Gaming as a Tool in Social Campaigns: Case Study Review and Theoretical Frameworks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24917/20833296.212.13Keywords:
audience engagement, case study, gamification, gaming, social campaignsAbstract
The article addresses the effectiveness of gaming and gamification as tools for engaging audiences in social campaigns – an area still insufficiently explored in marketing literature. The aim of the paper is to identify and critically evaluate the mechanisms of engagement, the conditions for effectiveness, and the practical limitations of these strategies. A comparative multiple -case study method was applied, analysing four diverse, international social campaigns, selection was based on varied models of engagement (immersive, streaming, collective). The analysis covered both communication aspects and indicators of social effectiveness. The findings indicate that the effectiveness of gaming depends on the level of immersion, the quality of partnerships, and the degree of online community integration. Streaming ensures a broad reach, immersive actions that foster deep individual engagement, and collective models that strengthen community and the durability of social effects. The original contribution of this work is the development of a proprietary typology of action models and a practical comparative table, which may serve as tools for practitioners designing future social campaigns utilizing gaming and gamification.
References
Brodie, R.J., Hollebeek, L.D., Jurić, B., Ilić, A. (2011). Customer engagement: Conceptual domain, fundamental propositions, and implications for research. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 252–271. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670511411703.
Burke, B. (2014). Gamify: How Gamification Motivates People to Do Extraordinary Things. Brookline: Bibliomotion.
Cugelman, B. (2013), Gamification: What it is and why it matters to digital health behavior change developers. JMIR Serious Games, 1(1), e3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2196/games.3139.
Chou, Y.K. (2019). Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards. Packt Publishing.
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining “gamification”. In: A. Lugmayr, H. Franssila, C. Safran, I. Hammouda (eds.), MindTrek ‘11: Proceedings of the 15th International Academic MindTrek Conference: Envisioning Future Media Environments. New York: ACM, 9–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040.
Eisenhardt, K.M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. The Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1989.4308385.
EsCharts. (2022; 2025, 1 maja). Z Event 2022 – Twitch statistics & analytics. Pozyskano z: https://escharts. com/tournaments/marathon/z -event-2022.
Games Done Quick. (2025; 2025, 1 maja). Official website & AGDQ statistics. Pozyskano z: https:// gamesdonequick.com.
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., Sarsa, H. (2014). Does gamification work? – A literature review of empirical studies on gamification. In: R.H. Sprague (ed.), Proceedings of the 47th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences 6–9 January 2014 Waikoloa, Hawaii. Los Alamitos–Washington– Tokyo: The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 3025–3034. DOI: https://doi. org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.377.
ArTur mAzur
Hamari, J., Koivisto, J. (2015). “Working out for likes”: An empirical study on social influence in exercise gamification. Computers in Human Behavior, 50, 333–347. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j. chb.2015.04.018.
Jenkins, H., Ito, M., Boyd, D. (2016). Participatory Culture in a Networked Era: A Conversation on Youth, Learning, Commerce, and Politics. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Jenkins, H., Purushotma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., Robison, A.J. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge: MIT Press. DOI: https:// doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/8435.001.0001.
Johnston, M.P. (2014). Secondary data analysis: A method of which the time has come. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML), 3, 619–626.
Johnson, D., Deterding, S., Kuhn, K.-A., Staneva, A., Stoyanov, S., Hides, L. (2016). Gamification for health and wellbeing: A systematic review of the literature. Internet Interventions, 6, 89–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2016.10.002.
KPMG. (2014; 2025, 20 maja). Competing for engagement. The approach, findings and implications of a gamified project. Pozyskano z: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2014/09/ gamification -competing -for -engagement-2014.pdf.
Kotler, P. (2021). Marketing 5.0: Technology for Humanity. Hoboken: Wiley.
Kotler, P. (2023). Marketing 6.0: The future is immersive. Hoboken: Wiley.
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L. (2022). Marketing Management. Harlow: Pearson.
Kotler, P., Zaltman, G. (1971). Social marketing: An approach to planned social change. Journal of Marketing, 35(3), 3–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002224297103500302.
McKinsey & Company. (2022; 2025, 23 maja). Mind the Gap: Playing the Gen Z game. Pozyskano z: https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/email/genz/2022/05/10/2022-05-10b.html.
Mabalay, A.A. (2024). Gamification for sustainability: A systematic review of applications, trends, and opportunities. Computers in Human Behavior, 165, 108529. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
chb.2024.108529.
MIXX Awards. (2024; 2025, 1 maja). Wirtualna zabawa, realny wpływ! Kraina Hochland w Good Town.
Pozyskano z: https://mixx-awards.pl/casebook-2024/games-esport/09-01/.
Newzoo. (2023; 2025, 22 maja). Global Games Market Report 2023. Pozyskano z: https://newzoo.com/ resources/trend -reports/newzoo -global -games -market -report-2023-free -version.
NowyMarketing.pl. (2023, 2025, 1 maja). Hochlnd x Roblox. Gaming jako przestrzeń dla działań wspierających akcję Pajacyk. Pozyskano z: https://nowymarketing.pl/hochland-x-roblox-gaming-jako-przestrzen-dla-dzialan-wspierajacych-akcje-pajacyk/.
Prevent Cancer Foundation. (2025; 2025, 1 maja). Awesome Games Done Quick. Pozyskano z: https:// preventcancer.org/events/awesome-games-done-quick/.
Reddit. (2022; 2025, 1 maja). Viewership results of Z Event 2022 (7.5m chat messages). Pozyskano z: https:// www.reddit.com/r/LiveStreamFR/comments/xe52s8/viewership_results_of_z_event_2022_75m_ chat/.
Riar, M., Morschheuser, B., Zarnekow, R., Hamari, J. (2022). Gamification of cooperation: A framework, literature review and future research agenda. International Journal of Information Management, 67, 102549. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2022.102549.
Ryan, R.M., Deci, E.L. (2000). Self -determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well -being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. DOI: https://doi. org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68.
Scott, D.M. (2019). Fanocracy: Turning Fans into Customers and Customers into Fans. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.
SpecialEffect. (2024; 2025, 1 maja). GameBlast – Official website & statistics. Pozyskano z: https://www.
specialeffect.org.uk/gameblast.
Stake, R.E. (2005). Multiple Case Study Analysis. New York: Guilford Press.
Statista. (2024; 2025, 20 maja). Number of video gamers worldwide from 2020 to 2027. Pozyskano z:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/748044/number -video -gamers -world/.
Thorpe, A.S., Roper, S. (2019). The ethics of gamification in a marketing context. Journal of Business Ethics, 155, 597–609. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-017-3501-y.
TwitchTracker. (2024; 2025, 20 kwietnia). Twitch statistics & analytics. Pozyskano z: https://twitchtracker.com/statistics.
Werbach, K., Hunter, D. (2012). For the Win: How Game Thinking Can Revolutionize Your Business. Philadelphia: Wharton Digital Press.
Yin, R.K. (2018). Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.
Zichermann, G., Cunningham, C. (2011). Gamification by Design: Implementing Game Mechanics in Web and Mobile Apps. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media.
Zichermann, G., Linder, J. (2010). Game ‑Based Marketing: Inspire Customer Loyalty Through Rewards, Challenges, and Contests. Hoboken: Wiley.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Entrepreneurship – Education

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 4.0; Attribution– NoDerivs).