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Writer's pictureAndrew O'Loughlin

Can you 'game it' even more??

“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵”. “𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘵 - 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥”.

“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺, 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵".


These comments come up a lot in our search into what makes a great sporting experience. And we know that what is cool about sport is that we invest ourselves into it, but it is unpredictable.


And that’s why we love it, watching it, or actively participating in it.

It is what makes it so engaging and even so addictive.





𝘚𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯.


Sport doesn’t need to be seamless, there needs to be the ups and downs, the inspiration to overcome some challenges, and that is what makes it great.


Challenge is good, especially when there is a reward.


𝗦𝗼, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 ‘𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁’ 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲??


A lot of our current work is looking at what is unique about sport, and merging that with the leading thinking from other industries. And many of us are aware of gamification strategies that enhance engagement by incorporating game elements into activities, making them more interesting and sustained.


Studies on technology and gaming, such as Nir Eyal’s "Hooked" model reveal how interactions on Facebook to SportsBet create irresistible experiences using 'variable rewards' – unpredictable, intermittent rewards that drive engagement.


Lucky for us… these variable rewards are core features of sports and physical activities, helping make them attractive, with positive outcomes!


Our sports inherently include these variable rewards, but it's crucial to emphasise them in the events, across programs, and in sessions.


𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.


I keep going back to the ‘Experience of Value’, where we offer rewards on many levels, the transactional rewards – the standings and trophies, the emotional – the joy, satisfaction, the social – the friendships, the status… and the aspirational – the self-fulfilment and progression.


𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆?


This approach can be applied across all sports, across seasons and in sessions.


Because while all of our participants will be aspiring to something, it’s the search on the journey that keeps participants coming back.


By using these variable rewards, we can create engaging, sustainable experiences that captivate and motivate people to stay active and involved in our activities.


Driving more people to be involved for longer.


And that is a good reward.



𝘐’𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳.


Creating experiences we can all be proud of.


🎾 🏀 🏐 🏑 ⚽ 🏉 ⚾ 🏏


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