"According to a study by Predictive Intent, which method results in 4% of sales compared to just 0.2% of sales? Cross-selling or upselling?" And so begins the new SIPA game, prepared by member edCirrus, now posted on our site. 

Sindhu Cauveriappa, CEO of edCirrus, told me that, "Gamification is a great way to engage our audience. From collecting feedback to providing interactive training, or to simply share new or updated learning content—games can make it interesting to the user. Presently we are moving away from traditional learning towards experiential learning. Statistics show that users learn, assimilate and retain the information better when these interactive communication mechanisms are used. We have seen huge success in using gamification and game mechanics in Compliance, Sustainability and Product training related areas.” 

The SIPA game asks, "Do you know what works best in sales, new customer acquisition, marketing and more? Test your knowledge against others in the industry." Participants answer questions while advancing through the board. It's the type of game that publishers could use for lead generation, event attendance or a webinar—"Only got 4 of 10 right? Sign up for the ______________ webinar to learn those answers and more."

On a bigger publishing scale, games and quizzes continue to grow. SIPA member OPIS used a similar-style quiz to successfully promote webinar registrations. They did their research and designed a simple but tough seven-question quiz to stump readers and convince them to register. The copy implied that if you did not know the answers, you would have a tough time preparing and complying with the new regulations. This email brought in 29% of the total registrations. "[Our] most creative email was also the best performing," noted Brian Crotty, CEO and president of OPIS.

Connectiv, another division of SIIA, used an SEO quiz from SIIA member CredSpark to successfully build attendance to a committee meeting last year. "Take 5 minutes to test your SEO IQ... Then next Thursday the Digital Media Council will host 'SEO Revisited' in which we will share best practices for content strategy, keyword research, Google algorithm changes, etc...And serenade our top scorer!"

Of course, the ultimate gamification starts next week with the NCAA March Madness, and it's a good opportunity to incorporate some aspect of it into your marketing. In the past I've seen brackets for beers, movies and songs, but with a little creativity it can probably be used for any niche.

The U.S. Apple Association has posted Apple Madness which pits (ahem) 32 varieties in a voting competition to determine "America's favorite apple." (I'm voting Honeycrisp.) "...it will be a great way to involve both our domestic and international consumers in a fun U.S. sports tradition," said Lindsey Huber, international marketing specialist at the Washington Apple Commission.

The Partnership for Better Health, a Pennsylvania wellness nonprofit, has Match Madness, a game to spur on fundraising. Last year, the World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International partnered with the group TakePart to put on an Endangered Species Bracket Challenge, which allowed site visitors to vote among 16 species. The Mexican grey wolf was triumphant.

My favorite one might be March Sadness 2016, a bracket battle of sad songs. Today's matchup includes The Pretenders' Back on the Chain Gang against Tom Waits' Downtown Train, and Silent All These Years by Tori Amos (each song from that CD could enter this) vs. All My Colours by Echo and the Bunnymen. They're getting lots of votes in.

The American Institute of CPA's has a new game—Bankonit—focused on high school students. "...since it launched, over 45,000 high school students have played it," said Joanne Fiore, AICPA's VP of professional media, pathways and inclusion in an interview with Folio:. "It has tournament functionality that lets students test their skills against others, or the computer...

"We're trying to make accounting fun and at the same time reinforce accounting principles and offer education on accounting as a career choice. It's hugely popular."

It will be interesting to see if they try it for the professionals in their field. Everything Fiore said there, except for career choice, is why gamification is working for all ages—fun, reinforcing principles, and education.

Are you subscribed to the SIPAlert Daily?
If not, you're missing out on daily strategies, tips, profiles and case studies that can build your audience and increase revenue. To sign up, please contact Nevena Jovanovic.

Ronn Levine began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has won numerous writing and publications awards since. Most recently, he spent 12 years at the Newspaper Association of America covering a variety of topics before joining SIPA in 2009 and SIIA in 2013 as editorial director…