Gamification has become an important part of digital marketing – it engages users, strengthens the brand, and influences customer behavior through rewarding experiences. With gamification, passive audiences can be transformed into active participants who are willing to engage more deeply with the brand.

By including tests, leaderboards, and rewards, a brand can create entertaining experiences that encourage users to spend more time with the brand. The benefits of gamification manifest in higher conversion rates, increased customer loyalty, and better customer retention.

The cost-effectiveness and measurability of gamification make it an attractive tool for marketing needs. Results are visible quickly, and real-time data reveals what works and what doesn’t, allowing campaigns to be optimized in real time.

The effectiveness behind gamification lies in its impact on the brain’s dopamine system: rewarding elements like achievements and progress activate the reward center, making the experience addictive and motivating.

There are many benefits to gamification in marketing, but here we highlight the key reasons why it is worth including in your marketing strategy.

1. Gamification Engages

Games like quizzes, tests, and challenges make the user experience active and engaging. They encourage users to spend more time with the brand and to return, which strengthens customer relationships and increases the brand’s value. Research shows that engagement can increase up to three times compared to traditional methods (University of Jyväskylä, Tian et al., 2023).

2. Visitors Remember the Brand Better

Games like quizzes, achievements, and challenges engage users in a way that makes the brand easier to recognize and remember. Research shows that gamification can increase brand recall by up to 30% (Tian et al., 2023).

3. Gamification Improves Communication

Complex messages can be simplified and made more attractive through gamification, making them easier to understand and remember. Game-based elements such as quizzes, interactive tasks, or gamified storytelling tools transform heavy and complex information into engaging experiences.

For example, a well-designed quiz can serve as an excellent way to teach users new things about your brand or products. Users actively participate in learning and receive immediate feedback or rewards for their successes, which increases motivation. The same content presented as plain text might be perceived as heavy or even ignored entirely, whereas a gamified presentation attracts and inspires.

Through gamification, values, goals, or the impact of a business can also be communicated in a way that resonates with users’ emotions and interests. For example, a campaign promoting environmental awareness could use a gamified model where the user performs tasks or makes choices that educate and entertain at the same time.

4. Tell Your Brand’s Story in an Engaging Way

Gamification offers a unique opportunity to tell the brand’s story in a way that engages and fascinates the audience. Stories that incorporate interactive elements, such as challenges, quizzes, or achievements, make communication more lively and memorable compared to traditional marketing forms. When customers participate in gamified storytelling, they become not only recipients of the message but also a part of the brand’s narrative.

Through gamification, emotions like joy, curiosity, and a sense of achievement can also be awakened. These feelings not only strengthen the relationship between the customer and the brand but also make the experience more personal and meaningful. For example, the brand’s values and vision can be conveyed through a story-driven game where users complete tasks or progress level by level, while learning about the brand and its goals.

5. Increase Conversion and Sales

Campaigns where users receive immediate rewards, such as discount codes, free products, or additional benefits, can effectively drive purchase decisions and increase sales. The appeal lies in the ability to combine an entertaining experience with tangible benefits. For example, campaigns like “spin the wheel” or “scratch and win” give users an immediate sense of reward, which strengthens their engagement and lowers the threshold to make a purchase.

Furthermore, gamification can increase conversion rates by up to 8%, especially by creating a sense of urgency and excitement. Limited access to points, prizes, or badges encourages customers to act quickly, increasing the likelihood of them making a decision, such as buying a product or completing a challenge, without hesitation.

Research shows that product sales can increase significantly with gamification, as interactive campaigns attract customers to participate and engage (Grigorovici & Constantin, 2004).

6. Collect Customer Data Effectively

Gamified experiences and interactive content, such as quizzes, surveys, and “spin the wheel” games, offer users an attractive and fun way to share their information. Through these rewarding experiences, customers are willing to provide data, such as preferences, interests, or contact details, in exchange for rewards like discounts or exclusive perks.

