With more and more businesses realizing the importance of customer engagement, it’s no surprise that the gaming industry has also joined in on the trend. In fact, many popular games, such as The Sandbox and Legends of Venari, have successfully implemented customer engagement strategies to build a loyal fan base and increase revenue.
Let’s take a look at some of the best examples of customer engagement in the gaming industry and explore how Web3 game developers can implement these tactics. By using traditional marketing strategies with emerging technologies, game developers like you can create a more immersive and interactive experience for your players.
1. The Sandbox’s Virtual Events Create Meaningful Interactions In New Ways For Niche Communities
Being a part of a community is core to the human experience and gaming is no exception. The Sandbox, a blockchain-based virtual world game, leverages this concept by hosting various events within the game that bring players together to collaborate and create new experiences. Rather than creating storylines and gameplay, social interactions within these events serve as the main driver of engagement.
For example, The French Red Cross event taking place from November 17th – December 17th of 2024, brought together players to role-play and respond to various emergency situations. From flooding to marauding and more, players had to work together using their virtual characters to complete missions. NFTs were made to celebrate this event and collectors were entered into a prize pool to earn $SAND (the game’s native token).
The initiative also seeks to raise funds to support those in need through the sale of NFTs. In partnership with The Sandbox, the French Red Cross is introducing a collection of five unique NFTs, each minted in 1,000 editions and priced at 80 SAND per unit. This case study shows how virtual events can be economically viable and beneficial for all parties involved.
The Sandbox’s events page is filled with various virtual events with different themes and major partnerships. Another example is “Hero’s Quest: A Champion’s Journey in The Sandbox” – an event in collaboration with ONE Championship, one of the the largest global sports media property based in Asia. In this event, players can create their own unique fighter character and compete in virtual MMA themed challenges for a chance to win 15,000 $SAND.
By tapping into various sub-niches and interests with major organizations, The Sandbox is able to attract a diverse user base and provide engaging experiences for them. This not only drives user retention and community growth, but also showcases the potential of virtual events in creating economic opportunities and incentive play-time. Sometimes you don’t need to always add new products but rather add new communities and interests into your existing one.
2. Helika Unites Fragmented Engagement Channels for Legends of Venari
Having a powerful social media presence is an effective way for businesses to reach out and engage with their audience. However, managing multiple social media accounts can be time-consuming and tedious, especially for small businesses or indie game developers. Creating an omnichannel experience while delivering news and updates to your core community can be challenging without the right tools.
Legends of Venari struggled to manage player participation across various community and growth platforms. To address this, Helika collaborated with their team to develop a tailored engagement hub within Helika Engage. This solution streamlined all community interactions into a single platform, dramatically reducing manual effort and enhancing efficiency.
Helika’s platform empowered the team to effortlessly manage quests, adjust point values, and showcase leaderboards with ease and efficiency. All these factors added up to improve customer engagement and served as a powerful tool for the development team to monitor and track community involvement.
This was made evident as 337,642 users ended up joining by quests completed and an additional 14,686 users joined by connecting their email. Legends of Venari had the right idea of increasing customer engagement through quests but they just needed extra help when it came to the analytical and managerial side of it.
With Helika’s help, they were able to seize the opportunity to use quests as a tool for gathering data, promoting social sharing, and ultimately increasing user participation. You read more about this case study here: Helika Engage Brings Unity to Legends of Venari’s Fragmented Engagement.
3. Building Brand Awareness Through User-Generated Content With Yuga Lab’s Otherside
Co-creation is an excellent way of building brand loyalty and with Web3 technologies converging with metaverse games, companies are finding new ways of fostering user-generated content. One such company is Yuga Labs, the creators of the popular metaverse game ‘Otherside’. Associated with the ‘Bored Ape Yacht Club’ NFT collection, Otherside allows players to explore a vast virtual world filled with unique collectibles and interactive experiences.
Brand ambassadors have been vocal about their love for the game and constantly share their experiences with others on social media platforms, creating a buzz around Otherside. Although there isn’t much information about the game as of time of writing, UGC is expected to play a crucial role in its marketing strategy. Many other metaverse-based games have used a user-generated model to help build in-game assets with real world value.
Designers are able to work collaboratively with users to create unique and personalized items that can be bought or traded within the game. This not only adds value to the user’s experience, but it also allows for a sense of ownership and belonging within the game’s community. As more players join in on the digital economy, the potential for brand recognition and awareness grows. This is because a creator will naturally share their work on social media, potentially reaching a wider audience and attracting new players to the game.
With that being said, game analytics is still needed to know which features are popular, to what extent and where. This data is vital in understanding the player’s preferences and behavior. It also helps game developers make informed decisions on how to improve the gameplay experience for players. A crucial component in early game development. Helika plays a vital role in this.
Helika integrates in-game and on-chain data to provide a comprehensive understanding of player behavior, preferences, and segmentation. This empowers Yuga and other gaming studios to tailor offers, rewards, and enhancements to specific player types with precision and impact.
