Strategic Cheat Codes to Connect Gaming and Healthcare: Four Ways to Bring These Worlds Together
Authored by Devon Taylor
In the pixelated annals of time, stretching back to the dawnings of civilization, gaming has carved its indelible mark upon the tapestry of recorded human history. From the clattering dice of ancient Mesopotamia to the digital realms that beckon us today, this enduring pastime has been a constant. Yet, beyond the mere mechanics of play, the true power of gaming lies in its unparalleled ability to evoke emotion, forging connections that span the chasms of time and space.
No, we’re not being dramatic. This is the real deal. In a time where the din of a busy planet threatens to drown out individual voices—especially in the vortex of healthcare advertising—the quest for genuine human connection becomes ever more critical—and it all starts with strategically thinking about the audiences and channels your marketing strategies may be missing. That’s where Klick comes in.
We’re tapping into the mana of gaming—an industry ripe with potential yet historically underexplored in its capacity to conjure those essential, authentic ties between humans and their health. With deep in-house expertise in and with the gaming industry, we are charting the course to bring healthcare into one of the world’s largest consumer cultures.
If gaming is unfamiliar, a quick search (or ChatGPT prompt) will tell you everything you need to know about its massive consumer scale. However, instead of showing you what you may have already seen in gaming and healthcare (perhaps a gamified HCP learning experience, an event on Twitch, or a brand partnership), we thought it would be more valuable to show you how you haven’t considered its integration with your business. In these examples, consider the “players” to be your consumers.
After all, with 3.4 billion gamers worldwide, it’s more likely than not that your consumers are gamers themselves. Let’s think about them as such.
WAY NUMBER 01 — UNCOVERING THE HIDDEN THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS OF GAMING AND THE GAMING COMMUNITY
The world of video games often carries the reputation of being just a hobby or entertainment. But look closer, and you’ll find benefits with the potential to revolutionize how we approach gaming’s impact on mental and physical health. Here are some of the hidden therapeutic advantages of video games that, perhaps, you’ve never considered… until now.
• Cognitive Rehabilitation: Video games have been shown to aid in the cognitive rehabilitation of patients recovering from brain injuries, strokes, or suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. Games requiring strategic thinking, problem-solving, and memory exercises could be engaging tools to fortify neural pathways and enhance cognitive function. With FDA-approved video games now available (such as EndeavorRx), it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for a companion experience to be part of a brand’s label.
• Pain Management through Immersion: Immersive gaming, especially through virtual reality, acts as a powerful form of distraction therapy, significantly reducing perceived pain levels during medical procedures or for those with chronic pain conditions.
• Improving Emotional Resilience: Games that involve complex narratives and character development aid in empathy-building, allowing players to explore diverse perspectives and emotional experiences. Beyond building games for HCPs that educate on MOA or MOD, there’s a real opportunity to break through HCP apathy with a short but powerful narrative-driven experience to create empathy even in the most entrenched of specialties.
Integrating video games into therapeutic practices and healthcare interventions offers the ability to unlock innovative strategies for enhancing mental and physical health in accessible (and enjoyable) ways. Klick works with clients to craft precision strategies to solve specific brand challenges that marry audience insights, medical strategy, and gaming solutions into one integrated experience.
AI will turn computer-generated characters into real people with thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
WAY NUMBER 02 — NPCS + AI: FURTHERING DISEASE EDUCATION AND IMMERSION IN GAMING
Generative AI is igniting the future of virtual interactions, transforming non-playable character (NPC) engagement from static elements to dynamic entities with which players forge genuine connections. If the idea of an NPC is new to you, think about them as the supporting characters your playable character interacts with, enriching the player experience. Simply put, AI will turn computer-generated characters into real people with thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Our strategy will leverage AI to unlock the potential for NPCs across gaming experiences to offer emotionally resonant exchanges with players and become knowledgeable conduits for educating in specific therapeutic domains. Don’t get us wrong: we must continue to rely on the creativity in the writer’s room. Generative AI will enhance the NPC approach to elevating player/NPC relationships, guiding consumers through an awareness journey within a deeply engaging experience through avatars and bespoke personas.
WAY NUMBER 03 — GAME DESIGN THEORIES TO MAKE CLIENT WORKSHOPS MORE MAGICAL
World-building. Embarking on a quest—these aren’t activities that need to be confined to a board game or a console. The principles of design theory can turn any experience into something magical. From a young age, we’re taught that play is an exploration in learning. We boost involvement and facilitate more effective learning by introducing turn-based workshops, “levels” to complete, and narrative storylines commonly found in games in non-gaming environments. With this approach, we open ourselves up to exploring problem-solving and creative ideation or overcoming barriers with stakeholders traditionally excluded from the process. It provides a platform for a working dynamic to co-participate in simulated real-world scenarios, tools, and methods—essentially breaking down the walls that a more rigid format can inadvertently create.
WAY NUMBER 04 — THE SUPERPOWERS YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOUR AGENCY HAD
In North America alone there are over 230 million adults that game. The odds of finding gamers on your team are high, and their passion can be the key to stakeholder buy-in for progressive ideas in the space—not only as strategic partners but as hobbyists who understand the science of game development too. What do we mean?
Unity. Unreal Engine 5. Ever heard of them? If you have, you probably know they’re some of the most powerful gaming engines utilized to create the hyper-realistic video games that consumers come to expect in 2024. Did you also know that these gaming engines, and many others, are used by other industries? Film, automotive, architecture, engineering, construction, and the United States Armed Forces use Unity. Yeah, they’re powerful beasts.
Chances are, you have people on your team who—either through hobbying or as developers themselves—are trained in game-development software. This is a hidden superpower right under your nose that will allow our partnership with you to flourish and significantly reduce the learning curve to get activations off the ground. Ask around, and you’ll likely be surprised at what you find within your teams.
These tools have endless use cases, but a few to consider could look like:
• Building your MOA video within these engines for easy adaptability to simulations and interactive experiences
• Creating digital assets that can be deployed across channels, both static and interactive
• Developing reusable sandboxes for hobbyists to play around and demonstrate proof of concepts or prototypes
By now, I hope it’s clear that we’ve only just scratched the surface of what gaming can look like when incorporated into a strategic vision for a brand, an experience, or a treatment plan. This is the first in a series of POVs about opportunities within gaming strategy, so be on the lookout for the next edition!
In the meantime, has this article sparked any ideas? Are you intrigued by the possibilities of integrating gaming into your brand initiatives? Let’s connect.
Author
Devon Taylor
VP, Group Director, Strategy & Gaming Evolver
Devon has spent over 15 years winding her way through the advertising, nonprofit, education, and communication sectors. In her role at Klick, she’s living her wildest professional passion of bridging healthcare and gaming to deploy precise, impactful, and immersive advertising strategies around the world. She’s had the privilege of working across a variety of therapeutic areas, including dermatology, rare disease, mental health, neurology, and autoimmune conditions. She has been featured in MM+M and PRWeek, served as a juror for the D&AD New Blood Awards, and was a highlighted speaker at SXSW. You can catch her streaming her weekly Gaming x Health News in Brief on Twitch. @BrieflyDevon
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