Gamified package : consumer insights into multidimensional brand engagement

Abstract

Although most gamification studies share the idea that customer engagement is one of the expected outcomes of gamification, they tend to treat engagement one-dimensionally as a psychological outcome of gamification. The study explores from the consumer perspective how benefits stemming from gamification and consumer brand engagement are dimensionally interconnected in the context of food packaging. This context enables extending the current understanding of the various ways in which gamification may enable brands to interact with consumers in their everyday lives and boost consumer brand engagement. The data were generated through qualitative Internet-mediated group interviews (N = 99). The findings show four consumer benefits of gamified packaging – functional, hedonic, social, and educational – which are further elaborated in terms of three dimensions (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral) of consumer brand engagement to create a multidimensional typology. The study highlights managerial implications in terms of relying on consumer-driven innovations when designing gamification.