‘Colleagues Shaking Eachothers Hands‘ By Fauxels (CC0)
When I was in High School, working my way through the grind that was VCE, a major theme that my Business Management teacher emphasized was the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). I didn’t care too much about that. I was more interested in the L.A. Lakers, and not my teacher ranting about how his Collingwood Magpies performed on the weekend. Back then when I first learned about CSR, I considered it to just be a heading in a long two-hundred-page textbook. Relevance is important. Now, seeing it from the perspective of someone studying media communications, I can see that it stands for so much more, especially since the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Myself Posing For A Business Class Shoot. Edited And Original Shoot Taken By Myself On My Camera’s Self-Timer Feature.
To help give you an understanding, Corporate Social Responsibility can be defined as the ethical obligation by businesses and corporations to pursue actions and decisions in the best interest of the objectives and values of society (Bowen, 1953 as cited by Crowther and Rayman-Bacchus 201:227). A 2017 study by Cone found that nearly 80% of consumers want companies to lead social change and almost as many will boycott companies with values contrary to their beliefs.
So how does a business or corporation engage stakeholders while contributing to CSR? One possibility is to leverage gamification in the promotion of a company’s CSR credentials. Gamification, as it relates to business, involves using game mechanisms in non-gaming contexts to increase customer loyalty and engagement (Deterding et al. 2011 as cited by Sung, 2017).
‘Young guy browsing mobile phone on bed‘ By Eren Li (CC0)
It’s funny how some things circle back around to you. I can’t help but think of the ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ craze. In retrospect, I realise how clever a marketing strategy this was. Produced as a Public Service Announcement (PSA) by Melbourne transport company Metro, it was a campaign designed to raise awareness about safety around trains – an act of corporate social responsibility. A viral music video was produced, attracting over 200 million downloads and a video game, reiterating the theme of avoiding dangerous situations, was produced. It was genius and smartly put together. As defined by Jenkins and Deuze (2007:8) the use of trans-media in this game, allowed for gamification elements such as storytelling and a leveling up tier system, which helped gain audience attention. Furthermore, these gamification elements helped to reinforce the message while users made their own decisions on the appropriate way to avoid particular narrative situations within the game. We learned as we played… mission achieved.
In the video above are some more examples of relevant Gamification and CSR initiatives that have been used by businesses and corporations.
When looking to introduce gamification into a CSR plan, a company needs to consider what strategies best fit the business’s objectives. In 2019, Khan et al (3090-3091) analyzed using a CSR framework to define different factors that help generate community engagement. This incorporated elements such as:
Meaning & Calling (Creativity and feedback)
Development & Accomplishment (Possession)
Loss & Avoidance (Scarcity & Impatience)
Unpredictability & Curiosity (Social recognition and acceptance)
Applying these elements to aspects of gamification could be helpful when designing and promoting a CSR plan. For example, a company might use the Loss and Avoidance factor to develop initiatives addressing third world poverty. A gamification tactic could involve integrating gamification elements, in a web app that promotes empathy by making the user feel the effects of scarcity, to help develop an understanding of the reality of those living in poverty-stricken countries.
Gamification has been proven to significantly boost a consumer’s ability to memorize and recall information about a brand and its objectives, particularly when promoting the brand in a positive view through CSR initiatives. Using gamification to implement CSR initiatives can seem like daunting, uncharted territory for a business that has not tried this before. But, do not be afraid to go into uncharted territories. You might find some pretty good things there.
Ever considered using #Gamification to elevate your organization's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives? Here are some benefits you might want to consider if you plan to implement this strategy 🕴️ pic.twitter.com/aKXNk3GyDK — Martyn Snibson (@SnibDubTv) April 28, 2022
Infographic Created Using ‘Canva’
References:
Cone (2017) ‘Cone Communications CSR Study’, conecomm.com, date accessed 29 April 2022
Crowther, D., & Rayman-Bacchus, L. (2017) ‘The future of corporate social responsibility’, Perspectives on Corporate Social Responsibility, 9(3), 229–249 doi:10.4324/978131547007-22
Jenkins, H., & Deuze, M (2008) ‘Editorial: Convergence culture’, Convergence, 14(1), 5–12 doi:10.1177/1354856507084415
Khan, F. A., Yadav, N., Beena, F., & Kumar, M (2019) ‘Sustainability for the community by the community: CSR and community involvement through gamification’, International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology, 8(6), 3087–3092 doi:10.35940/ijeat.F9031.088619
Hi Sung, Y (2017) ‘Doing Good While Playing : The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Gamification on Consumer Response’, The University of Texas, Austin, 1–136
Audio Translation Of Blog Post
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