Additionally, expert analyst are employed to support and address custom data requests to deliver actionable, high-level insights tailored to the game developer’s needs. By evaluating the impact of Yuga Labs’ in-game events and marketing campaigns with precision, Helika enables the studio to optimize their strategies for maximum engagement and revenue.
Working with Helika, we were able to get visibility into the product” – Spencer Tucker (Chief Gaming Officer at Yuga Labs)
4. Pudgy World Connects New Customers To Their Metaverse Game
As an emerging brand that has found itself in the right place at the right time, Pudgy Penguins’ primary goal is to provide real value attached to their physical items. Many people’s first purchase can come with a feeling of potential regret if an emotional connection or personal touch isn’t added into the equation. This is where customer engagement strategies come into play, and Pudgy Penguins has executed this brilliantly with their new game, Pudgy World.
For any business, including gaming brands, conversion rate isn’t the end of the story as customer retention and lifetime value is what truly drives business success. Pudgy Penguins understands this concept very well and has adopted blockchain technology to create an engaged customer through phygital products.
This 3D browser-based game invites players to explore, interact, and immerse themselves in narrative adventures crafted by both Igloo Inc (The parent company of the brand) and the community. Pudgy NFT and plushie owners can bring their collectibles to life by using them as in-game characters, adding a personal touch to the experience.
Pudgy Penguins continue to rise in popularity, fueled by their nationwide toy distribution and captivating social media presence. As a result, Pudgy World has become one of the most eagerly anticipated metaverse games to date. With a vibrant community spanning both Web3 enthusiasts and traditional audiences, Pudgy World holds immense potential to bridge the gap between these worlds.
This is one of the best customer engagement examples because it encourages different ways of interacting with the brand and its products. The customer experience is enhanced as the product serves multiple utilities. The physical item can be a source of comfort, decoration, and collectable while the digital version can be a form of identity and status symbol. As a game developer, think about how you can use Web3 to improve the overall utility of your product. Doing so will give you a competitive edge over traditional game developers and will allow you to create a deeper connection with your customers.
5. Illuvium Connects Different Genres To Build Customer Loyalty
One of the main challenges that game developers face is deciding which genre to focus on. With so many options available, it can be difficult to determine what will be most successful and have the greatest impact on customer loyalty. However, Illuvium has found a way to bridge the gap between genres and create a unique customer engagement strategy.
Currently there are 4 game genres that’s available in their ecosystem.
- Illuvium Overworld (Open World RPG)
- Illuvium Arena (Turn-Based Strategy Game)
- Illuvium Zero (City Builder)
- Illuvium Beyond (Card Collectors)
With each game being tied to their native currency $ILV, players are incentivized to explore and experience all aspects of the game. This creates a sense of excitement and anticipation as players strive to earn rewards in each genre. It also helps ensure a positive experience for a broad audience as different players will have different genre preferences.
If this game were to pair stronger analytics from a partner like Helikaon, Illuvium could further refine their customer engagement campaign. By tracking player behavior and preferences, Illuvium can target specific audiences with relevant information and offers. This increases the likelihood of conversion and ultimately leads to higher customer lifetime value.
An open-world player’s behavior may differ from a turn-based strategy player, which differs from a city builder or card collector. By understanding these differences, Illuvium can tailor their in-app messages and promotions to each player’s preferences, resulting in a more personalized and engaging experience. Helika’s analytics platform can also provide insights on player retention and churn rate, allowing Illuvium to make data-driven decisions on their customer engagement strategy.
Building relationships is crucial in the gaming industry and at Helika, we love to celebrate every success in this industry, whether they are our clients yet or not. If you’re an avid gamer, we invite you to explore Illuvium’s world and see for yourself the immersive experience they offer. And if you’re a game developer, we encourage you to consider partnering with Helika for powerful analytics and customer engagement solutions. Together, we can elevate the gaming experience for players and developers alike.
Final Thoughts
After going through some examples of customer engagement strategies listed above, it’s clear that a thorough and well-executed approach is essential to successfully engage customers. Whether it’s through exclusive access, creative ways of communication or building strong customer relationships, game developers have the opportunity to use their platform as a powerful tool for engagement.
Web3 unlocks brand new opportunities for game developers to create unique, valuable experiences for their players. However, building games without proper analytics is like blindly driving a car, which can ultimately lead to the loss of direction for the game. Incorporating data analytics and insights into your customer engagement strategies will not only help you understand your players’ needs and behaviors, but also help you make informed decisions to increase revenue and player retention.
Helika is the perfect Web3 analytics partner for your game’s development as we’ve already been trusted by industry leaders like YugaLabs and Legends of Venari. With our help, you can leverage data to create a more immersive and interactive experience for your players. Contact us today to learn more about how Helika can help your game reach new heights.
