Setting Up Gamification & Prizes for Virtual Events
Gamification is a powerful tool to boost engagement, promote your event, and gather valuable insights. It’s especially effective for in-person events, where attendees can be encouraged to connect with others, participate in sessions, and engage with exhibitors. PheedLoop's gamification power-up allows you to use several engagement point triggers in the event app (if purchased) and physically at the venue.
One of the best features of PheedLoop’s gamification system is its seamless synchronization between live and virtual event experiences. Gamification can help you:
- Drive attendee engagement – Encourage attendees to take specific actions, such as participating in sessions, visiting exhibitor booths, or engaging on social media.
- Boost sponsor visibility – Attract more traffic to sponsors by offering sponsored prizes and assigning them unique spot codes.
- Enhance event analytics – Collect valuable engagement data by strategically placing gamification codes throughout key event touchpoints.
Contents
- How Does Gamification Work?
- 1. Configuring Virtual Event Gamification
- 2. Test Gamification
- 3. Add/Remove Gamification Points Manually
- 4. Downloading a Gamification Report
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Does Gamification Work?
At the heart of PheedLoop’s gamification system for in-person events is the ability to create custom spot codes—each worth a set number of points—that attendees can redeem for prizes. These codes can be strategically placed in exhibit booths, during or after sessions, in announcements or push notifications, on social media, and in other creative locations event planners choose.
Attendees engage by finding and entering these codes in the gamification page of the Mobile Event App, earning points along the way. While prizes are optional, they are highly recommended as they provide attendees with a goal to work toward while also creating valuable sponsorship opportunities.
If you choose to offer prizes, fulfillment is up to you. You can easily track earned points, export engagement reports, and monitor prize winners. Popular prize options include gift cards, event or sponsor swag, and travel vouchers. How you integrate spot codes and select prizes is entirely up to you—so get creative and make gamification a memorable part of your event experience!
1. Configuring Virtual Event Gamification
1 (A). Turn on the Gamification feature
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Experiences > Virtual > Settings
- Toggle on the Enable Gamification Section checkbox
- Select Save Changes
Note - it's important that you've actually added the Gamification Power-Up to your event as it is a paid upgrade, so in case you do not see the gamification page in your Mobile Event App after activation, visit the billing section of your PheedLoop account to ensure gamification has been added to your Event.
1 (B). Setting up Instructions for Gamification
Event Administrators have the ability to add custom instructions in the Event App for attendees to review.
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Settings
- Scroll down to Gamification Settings
- Under the Custom Gamification Instructions field, enter your instructions
- Select Save Changes
Attendees will now see the instructions in the Gamification page.
1 (D). Create Gamification Spot Codes to Hide Within Your Virtual Event
You have the power to create gamification codes within the platform and strategically hide them throughout your in-person event. Attendees can then discover and redeem these codes to earn points!
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
- Above the codes table, select Create
- Under Title, fill out the name of the code
- Under Points, fill out the number of points the code will be worth
- Under Text Code, fill out the text an attendee would enter to earn the points for this gamification code
- Typically this is capitalized with no spaces, it is a short representation related to what the spot code is connected to.
- Under Sponsor, select the sponsor to associate a code with a sponsor
- Select Save Changes
Quick Tip - Some quick areas to hide codes include:
- Exhibitor Profile - Hide them in the descriptions of the Exhibitor Profiles.
- Sessions Information - Hide them into the descriptions of the sessions.
- Session chats - Post them in the public session chat.
- Session Stream - Including codes to appear during the session stream.
- Emails - Distribute codes through event emails.
- Lobby Announcements - Feature codes in event announcements.
- Private Messages - Send codes directly to attendees via private messages.
Bulk Uploading Gamification Codes
Multiple codes can be imported into the Event Dashboard so that Event Administrators do not need to create each code manually.
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
- Above the Codes table, select the upload button
- Select Download Template
The Gamification Code template will now be downloaded onto your device.
- Open the Gamification Code template file
- Fill out the information outlined in the Headings in the Gamification Code Upload Template step below
- Save the document as a CSV file
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
- Above the Codes table, select the upload button
- Select the Drag and drop some files here, or click to select files button to upload your template
- Select Submit
Headings in the Gamification Code Upload Template
The Gamification Code template has multiple columns to fill out. Below we will define each column and their purpose.
code | This field is only necessary if you intend to edit a Gamification Code. Enter the Gamification Code under this column to edit their information. Leave this field blank to create new Gamification Codes. |
---|---|
title | Enter the name of the Gamification Code under this column. |
description | Enter the description of the Gamification Code under this column. |
points | Enter the number of points to be awarded upon redemption under this column. |
text_code | Enter the code the attendee must enter in order to redeem the Gamification Code. This field can be left blank if your organization wishes to only use QR code scanning for redemption. |
sponsor | Enter the code of the sponsor you wish to associate with the code. The sponsor code can be found in the Event Dashboard by navigating to Sponsors > Sponsors and selecting the download icon on the far right of the Create button. The Sponsor code will appear under the code column. Alternatively, it can be found by generating a Sponsor Report Type with the Slug field. |
1 (E). Configure automatic gamification points
Points can be awarded automatically to attendees for completing specific actions in the app and virtual portal. These include posting in the event feed, voting in polls, asking questions, scanning other attendees, participating in exhibitor lead retrieval, downloading slides, submitting feedback, and more! For each activity, event administrators can set limits for each activity, allowing attendees to earn points repeatedly until they reach the designated cap.
For example, if you have 10 points awarded for posting in event feed with a limit of 2 this means you can get 20 points maximum.
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Settings
- Under each gamification points section, fill out the number of points awarded when an attendee completes that task
- Find out about all the points sections below.
