If the endeavor isn’t challenging enough, like a crossword puzzle that is easily solved, any thrill of victory will quickly dissipate, and the player will move on to a more stimulating challenge.
One of the main draws of games is the thrill of the challenge and the sense of achievement when the challenge is successfully met, such as completing the New York Times’ Sudoku, finishing a physical puzzle, winning a game of Monopoly, or succeeding at any other such endeavor.
Games build on our innate competitive nature by providing us with challenges that test our limits. The excitement of competition keeps us interested and driven to do better at everything – such as achieving continuously higher status in an online or other progressive game.
While the satisfaction and thrill of succeeding can grow with the difficulty of the challenge, there comes a point where the challenge itself becomes too difficult. Think back to attempting to solve a Rubik’s Cube for the first time (or any time for that matter) – it’s no fun to continue losing or failing to progress on a challenge.
Finding just the perfect balance of the challenge keeping the participant’s interest high enough, but just so, that it won’t cause frustration – is known as the “Goldilocks Zone” – not too hard, not too easy, but “just right” to keep people engaged, which is essential for the success of a solid gamification practice
Reaching the Goldilocks Zone isn’t easy. The more a person plays, the higher the skill level, so the challenges need to evolve as well. But again, the challenges can’t advance quicker than a player’s skill level or you have the risk of falling into the “frustration zone,” when players quit because the challenge has become too great. But each player’s skill advances at a different rate, so AI orchestration is needed to keep the skills and challenges in balance – for each individual player.
That’s why Optimove has partnered with Captain Up and Gamanza to bring AI-orchestrated gamification to iGaming – the first company to deliver this capability.
More than just gamification, these partnerships seamlessly integrate Optimove’s AI-orchestrated CRM Marketing with Captain Up’s industry-leading engagement and gamification platform, and Gamanza Engage’s innovative suite of loyalty and gamification features.
AI in CRM marketing is Optimove’s hallmark capability. Optimove was the first CRM Marketing Platform to natively embed AI with the ability to predict customer migrations between lifecycle stages in 2012 and with OptiBot, starting in 2016. Its most recent major announcement, in November 2023, was OptiGenie: a comprehensive AI-powered suite empowering marketers to optimise workflows from Insight to Creation and through Orchestration.
iGaming and Sports Betting operators benefit immensely from the combination of Optimove’s industry-leading segmentation and orchestration engine with Captain Up’s and Gamanza’s cutting-edge gamification technologies. Operators can now deliver an unparalleled AI-driven gamification experience, driving higher retention rates and deeper player engagement.The AI gaming orchestration and partnerships will provide the following benefits for iGaming and Sports Betting operators:
• Integrated Gamification for Personalisation: The out-of-the-box integration with Captain Up and Gamanza Engage ensures that all real-time gamification events are automatically synchronised with Optimove. Whether manual or through AI, this allows for precise segmentation and event triggering, leveraging gamification attributes such as level-ups and earning badges. It significantly enhances the efficiency and accuracy of players’ segmentation, leading to more personalised player interactions, which always yields increased engagement.
• Real-time Orchestration: Brands’ gamification campaigns are orchestrated and activated alongside all other CRM marketing campaigns. Optimove’s Self-Optimisation algorithms empower marketers with real-time data elements like granting XP points, tokens, boosters, or asg missions/tournaments, enabling them to deliver relevant messages, offers, and experiences on any channel.
• Holistic Campaign Measurement: Optimove’s scientific measurement and Multi-touch Attribution enable operators to accurately assess the incremental impact of gamification activities on customer and business KPIs.
• AI Optimisation: OptiBot assists marketers in discovering which gamified campaigns orchestrated from Optimove can be optimised to drive continuous improvement and maximise the effectiveness of operators’ strategies.
• The Right Challenge to Players in The Goldilocks Zone: The gamification delivered through Optimove’s AI Orchestration is designed to evolve the challenges along with each individual player’s evolving skill level so that they are not too hard, nor are they too easy – they are “just right” to entice the continued engagement of the players.
Optimove will exhibit at SBC Summit Lisbon on September 24-26 at Booth D120.
About Optimove
Optimove is led by Pini Yakuel (pictured). Pini Yakuel is the co-founder and CEO of Optimove, the #1 CRM marketing platform for the iGaming industry.
Since its launch in 2012, under Yakuel’s leadership, Optimove has grown into a multi-million-dollar global retention marketing company with over 500 employees.
The company now delivers industry-specific solutions to hundreds of top iGaming brands, including BetMGM, Bet365, FanDuel, The Pennsylvania Lottery, and more.
