases and other activities. For example, the first challenge, “Ready, Set, Sephora” encourages users to complete tasks like signing up for text alerts or trying the in-store shade-matching tool, offering 100 points for each task and extra points for finishing the full challenge. This gamified experience is available on both the Sephora website and mobile app, making it easy for customers to join in. With 24 million members and a 30% increase in participation, Sephora is using gamification to boost loyalty and attract younger, tech-savvy shoppers.  

7. LEGO AR-Studio

LEGO launched the LEGO AR-Studio tool, a gamified augmented reality experience that combines physical LEGO play with digital engagement. Developed using Apple’s ARKit, this tool allows children to interact with digital versions of popular LEGO sets in real-world environments. Kids can explore, control, and animate their LEGO models, creating unique stories and adventures. By offering both physical and digital play, LEGO AR-Studio enhances creativity while keeping children engaged in a new and interactive way.  

8. Chick-fil-A Code Moo

Chick-fil-A leveraged gamification with “Code Moo”, a digital game where players help the iconic cows complete missions weekly, in an online car-racing adventure. As users navigate challenges and compete in races, they unlock free food rewards and gain access to exclusive Code Moo themed merchandise from Chick-fil-A's summer collection. This interactive experience keeps fans engaged while seamlessly blending entertainment with customer loyalty. By turning promotions into a fun, gamified journey, Chick-fil-A drives engagement and keeps customers coming back for more.  

9. LinkedIn  - Community Voice Top Badge

LinkedIn strategically uses gamification to make knowledge-sharing more engaging and rewarding for its users. Through Community Voice Badges, users earn recognition for contributing insights in AI-powered collaborative articles. These badges boost credibility but may expire after 60 days and can be revoked if engagement drops. By blending these aspects of competition, achievement, and recognition, LinkedIn turns professional networking into an interactive, engaging, gamified experience.  

10. Papa Johns & Baltimore Ravens Bingo

Papa Johns  partnered with Sideline Sports to gamify the game-day experience through Ravens Game-day Bingo, an interactive in-app game that keeps fans engaged throughout every Baltimore Ravens match. Fans mark off key game moments for a chance to win signed Ravens memorabilia and Papa Johns rewards, including a grand prize of free pizza for a year. Integrated into the Ravens Game Center, the game is heavily promoted via push notifications, social media, and in-stadium activations, making it the most clicked-on feature in the app. By transforming fan participation into a reward-driven experience, the Ravens and Papa Johns have created a powerful engagement tool that boosts brand visibility, loyalty, and digital interaction throughout the season.

11. The Hermès Game

Hermès has cleverly gamified the luxury experience with its exclusive sales model, creating what many call the “The Hermès Game”. To obtain coveted products like the Birkin or Kelly bags, customers must first build a purchase history by buying other items, with the goal of reaching an undisclosed amount spent, determined by the store’s sales associates. If they succeed, they may be placed on a waitlist and eventually offered the opportunity to buy these high-demand items. This scarcity-driven strategy heightens the allure of the brand, turning purchases into a game of loyalty and exclusivity, which has fuelled Hermès' growth, especially in Asia, leading a 25% growth rate and $2.45 billion profit in the first half of 2023.

Gamify your promotions with Snipp!

Boost engagement and sales with Snipp’s interactive gamification solutions - from spin-to-win to live sports challenges like Bingo and Prediction, to loyalty leaderboards - these activations help drive participation, deepen engagement, build loyalty, enhance data collection, and amplify brand awareness—all while creating seamless, reward-driven experiences.

Leverage gamification to tie in with major sports events and seasonal campaigns and turn passive customers into active participants. Contact us to help you craft the perfect gamified activation.