- Under each gamification limit section, fill out the maximum number of times an attendee can complete a task to obtain points
- Select Save Changes
Types of Automatic Gamification Points
Post in Event Feed Action Points | Number of points awarded when an attendee posts in the event feed or uses the virtual photo booth. Learn more about the photo booth here |
Post in Event Feed Action Limit | Maximum number of times an attendee may post in the event feed or use the virtual photo booth to collect points. Set to 0 to disable |
Poll Vote Action Points | Number of points awarded when an attendee votes in a poll. Requires Audience Interaction Power-up |
Poll Vote Action Limit | Maximum number of times an attendee may vote in a poll to collect points. Set to 0 to disable. Requires Audience Interaction Power-up |
Ask Question Action Points | Number of points awarded when an attendee posts a question in a session. Requires Audience Interaction Power-up |
Ask Question Action Limit | Maximum number of times an attendee may post a question in a session to collect points. Set to 0 to disable. Requires Audience Interaction Power-up |
Lead Retrieval Action Points | Number of points awarded to an attendee when they are scanned by an exhibitor. Requires Exhibitor Lead Retrieval Purchase. This is if someone submits a request for more information in the lead retrieval. Learn more about lead retrieval here |
Ask Question Action Limit | Maximum number of times an attendee may post a question in a session to collect points. Set to 0 to disable. Requires Audience Interaction Power-up |
Lead Retrieval Action Limit | Maximum number of times an attendee may be scanned by another attendee to collect points. Set to 0 to disable. Requires Exhibitor Lead Retrieval Purchase |
Download Session File Action Points | Number of points awarded when an attendee downloads session files from PheedLoop Go. Event App Only |
Download Session File Action Limit | Maximum number of times an attendee may download files to collect points. Set to 0 to disable. Event App Only |
1 (F). Add gamification prizes
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Prizes
- Above the prizes table, select Create
- Under Name, fill out the name of your prize
- Under Description, fill out a description of the prize, this is an optional field.
- Toggle on the Redeemable checkbox
- Under Points, fill out the amount of points which the prize will be valued at
- Under Quantity Available, fill out the total inventory count you have available for this product
- Under Purchase Limit, fill out the maximum number of instances of this product which can be purchased at once by an individual/organization
- Under Thumbnail (150 x 150 px) and Promo Image (200 x 450 px), upload images that will reflect the prize
- Select Save Changes
Quick Tip - to view who has claimed your prizes, from the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Prizes. Select the prize you would like to view purchases for and in the prize editor form, navigate to Purchasers.
2. Test Gamification
Open up your virtual event portal, and click on the Gamification option from the sidebar. Enter your code, click on Claim Points, and watch your points soar! In the same gamification popup, select the All Prizes tab, and try claiming a prize.
2 (A). Entering a Code
- From the Virtual Event Portal, navigate to Gamification
- Fill out the gamification code in the Enter Code field
- Select Claim Points
2 (B). Claiming a Prize
- From the Virtual Event Portal, navigate to Gamification
- Select All Prizes
- Select Leaders to view the points leaderboard.
- Select Teams to view the points leaderboard for grouped teams.
- Select My Prizes to view your prizes which you have already claimed.
- Select Instructions to view the instructions for earning points and claiming prizes.
- Select My Activity to view your actions which you have been obtaining points for.
- Navigate to the prize you want to claim
- Or select Show Available Prizes Only.
- Select Claim Prize for _____ (the amount you made the prize worth)
3. Add/Remove Gamification Points Manually
If you ever need to manually add or remove gamification points for an attendee, you can easily do so from the Event Dashboard.
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Attendees > Attendees
- Select an attendee you would like to add/remove gamification points for
- Above the attendee list, select Actions > Add/Remove Points
- Under Points, fill out a number which will add points
- To remove points, add a negative value.
- Select Save Changes
4. Downloading a Gamification Report
You can export data from any gamification code by creating a custom report and selecting the specific fields you want to include.
4 (A). Creating a Gamification Report
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Data & Reports > Custom Reports
- Above the custom reports table, select Create
- Under Report Type, select Gamification Points
- Under Name, fill out a name for the report
- Under Fields, select Spot Code, Spot Name, Spot Points, Attendee - Full Name, Attendee - Name, and other attendee related information
- Under Gamification Code, select a gamification code you would like to extract information from
- Select Save Changes
Quick Tip - You can also download the attendee profile data report type and select Gamification Points under Fields to see the point allocation for all attendees. For more information, please refer to our What Are the Best Reports to Use for Gamification Tracking and Analysis? article.
4 (B). Downloading a Custom Report
- From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Data & Reports > Custom Reports
- Select a custom report you would like to download from the list
- Above the custom report table, select Actions > Generate Report
- Select Download Previous Report
- Depending on the size of the report you may need to refresh your browser for this button to appear beside the custom report in the list.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I disable prize redemptions?
Prizes will no longer be redeemable once the End Date has been reached. You can also stop prize redemptions by enabling the Enable Prize Redemption checkbox under Advanced > Gamification > Settings.
The prize will automatically be irredeemable in PheedLoop Go!
Can attendees enter the same code twice?
No, codes can only be entered once per attendee per event. Once entered, the attendee cannot remove the code either.
How are prizes claimed if attendees are tied in point count?
If you have a limit on the number of prizes, then it's simply on a first come first serve basis.
How should code text be formatted?
It's important for codes to be simple so that attendees make fewer mistakes and get frustrated, which is somewhat challenging to avoid for large events. To minimize confusion, we suggest using capitalized letters, no spaces, or special characters (numbers are fine). E.g. "EXHIBITOR23", "SESSIONCODE", "WINBIG", etc.