Why are ecosystems like Yandex and Sberbank being increasingly filled with entertainment content? In this article, I will discuss how gamification has become a new trend in the modern consumption.
All grown-ups were once children
In business, an ecosystem refers to a range of services managed by one company. Take such vivid examples of Russian ecosystems as Sberbank, Yandex, VKontakte, and MTS — they produce services and content designed to span as many aspects of human life as possible, ranging from finance and healthcare to media and entertainment.
Such ecosystems are increasingly extending into entertainment. This advances the spread of gamification — adding game features into nongame contexts.
In the modern world, this is no longer just a trend, but an integral part of the new consumption pattern. Entertainment is primarily about game mechanics, which helps us perceive any content natively, because, according to a popular quote, “we are of our childhood as we are from a country.”
In recent years, consumer behavior has changed a lot, and the coronavirus pandemic has further accelerated the changes. Most people now want to get everything at once, preferably in one place. They no longer seem to want to enjoy the process, but prefer to have a service or product already waiting for them in a ready-to-use form. They want it to be available on demand, as if it has already been there — and this is something ecosystems can provide.
Work and play
With so much information noise around, consumer attention is easily distracted. However, a business can attract a customer by making the buying process interesting and enjoyable.
The popularity of entertainment mechanics and content is clear and understandable. Users want convenience, time efficiency and new formats that would combine shopping, impressions as well as live communication.
At the same time, an ecosystem should accompany the consumer all the way from watching news and films to, say, investing in securities through a mobile app.
Game mechanics are present everywhere. A buyer can follow the progress of a pizza delivery or watch investment videos. One of the most recent cases involved a joint project of Samokat and SberZvuk — the Fairy Tale Delivery game where a user can play as a delivery man in a magical setting without leaving the delivery app.
The Children’s Central Store in Moscow has become an offline ecosystem of sorts. Previously a large shopping mall, it is now a center of attraction that includes a playground. While customers are shopping, their children can watch a performance or take part in quest games and other activities. So, the objective of ecosystems is to allow customers — regardless of their age — to receive what they want in one place not having to run around several locations.
“Entertainment” assets
Entertainment allows ecosystems to expand their audience and thus increase the income by meeting the demand for a new format that combines shopping, new impressions and experiences. Changing the mood of the customer promotes the cross-selling of any service.
If a customer’s demands have been satisfied completely, they will definitely come back. And when a customer experiences something far beyond what was expected they will want to share their impressions with others.
Major ecosystems have been purchasing entertainment assets over the past few years. In May 2021, VTB bought shares of the ivi online movie theater; VTB’s direct competitor, Sber, did the same with Okko (Rambler) in 2020.
Yandex has owned Kinopoisk for a long time, and in 2022 bought the rights to broadcast NHL matches in an effort to become a major player on the market of broadcasting big sporting events. All of this means that the increasingly popular streaming services need to be included in ecosystems so that they would entertain customers when they are inside a metaverse.
According to the Frost & Sullivan international consulting firm, by 2025, the total volume of the gamification market will reach $14.5 bln. Experts from PwC believe that before 2023, the total volume of Russia’s media industry will exceed $30.5 bln and the average annual rate of growth will be 6.4% (the global rate is 4.3%).
Moving into metaverse
Moreover, ecosystems are gradually transforming into metaverses, so the volume entertaining content will increase. The transition to metaverses is an inevitable stage that results from the current market situation and the forming of a new consumption pattern in a modern society.
But one should not be afraid that entertainment will push out other content, scientific and educational for instance. They will probably merge into one. The combined educational and entertaining content already exists, and statistics shows that this model is efficient. These are, for instance, communication games with an educational element that Claustrophobia organized with Delovaya Sreda (Sber’s educational subsidiary structure), and educational Youtube channels that present scientific information in a comfortable, easy-to-digest format.
An ecosystem is the first stage of a metaverse, which we have seen with Facebook, currently Meta. In the nearest future, Meta will most likely be something more than a social communication platform. One can only guess how it will be developing.
In Russia, the perfect examples of an ecosystem turning into an entire world covering almost the entire consumer realm are Sber and Yandex.
By Vladimir Zhiganov, General Director of the Claustrophobia international quest network, Ambassador of the Inspirers project