This data is particularly valuable for marketers because it consists of directly collected information from users themselves (zero-party data), which they share voluntarily. With this data, more precise and targeted campaigns can be designed that resonate better with the audience. For example, user preferences can be used to tailor new offers, and their activity within different gamified elements can guide the planning of future marketing campaigns.

Do you want to use gamification in your marketing?

We offer gamification solutions tailored to your specific needs. With our jQuest platform, we can create games that reflect your brand and seamlessly integrate them into your website. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to customize the content of the games and track real-time data, so your marketing is always one step ahead.

Contact us and let’s make gamification your strongest marketing tool!

Web browsers have evolved over the years, offering new possibilities for content creation. 3D graphics, well-known from video games, are becoming an increasingly important part of modern web communication, providing businesses with new ways to serve users and stand out from competitors.

In this blog, I will explain how 3D technology enhances the customer experience on websites and outline the steps needed to implement it.

3D unlocks new opportunities for web communication

3D offers customers entirely new ways to explore products. Established technologies like WebGL and WebAssembly enable the use of high-quality 3D graphics and animations directly in the browser, paving the way for versatile applications.

One of J&Co’s completed projects is the Guitar Creator configurator, developed for the website ruokangas.com. This application allows users to design their dream guitar by customizing materials, colors, and other features of the instrument. The final result is displayed in real-time 3D directly in the browser.

This enables customers to see the product before production begins, creating a personalized purchasing experience and adding value for both the customer and the supplier. The chosen options are sent along with a quotation request to the manufacturer, and the 3D-generated product image can be used as a visual reference during the building process. This ensures that the customer receives exactly the product they desire.

How to get started?

Before you begin, it is important to clarify the added value 3D can create and how it supports the company’s goals. It’s beneficial to take a holistic view to ensure that the material is developed with the future in mind. A well-organized 3D library is a long-term investment. This approach prevents redundant work for various use cases and stakeholders.

For many companies, 3D material is the missing puzzle piece. Modeling products is a significant commitment, and it is crucial to consider long-term usage needs from the very start.

Using existing CAD models for visualization purposes also requires specific processing steps. Before starting, it is essential to ensure that all previously created 3D material for the organization is accessible and organized.

Once the foundational material is in place, it’s time to determine how it will be used. Here are some examples of practical applications for 3D material, roughly sorted by level of effort, from simplest to most advanced.

Still pictures

This is the fastest and most cost-effective way to use 3D material. Imagine a virtual photo studio where you can take pictures from any angle with your desired lighting and environment. The image files are ready to be published on websites, presentations, or social media. This method is increasingly being used as a replacement for traditional product photography.

Video 

The next step beyond images is video, where different camera angles can be edited together in sequence, or camera movements can be made around or inside the object.

3D-animation

The next step is to create animations for the 3D material itself. For example, the animations can showcase movements linked to different parts or functions of the product. If it involves a mascot or another character, this stage can bring it to life with walking, flying, or other motions. The animation can then be exported as a video and used directly in various contexts.

Interactive 3D 

Integrating 3D material into an application is typically done using a game engine (such as Unity Engine, Unreal Engine, Godot, among others). In a well-planned project, the workflow runs smoothly, allowing models to be further developed in parallel.

In the game engine, the way users interact with the 3D material is defined. For example, users can click on a part of the product to trigger an animation where the part moves in a characteristic way. Animations created in the previous step (3D animation) can be used directly. Other interaction options might include selecting different camera angles, choosing materials, or freely navigating inside the 3D model.

The application is then published from the game engine for use on one or more target platforms, such as WebGL (web browsers), mobile applications (iOS, Android), or VR applications (Meta, SteamVR).

Summary

3D visualizations and animations add depth, interactivity, and experiences to websites that enhance customer experiences and support business operations.

J&Co Digital helps you leverage 3D technology in ways tailored to your needs—whether it involves 3D images, product configurators, or animations.

