7 Event Gamification Strategies to Boost Member Engagement

Any membership-based organization knows exactly how vital member engagement is to the overall success of your organization. Engagement keeps members interested and participating in your services and offerings, and encourages them to invite their colleagues and peers to join as well.

The 2025 Event Industry Data Report by pc/nametag found that event planners are keenly focused on increased engagement and believe that personalization and connection-building are key to this goal. One highly useful but frequently underutilized strategy for increasing engagement and improving event ROI is gamification.

7 ways to use gamification at your next event

1. Get creative with interactive icebreakers.

At the start of your event, whether it’s a three-day conference or an evening networking event, plan a dedicated activity to welcome your new members and give people the chance to introduce themselves. At larger events, it’s possible that attendees will only know their coworkers or have come alone!

Building in game-style icebreakers, like a fun fact bingo or a popcorn introduction, is an easy way to encourage potential connections and get people talking.

For longer or larger events, use the information stored in your membership management software to divide attendees into smaller, more intimate groups.

You can segment the population by:

• Geographic region
• Industry
• Topics of interest or specialization
• Alma mater, if relevant

Giving people a common denominator makes it easier to start a natural conversation, and the added bonus of earning points or winning a game will incentivize interaction.

2. Create friendly competition with fun challenges.

To encourage members to participate in panels outside of their area of interest, set up challenges that inspire them to branch out. These challenges will vary from event to event, but a few examples could include:

• Attending a certain number of panels
• Watching a certain number of product or service demos
• Spending so much time in the vendor hall
• Networking with a certain number of people
• Attending the entertainment options

Work with your event planning team to think about what ideal engagement would look like for your event, and then create challenges with real rewards that encourage attendees to achieve those desired levels of engagement.

3. Leverage quizzes, polls, and trivia.

Bring panel audiences to life and help keynote speakers connect with attendees by including quizzes, polls, and trivia in different sessions.

People love to show off how much they know or offer their perspectives, and answering trivia questions or discussion prompts gives them the opportunity to speak without having to prepare long speeches in advance.

Invest in audience engagement tools ahead of your event, and then work with your speakers to embed them into their presentations.

If you want to appeal to your audience’s competitive side, use a tool that tracks points across the event as a whole and create a leaderboard that highlights who has earned the most points.

4. Get attendees moving with scavenger hunts.

If your event is hosted in a large venue or an interesting city, plan a scavenger hunt to encourage attendees to explore.

If you’re holding a virtual event, an online scavenger hunt through your event platform’s features and resources can help attendees familiarize themselves with the platform’s tools and explore new activities.

Understanding that most people will take the path of least resistance and giving them fun reasons to explore will go a long way towards making sure all of the details of your event are used and appreciated.

Give members ways to keep track of their progress, set them up in teams to work together, and plan prizes for those who find all of the targets or complete the hunt in the shortest amount of time for increased participation!

5. Give stickers, pins and badge ribbons as social proof.

The intrinsic motivation of winning is a powerful contributor to the success of gamification strategies, but don’t forget about external motivations as well. Offer social proof to winners and participants in your gamification efforts so that they can show off their skills.

Things like stickers, pins, and badge ribbons are great for in-person events, but there are plenty of virtual rewards that can be used in hybrid and virtual contexts as well. You can also let your attendees carry their social proof forward by keeping track of their wins in your association management software platform and then including them on online profiles.

6. Think of unique rewards to recognize members.

When you plan out your gamification strategies for your event, make sure that you’re offering rewards that actually inspire engagement from your members, rather than something they’ll leave behind in their hotel rooms.

Some options for meaningful prizes include:

• Dinner at a nearby restaurant
• A gift basket of treats
• Membership fee discounts
• Flight or train vouchers
• A meal with an industry giant

Though everyone enjoys travel coffee mugs, t-shirts, and koozies, unique or experiential prizes may inspire more competition by virtue of being uncommon. Including incentives that genuinely reflect the desires of your attendees provide additional value to your event and inspire deeper engagement and participation.

7. Remember to incorporate long-term follow-up.

Engagement goes far beyond just the days of your function. Gamification—and, in fact, all engagement—should focus on creating lasting relationships with your members.

Your event should remind attendees why they’re interested in what your organization offers and then provide a clear pathway for future opportunities to interact.

Plan how your organization will follow up with your attendees after your event on a regular basis.

An example schedule of post-event engagement may include the following:

• The Days After: Implement your event recap strategies, highlight the winners of your different competitions, and provide a clear conclusion to your event. Ending your event on a high note will leave your members feeling positively about your organization and how they spent their time.

• The Week After: After everyone has had the opportunity to go home and recharge, follow up with them regarding any post-event to-dos. This can include sending out photographs from the event, confirming that the winners have received their prizes, and completing any next steps from actionable meetings or panel discussions.
• The Month After: Finally, incorporate your members’ event experience into your overall engagement strategy. Based on their interests and other information that you’ve collected and stored in your preferred membership software platform, reconnect with them with opportunities and information that is relevant to their interests and encourage them to remain involved.

The more engaged your attendees were at your event, the more likely they are to continue their relationship with your organization after they return home. Incorporating gamification into your event engagement strategy and then weaving those details into your strategic member engagement efforts will deepen their connection to your work and promote ongoing contact.

Gamification increases the enjoyment of your events, brings value to attendees, and deepens connections with your organization. Get creative and bring both competition and whimsy to your next event, and see how your overall member engagement improves.