This article provides a clear rationale for dedicating a portion of your marketing budget to gamification, along with key considerations for building your business case.
Do you ever feel that the conversation around ROI in marketing has changed during recent years? You’re not alone.
The days of “trust me, this will work” marketing are well over. Marketing budgets stayed at 7.7% of revenue in 2024, as reported by The Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey. This means every dollar must show a clear impact on the business. Even more challenging, 64% of CMOs say they lack the budget to execute their 2024 strategy.
Maybe you’ve felt the same paradox in your day-to-day hurdles to meet even the most fundamental marketing objectives.
This article gives you a clear rationale to dedicate a proportion of your marketing budget to gamification.
This almost extreme focus on ROI presents both a challenge and an opportunity for marketing leaders. Many executives see interactive marketing as just a novelty. Yet another gamification myth we should debunk. However, smart leaders understand that gamification in marketing is a strong strategy. It helps solve important marketing challenges such as lowering customer acquisition costs, generating valuable zero-party-data and building loyalty. It also means increasing conversion rates and building strong competitive edges.
The question isn’t whether gamification works- the data proves it does. Convincing C-suite about it is a whole other game (pun intended). C-suite stakeholders, such as CMOs, often focus on quarterly performance, time-to-value, market share, and long-term strategy. So, let’s accept that fact and look into how to build a solid business case for using gamification as part of your marketing strategy.
Our guide clears up the biggest gamification misconceptions – with eye-opening insights, real-world stats, and brand case studies that show just how strategic (and scalable) this tactic is.
Reframe gamification. It’s not just an engagement tactic; it’s a strategy for growth. This is the most important step in building your business case.
Let’s take that one more time: Reframe gamification.
From an engagement tactic to a performance-driven growth strategy.
CMOs don’t invest in campaigns- they invest in systems that consistently deliver business results. Here are a few pointers for building your business case for marketing gamification that we found resonates with most C-suite executives.
Gamification platforms like Playable deliver metrics that directly translate to bottom-line impact. Interactive experiences boost engagement much more than traditional methods. Many of our customers have reported significant improvements in their advertising metrics by incorporating gamified elements into their campaigns. For instance:
These results demonstrate how integrating gamification into traditional static ads can significantly enhance user engagement and drive better performance metrics. Plus, once users reach the game play landing page, they spend an average of 74 seconds interacting (based on Playable’s data)- much longer than on standard static landing pages.
As third-party cookies phase out and privacy regulations tighten, CMOs face even more pressure to develop compliant data strategies than ever before. As of a May 2023 Adobe study, 75% of marketers still rely heavily on third-party cookies, yet over half (53%) of executives worldwide say their leading concern about their digital advertising strategy is being able to reach target audiences effectively at scale.According to a survey by Nielsen, 86% of companies recognize the importance of zero-party data, and when customers willingly provide preferences, behaviors, and contact information in exchange for engaging experiences, you’re building the foundation for sophisticated personalization and segmentation at scale.
DFS ran a personality quiz to gather insights on customers’ mattress preferences. The results were visible:
This example shows that zero-party data not only enhances personalization but also directly drives revenue, making it far more impactful than relying on third-party cookies alone.
Gamified campaigns not only engage users but also improve conversion efficiency and churn, which directly impacts CAC. Examples from our customers show this clearly:
These examples show how gamified experiences can lower CAC by boosting lead-to-customer conversion and reducing churn, making marketing spend far more efficient.
Understanding executive resistance is crucial for building an effective business case. Most CMO objections stem from outdated perceptions of what gamification requires and delivers. And for good reason. However, enterprise gamification platforms like Playable have eliminated those concerns. Let’s try and break those barriers down together.
The traditional blockers
Myth: “It’s too expensive.”Old methods needed an agency partnership, custom development and build, and long timelines. This made gamification seem like a nice-to-have investment instead of a must-have strategy.
Myth: “We don’t have the technical resources.”Historical gamification projects required a lot of developer input. This made teams rely on limited technical talent, which slowed campaigns to an unacceptable pace.