Careful planning ensures that 3D materials are implemented technically correctly and align with your company’s goals and user experience. By combining thoughtful planning with the right tools, long-term benefits can be achieved while keeping doors open for future opportunities.

Java

Companies and organizations produce massive amounts of brilliant and insightful content that no one consumes because it’s challenging to find. However, our strategic partner, Swedish rek.ai, provides an effective solution: an AI-powered content recommender that allows you to offer your site visitors precisely the content they need.  

Johan Albertsson, CEO of rek.ai, has made it his mission to care for website visitors. He believes it is important to provide quality content to everyone, regardless of their digital skills.   

It cannot be that only the digitally skilled succeed in society. Everyone should have equal opportunities to find suitable education and jobs and make informed choices, regardless of their IT skills.

Albertsson gives an example of a young person searching for reasons to join a labour union. A Google search yields a pile of paid ad links encouraging membership, but nowhere does it explain why joining is a good idea.  

Using an AI-powered system, the young person could instead receive concrete answers to their questions and recommendations for further information.  

Traffic from search engines is decreasing  

This is the core issue. How we search for information is changing. The more we use services like ChatGPT, the less traffic search engines will drive to websites.  

– As a result, content becomes more challenging to find. That’s why it’s more important than ever to take excellent care of the visitors who land on your website and inspire them with personalized content recommendations.  

Albertsson recommends reallocating part of the search engine advertising budget to improve internal site structure and personalizing content.  

Rek.ai is a platform-independent service suitable for any site with informational content. Even a small consulting firm can benefit from it, as there are two types of visitors: those interested in working for the company and those looking to purchase consulting services. Thanks to our strong background in working with public authorities in Sweden, rek.ai also effectively addresses privacy concerns.  

New opportunities for J&Co’s clients  

Monica Javanainen, CEO of J&Co Digital, is thrilled about the partnership.  

Rek.ai opens up entirely new possibilities for website development. It allows us to offer individually personalized content to visitors on our site and our clients’ websites, making the services more intelligent, engaging, and, most importantly, user-centric.  

– This is a step closer to our mission: “Let’s make the web better.”  

The partnership also strengthens J&Co’s business in Sweden.    

– We already have a few collaborations and clients in Sweden, and this reinforces our presence in the Swedish market, Monica says.

– As a Finnish-Swedish company, we have clear strengths in offering services in Sweden and assisting Finnish companies aiming to enter the Swedish market.  

Interested in taking your website’s user experience to the next level? Contact Monica!  

Can we offer you a WordPress Theme That Can Adapt to Anything?

WordPress is one of the most common platforms for websites in the world. Every WordPress site is built on a theme that determines the site’s structure and appearance. But how do you choose the right theme for yourself? Can you get by with the available pre-made themes, or should you opt for a flexible, domestic option like JCORE®?

Appearance and user experience are crucial factors when trying to attract visitors to your website. Therefore, it’s important to choose a theme that best suits the purpose and needs of the site. A good theme helps create a professional and trustworthy image of your operation and effectively highlights your business.

In addition to a beautiful appearance, it’s worth considering the future development of the site when choosing a theme: Is maintenance easy? Can you handle it yourself, or does the maintainer need to be a Nobel-level mathematical coding genius? The living conditions of websites and the ability to rank well in search results require vibrant and evolving content.

Next, we will explore the differences between pre-made themes and our own JCORE® theme.

Premade themes can be okay, but…

Pre-made themes are available in both free and premium versions. Free themes can sometimes serve as adequate tools for building websites; they are user-friendly and can often be installed quickly, even if you aren’t an experienced web guru.

However, the downside of free versions is that they are used by many other companies. If you choose a free theme, be prepared to encounter several clones of your website lurking in the depths of the internet.

If you’re looking for a more professional appearance, premium themes offer better customization options. While a free theme can only be modified to a limited extent without coding skills, premium versions allow you to add custom features and functionalities to your site.

