{"id":127,"date":"2017-02-11T18:50:22","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T23:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/?p=127"},"modified":"2017-07-20T19:52:27","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T23:52:27","slug":"flash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/?p=127","title":{"rendered":"Click Here for a Reward!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congratulations, read below and claim your reward: Knowledge.
\n
\n<\/strong>When Advertisements Become a Game<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have regularly used the internet in the past decade, you may have come across some web advertisements that ask you to shoot a target, throw a basketball into a hoop, click a picture multiple times, or interact with the advertisement in some way other than just clicking it.\u00a0 This form of marketing uses short games to create a temptation for \u201cwinning\u201d, whether it be simply completing the game, gaining a high score, or attaining a special reward (like a coupon for winning).\u00a0 Upon seeing these games, many people feel an urge to play, even if they recognize that it may lead them to a site they don\u2019t want to visit.<\/p>\n

Reward Based Marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is it:<\/strong>\u00a0Reward Based Marketing is a tactic that utilizes dopamine production and exploits feelings of pleasure in order to generate attention or profits.<\/p>\n

Where it works best:<\/strong>\u00a0It tends to work best for attracting attention to your site by tempting potential customers into clicking an ad through the use of games.\u00a0 For example, you might have a button with the text \u201cclick 20 times in 10 seconds to win\u201d above it.<\/p>\n

It also works well for generating purchases.\u00a0 For example, stores have scratch-and-save sales where you essentially have a chance at a 10%, 20%, or 100% discount (or something similar). \u00a0While 99% of people may only get the 10% discount, many individuals will purchase more in hopes that they will get the 100% one.<\/p>\n

This tactic is also useful in maintaining customers via \u201crewards-point\u201d programs. \u00a0Every time a customer makes a purchase you give them rewards points which can be redeemed for prizes or future discounts.<\/p>\n

How you can use it:<\/strong>\u00a0If you have a product or service that is difficult to advertise, you can use a game-based advertisement in order to attract potential customers.\u00a0 For example, you might have a banner with a \u2018pong\u2019 type game that says \u201cfirst to 3 points wins.\u201d\u00a0 Many individuals viewing the banner on a site will feel compelled to play the small mini-game in order to receive the psychological reward from winning.\u00a0 At this point they get sent to your website with a congratulations message and information on your product.<\/p>\n

Another method of utilizing this form of marketing is to have luck-based discount events or contests to generate profits or interest.\u00a0 For example, you might hold a contest to win a new HD 4k\u00a0TV, where every $100 spent gives a customer a ballot in the lottery draw.\u00a0 This would entice individuals to spend more in hopes that they win the TV.\u00a0 A real-life application of this tactic is McDonalds\u2019 monopoly games. \u00a0Once a year when you purchase certain foods you get monopoly properties (small pieces of paper), and if you collect sets of them, you can turn them in for prizes.\u00a0 This collection-based method is extremely successful at enticing people to purchase more since they experience part of a win (having 2 out of 3 properties) compelling them to attempt to experience the full win (getting the third property which they often don\u2019t realize is rare).<\/p>\n

Teenagers are one of the best groups to target with this form of marketing, as they often overvalue their chances at winning a prize.\u00a0 Further, by offering highly-desired but difficult to obtain prizes (like VIP concert tickets), teenagers may feel that the contest is the only way to attain the desired item. \u00a0This train of thought is normalized to the point where it appears in popular culture.\u00a0 Consider Roald Dahl\u2019s famous book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em>, in which Veruca Salt\u2019s father purchased as many chocolate bars as possible in order to find a golden ticket. Also, consider that in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory<\/em> every golden ticket became a major media event.\u00a0 Similarly, this form of marketing can be used in conjunction with social media to build brand recognition, which in turn can elicit media coverage from key sites catering to those interested in the rewards.<\/p>\n

A third way to use this marketing technique is to offer reward points with every purchase, and randomly give customers bonus points.\u00a0 These points will psychologically pressure customers to continue to purchase your products since they feel like if they don\u2019t, their accumulated points will go to waste.\u00a0 Further, the bonus points generate a feeling of pleasure which customers will want to experience again (see the neuroscience section).<\/p>\n

The result:<\/strong>\u00a0If you manage to successfully utilize reward based marketing you will be able to attract new customers, generate more profits, and retain your customers while creating customer loyalty.<\/p>\n

The Neuroscience:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The reason this marketing tactic works is due to a history of evolutionary stresses.\u00a0 Reward systems allow for a species to ensure that they commit to necessary functions such as eating, drinking, reproduction, competition, etc.\u00a0\u00a0 Thus, humans in general want to receive rewards and avoid punishments.\u00a0 Winning as opposed to losing is a type of reward that often comes with benefits.\u00a0 The psychological benefit is largely due to the release of dopamine (a neurotransmitter) which then activates receptors and signals neuronal activation, leading to a feeling\u00a0of pleasure.\u00a0 Additionally, an individual may receive a material benefit, which is often the acquisition of something of value (e.g. reward money) and also contributes to the psychological benefit. Further, an individual may attain social benefits, such as the acquisition of status or \u201cbragging rights,\u201d which are involved in mate attraction and self-esteem.<\/p>\n

This reward system is far from simple however.\u00a0 Wolfram Schultz [See Wolfram Schultz], a neuroscientist at Cambridge University has done various studies in this field and has shown that we learn to predict awards.\u00a0 He used an experiment with monkeys to demonstrate this, by shining a light at them, waiting a few seconds, and then squirting a few drops of apple juice into their mouth (monkeys apparently love apple juice).\u00a0 At first, dopamine neurons did not become excited until the reward (apple juice) was given, but overtime as the monkeys learned that the light precedes the award, the neurons began to become excited at the shining of the light rather than the reception of the reward. \u00a0Conversely, if a light was shined and no reward received, the monkeys\u2019 dopamine neurons would stop firing and their expectation of receiving a reward when a light is shined would decrease (and with it the chance of neurons firing prior to the reward).\u00a0 However, when monkeys were given a reward randomly and did not expect it, their dopamine neurons fired three to four times more than an expected reward.\u00a0 Casinos use this knowledge to create gambling games that entice individuals to continue betting.\u00a0 You can use this knowledge to attract new customers, increase customer purchases, and retain your customers (as explained in this blog post).<\/p>\n

This is a very simplistic explanation and only just touches the surface of reward based marketing.\u00a0\u00a0A Light in the Rain Ltd.<\/em>\u00a0can use this technique to help you grow your brand, ensure people remember your business, convince people that they will be happiest purchasing from you, and increase your success in many other ways.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Sources Cited \/\u00a0Further\u00a0Research:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wolfram Schultz<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0http:\/\/www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk\/directory\/profile.php?Schultz<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(most articles are not free)<\/p>\n

Also see:\u00a0A Neural Substrate of Prediction and Reward<\/span>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Wolfram Schultz, Peter Dayan, P. Read Montague \u2013\u00a0http:\/\/www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk\/~dayan\/papers\/sdm97.pdf<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright A Light in the Rain Ltd. 2017<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Congratulations, read below and claim your reward: Knowledge. When Advertisements Become a Game If you have regularly used the internet in the past decade, you may have come across some web advertisements that ask you to shoot a target, throw a basketball into a hoop, click a picture multiple times, or interact with the advertisement […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[12,6,10,8,11,7],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post","category-neuromarketing","tag-monkeys","tag-neuromarketing-2","tag-neuroscience","tag-research","tag-rewards","tag-web"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224,"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.neurocepi.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}