Setting up Gamification and Prizes for In-Person 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 Event App 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 Event App Gamification

1 (A). Turn on the Gamification Feature

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Experiences > Mobile App > Pages
2. Select the Gamification page from the list
3. Toggle on the Is Visible checkbox
4. 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.

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Settings
2. Scroll down to Gamification Settings
3. Under the Custom Gamification Instructions field, enter your instructions
4. Select Save Changes

Attendees will now see the instructions in the Gamification page.

1. From the Event App, navigate to Gamification
2. Select the Instructions button

The instructions will now be displayed under this section.

Would you like to make the instructions more accessible for attendees? Consider creating a dedicated sub-page outlining to show your instructions. For a step by guide on how to create sub-pages, please review our How to Setup and Use Sub-Pages in the Event App article.

1 (C). Create Gamification Spot Codes to Hide Within Your In-Person 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!

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
2. Above the codes table, select Create
3. Under Title, fill out the name of the code
4. Under Points, fill out the number of points the code will be worth
5. Under Text Code, fill out the text an attendee would enter to earn the points for this gamification code
   1. Typically this is capitalized with no spaces, it is a short representation related to what the spot code is connected to.
6. Under Sponsor, select the sponsor to associate a code with a sponsor
7. Select Save Changes

Quick Tip - Here are some great places to hide gamification codes at your venue:

• Key locations like check-in desks, coffee and tea stations, and wellness lounges
• Exhibitor booths to encourage engagement
• Speaker slide decks to boost session engagement
• In Scavenger Hunt locations to further drive attendee engagement

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.

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
2. Above the Codes table, select the upload button
3. Select Download Template

The Gamification Code template will now be downloaded onto your device.

1. Open the Gamification Code template file
2. Fill out the information outlined in the Headings in the Gamification Code Upload Template step below
3. Save the document as a CSV file
4. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
5. Above the Codes table, select the upload button
6. Select the Drag and drop some files here, or click to select files button to upload your template
7. 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.

1 (D). Setting up Gamification Clues/Hints

Clues are a great way to point attendees in the right direction for codes. Consider adding a booth name or to increase attendee interest in your booths or any other location you wish attendees to pay attention to.

Enabling the Clues Section

Clues must be enabled in the Event Dashboard for Attendees to see hints.

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Settings
2. Toggle on the Enable Clues Section checkbox
3. Select Save Changes

Creating a Code

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
2. Select the Code you wish to add a hint to 
3. Under the Hint field, enter the clue you wish to give to the Attendee
4. Select Save Changes

Attendees will now be able to see the hint in the Gamification page.

1. From the event App, navigate to Gamification
2. Navigate to the Challenges tab
3. Under the Scavenger Hunt field, view the hints for the codes

The hint will now be visible under the name of the code, marked by the "Hint:" title. Codes without hints will simply be blank.

1 (E). Downloading QR Codes for the Spot Code

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
2. Select a spot code you would like to download the QR code from the list
3. In the codes editor form, navigate to QR Code
4. Right click on your mouse to Save Image As…
5. Print the image to display around your event

To download bulk QR Codes

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Codes
2. Above the Codes table, select Actions > Download Scavenger Spots QR Codes
3. Select Confirm

1 (F). 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.

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Settings
2. Under each gamification points section, fill out the number of points awarded when an attendee completes that task
   1. Find out about all the points sections below.
3. Under each gamification limit section, fill out the maximum number of times an attendee can complete a task to obtain points
4. Select Save Changes

Types of Automatic Gamification Points

1 (G). Add gamification prizes

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Advanced > Gamification > Prizes
2. Above the prizes table, select Create
3. Under Name, fill out the name of your prize
   1. Under Description, fill out a description of the prize, this is an optional field.
4. Toggle on the Redeemable checkbox
5. Under Points, fill out the amount of points which the prize will be valued at
6. Under Quantity Available, fill out the total inventory count you have available for this product
7. Under Purchase Limit, fill out the maximum number of instances of this product which can be purchased at once by an individual/organization
8. Under Thumbnail (150 x 150 px) and Promo Image (200 x 450 px), upload images that will reflect the prize
9. 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.

If you want to learn more about the Photo Gamification Scavenger Hunt, click here!

2. Test Gamification

After setting up your codes, prizes, and other gamification elements, we recommend testing them in the Event App to ensure everything functions smoothly.

2 (A). Entering a Code

1. From the Mobile Event App, navigate to Gamification
2. Select Codes at the bottom
3. Fill out the Enter Text Code field, then select Claim
   1. Or select Scan QR Code

Alternatively, attendees can scan the QR code with the universal scanner feature. For more information, please review our Using the Universal Scanner in PheedLoop Go! article.

2 (B). Claiming a Prize

1. From the Mobile Event App, navigate to Gamification
2. Select Prizes
   1. Select My Prizes, to see the prizes you already claimed.
3. Navigate to the prize you want to claim
4. Select Claim Prize 
5. Select Yes

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.

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Attendees > Attendees
2. Select an attendee you would like to add/remove gamification points for
3. Above the attendee list, select Actions > Add/Remove Points
4. Under Points, fill out a number which will add points
   1. To remove points, add a negative value.
5. 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

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Data & Reports > Custom Reports
2. Above the custom reports table, select Create
3. Under Report Type, select Gamification Points
4. Under Name, fill out a name for the report
5. Under Fields, select Spot Code, Spot Name, Spot Points, Attendee - Full Name, Attendee - Name, and other attendee related information
6. Under Gamification Code, select a gamification code you would like to extract information from
7. 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

1. From the Event Dashboard, navigate to Data & Reports > Custom Reports
2. Select a custom report you would like to download from the list
3. Above the custom report table, select Actions > Generate Report
4. Select Download Previous Report
   1. 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.