Premium themes can also be integrated with various page builders like Elementor, which lets you modify the visual aspects of your page significantly without any coding skills. Elementor is an excellent theme and editing tool if you need a simple blog or a page that serves as a business card for your company. However, it doesn’t scale well for larger projects, as it can make pages heavy and slow to use. Google does not favor slow-loading sites, ranking them poorly in search results.

The biggest challenge with pre-made themes, however, is the support for troubleshooting. Free versions may not offer any support at all, and even for paid versions, the development teams might be located on the other side of the world, which can slow down the response time for help. Theme pricing often varies based on the level of support offered by the developer. Receiving updates may also require a subscription for a certain period.

…why not choose a WordPress theme that can adapt to anything?

If you’re looking for hassle-free maintenance and a versatile theme, we highly recommend our JCORE® theme. This isn’t just flattery; it’s a fact: JCORE® can adapt to anything.

Why do we speak so highly of our own creation? Because JCORE® is much more than just a theme—it’s a collection of best practices and techniques that have been developed over years of experience. JCORE® is also continuously evolving, as our developer team is always exploring new ways to leverage artificial intelligence, both in their work and within the theme’s features.

At J&Co, you won’t have to worry about choosing a theme or website maintenance tools because we build all our clients’ WordPress websites on our own JCORE® theme.

With JCORE®, the framework for your website can be created quickly and efficiently, allowing us to focus on more complex customizations, such as integrations, calculators, or other tailored functionalities. You will get exactly the site you’ve always dreamed of.

JCORE® is also designed to be clear and intuitive for content management. You can practically customize everything—you get the best parts of everything in a delicious combination, much like a great cocktail!

JCORE® is compatible with Gutenberg, WooCommerce, and LearnDash. It also integrates perfectly with our JQUEST gaming platform, allowing you to easily incorporate JQUEST games into your website.

So, what do you say? Shall we package one JCORE® for you?

Are you interested in seeing the features of the JCORE® theme? Book a demo presentation using the form below.

Exciting news – the Bisnespeli we created for Häme TE Office received an honorable mention at the Grand One gala!

The jury commented on the project as follows:

“From unconventional starting points, a service has been created that clearly reflects the creators’ enthusiasm and passion. The work stands out with its bold creative idea.”

In evaluating the entries, the focus was on the following criteria: creative idea (20%), strategy (20%), execution (40%), and results (20%).

Grand One is Finland’s largest digital marketing and communications competition, where for over 20 years, the best in digital services in Finland have been recognized. Services are evaluated in various categories such as user experience, service design, and design – and our business game was nominated in the “Best Digital Service under 60,000 euros” category.

Grand One is the most significant event in the industry in Finland, and we are truly honored and grateful for this recognition. What we are especially excited about is that gamification, which we strongly believe in, has proven its strength – there’s no topic that can’t be gamified. It also warms our hearts to see our client’s project succeed and gain visibility.

That’s My Business -business game

That’s My Business -game is a gamified way to create a business plan interactively, specifically aimed at young people under 30 who are interested in entrepreneurship.

In the game, players are guided by a virtual mentor, Toni Rauta, who asks questions and provides examples to help players develop their own business plan. The final result of the game is a Business Model Canvas, which can then be shared directly in a Discord community. In this community, experts from Häme TE Office offer support, coaching, and advice on entrepreneurship.

Great things happen with a great team

Kim and Jenni from the TE Office had a strong vision of what they wanted. The goal was to offer young people information about entrepreneurship in a bold and fresh way that would actually reach them—moving away from the traditional, somewhat stiff, bureaucratic approach.

Right from the start, our team clicked—we immediately found common ground. If there are projects and teams that are just “meant to be,” this was definitely one of them. And when Deniz joined Kim and Jenni’s team, we got the perfect main character for the game.

A huge thanks to the amazing team at Häme TE Office—it’s incredible that the TE Office is willing to take on such bold and different initiatives. This gave us a huge boost and the energy to strive for even better results!

Tiimi