Myth: “No one can tell me what the ROI is.”Early gamification efforts lacked measurement frameworks. They focused on engagement metrics, but these didn’t clearly link to business results.
Myth: “It seems like a gimmick.”The link to consumer gaming caused perception issues for executives. They struggled to see how it related to serious business goals.
These concerns were valid when gamification required custom development and agency partnerships. However, enterprise-grade platforms have fundamentally changed the equation. Gartner analyst Pedro Pacheco says gamification is making a comeback, noting that successful gamification applications generate customer acquisition and retention.
Infrastructure that took months to develop and needed big investments is now a scalable software service. This change cuts barriers to entry and speeds up time to market and campaign launches. Now, how can you prove this to your CMO?
We can’t emphasize enough- your CMO should know- today’s gamification platforms eliminate the traditional hurdles that made gamification seem risky or resource-intensive.
Q: Can marketing teams run gamification campaigns without developers?Gamification platforms now let marketing teams take charge of campaign creation, deployment, and optimization. This control speeds up testing cycles and removes the lengthy timescales that once hindered gamification campaign rollout.
Q: Are gamification platforms secure and enterprise-ready?Gamification platforms like Playable offer the reliability, security, and integration that CMOs need for strategic projects. With strong infrastructure, ISO certifications, and smooth martech integrations, this technology supports organization-wide use, not just one-off trials.
Q: Are other brands successfully using gamification platforms?Playable successfully powers 650+ brands globally with their gamification strategy, with a 99.4% customer support satisfaction rating. This level of enterprise adoption and satisfaction demonstrates the maturity of the technology and its readiness for strategic implementation.
When presenting gamification to executive stakeholders, structure your case around the three pillars that drive C-suite decision-making:
Begin with the numbers that matter most. Position gamification as a conversion optimization strategy that directly influences quarterly results.
Gamification drives measurable improvements across customer acquisition, sales, and churn, as seen in the examples we’ve shared before. The key is to focus on the metrics your CMO cares about most: higher conversion rates, increased engagement, lower churn, and improved ROI. By structuring campaigns around these goals, modern gamification platforms make it easy to prove results each quarter and demonstrate the direct impact on overall business performance.
CMOs know that agile, internally-managed systems that deliver measurable results can create a competitive advantage. 83% of CMOs expect martech budgets to increase in 2024, and worldwide spending on marketing technology tools is expected to surpass $215 billion by 2027, implying a 13.3% annual growth rate.
Yet, CMOs often worry about adding new tools to an already complex martech stack, especially when speed-to-value is critical. Investing wisely means choosing systems that drive sustainable, profitable growth with fast implementation.
Gamification platforms let teams build, launch, and iterate interactive campaigns in days rather than months, reducing the burden on internal resources while generating measurable insights. Proof of this comes from Playable’s recognition on G2: it was awarded the Fastest Implementation badge highlighting the rapid deployment and low complexity of modern gamification platforms.
The best way to maintain a competitive advantage is by building brand loyalty, and gamification is a powerful tool to do just that. Gamification isn’t just about engagement, it’s a strategic investment that drives customer loyalty, which in turn strengthens your competitive position.
Loyal customers are critical for business growth:
“We have seen incredible results using gamification in our MYSPAR app to build brand loyalty. Now, most participants in our playable campaigns come from the MYSPAR app. Whenever we send out a push notification, we can see the number of sessions is peaking impressively.” Katalin Varga, Head of Digital marketing communications, SPAR HU
“We have seen incredible results using gamification in our MYSPAR app to build brand loyalty. Now, most participants in our playable campaigns come from the MYSPAR app. Whenever we send out a push notification, we can see the number of sessions is peaking impressively.”
Katalin Varga, Head of Digital marketing communications, SPAR HU
Discover how leading brands use marketing gamification to drive retention, boost engagement, increase retention, and build long-term customer loyalty.
The evidence is solid, the technology works, and the advantages are there for the taking. If you’re still with us, now is the perfect time to book a demo with one of our experts.