How to Get Your Customers Addicted to Your Brand...Using Science

According to Similar Web, there's a longstanding iOS/Android game on the market that currently ranks:

• 12th in its category in Canada…
• 27th in its category in the US…
• And has over 675,490 reviews (with a 4.2 average star rating).

This game has been around for an entire decade. ​That's 10 straight years of longevity for the brand with millions of people accessing the game across the globe.

In game land, this is an absolute miracle. The average lifespan for mobile games is just under 3 months and most users churn within the first 3 days. So how did this brand manage to captivate the globe and get their customers addicted to their product for 10 years straight?

Here's how PopCap Games managed to turn casual mobile game players into sunflower-slinging, pea-shooting addicts.

Unlocking the Key to Addiction

In 2013, PopCap Games orchestrated an epic strategy for the second rendition of their breakout mobile game, Plants vs. Zombies 2. This well-loved game ingeniously combined strategy, action, and humor, making it an instant hit. But what truly set the new PvZ2 drop apart was its approach to in-game rewards.

At the time, most game developers were using a price model that capitalized on in-app game purchases.

Upper levels were gated by a paywall. Players literally had to pay to win.

But PopCap was smart...

Instead of following the conventional route of in-app purchases to generate revenue, the creators employed a different tactic that kept players:

• Engaged in the app (leading to higher usage and longer game play.)
• Committed to the game (increasing WOM, and creating a cultural movement.)
• Eager to play more (making it almost impossible for players to churn or switch brands.)

Riding the Dopamine Rollercoaster

To do this, PopCap used something called "intermittent reinforcement" to get players hooked fast.

Intermittent reinforcement involves sporadically delivering rewards following a behavior, often leading to prolonged and persistent responses.

While most games awarded points every time a player completed a level, PvZ2 utilized randomly generated access keys that players could receive after beating certain levels or opponents.

But these access keys weren't just ordinary rewards; they were potent tools of intermittent reinforcement.

Each time a player defeated a level or opponent, there was a chance of obtaining one of these coveted keys. The unpredictability of reward created a rollercoaster of emotions, inducing a sense of excitement, anticipation, and possibly some minor frustration in players.

1. Will the next round yield the elusive key?
2. Or will the thrill continue to build? 🤩

This effect is so powerful, research says it can effectively boost retention behavior:

A study done by Research Gate backs this up, saying:

"Overall, intermittent reinforcement leads to more persistence and higher total effort, while participants in the continuous condition exit as soon as payment stops or decrease effort dramatically."

The randomness of the access keys meant that players couldn't predict when they'd get their next dopamine-induced reward hit. It's the same principle that keeps us hooked on slot machines, social media feeds, and yes, even a game where you kill zombies with plants.

Beyond Addiction: The Psychology of Achievement

It’s worth noting that this phenomenon isn’t new. Humans are naturally drawn to challenges and the satisfaction of achievement. Out of the 9 different emotional motivators customers use to make purchasing decisions (more on this soon), Achievement is a powerful one.
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By setting up the keys as rewards for overcoming levels or opponents, Plants vs. Zombies tapped into this aspect of human psychology. Players weren't just chasing random rewards; they were pursuing a sense of accomplishment, of overcoming hurdles and progressing through the game.

That's psychology for the win.

How to Use Intermittent Rewards for Your Brand:

1. Choose a reward that people want. This goes without saying (hopefully) but the closer your reward can get to your customer’s biggest desire, the better the effect will work.
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2. Set the stage. Once you’ve chosen the reward, set it to trigger randomly and - here’s the kicker - don’t tell anyone it’s a thing. Customers should find the reward randomly and without warning for the effect to work.
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3. Give customers a reason to come back for more. Once you have a customer hooked, give them a reason to come back and play again by altering the reward every few weeks.

(An example you can test this week: setup a secret landing page that only opens (triggers) with your highest-priced bundle. Offer a free product, free guide, or free gift on this page, but only run it for 2 weeks. Then change the trigger and reward for the next 2 weeks. Rinse and repeat.)

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