Event theme planning and front-end gameplay design

The value of an activity theme is that it lets users know what the activity is about in one sentence, which is only the first level of effect that needs to be achieved. However, many operators plan events and design themes at will, and may even remain hesitant right before the event goes online.

Next, let’s talk about event theme planning and front-end gameplay design.

After we have the back-end strategy, we need to plan the theme of the event and design the gameplay of the front-end of the event to convert the strategy into effective gameplay. The key thing to do in this step is actually to evaluate our resources and time. The previous constraints determine the subsequent actions, so here we have to evaluate our resources and time, and we have to set a basic theme for the entire event, and also design the gameplay based on some basic strategies that can be set above and some key links.

Just like the two-dimensional example above, we said that we need to focus on stimulating old users to buy. So what kind of gameplay should we use to stimulate old users to buy? These are some of the basic problems we need to solve in this link. Let's take a look at how we can complete this step.

First, let’s briefly review the previous content. When planning an event, there are 6 basic elements. Purpose, goals, time, and resources are our constraints. The goals may affect the entire strategy design, while time and resources will affect some designs of the event form.

About Assessment Time and Resources

Time and resources will affect the design of activity form and gameplay, so we have to evaluate it. How do we evaluate it? First of all, in terms of evaluation time, we probably need to ask a few questions: Is there enough time? Will it constitute a reverse constraint on the form and complexity of activities?

Just like you only have one week to launch an event, it is basically impossible to innovate in this event. You can only find an activity that you have done in the past and use its template and format to launch it quickly. This is still possible. Do you understand what I mean? So first assess the time.

The second step is to evaluate resources. There are a few questions to ask about resources: How many R&D resources do we have? What will our budget, rewards, and benefits for users include? And what communication and promotion resources do we have available? These are the questions we want to ask. After asking them, we should further think about whether we have any resources that constitute an indisputable pull for users? Or are the resource constraints very strong?

What does it mean? That is, there may be some celebrity kol resources. As long as you say that this celebrity is attending or is going to meet you, it will definitely constitute an indisputable attraction for those die-hard fans or crazy fans. That is to say, as long as there are celebrities attending, basically the minimum guarantee for your event is that thousands or tens of thousands of people will participate. I think this kind of resource is a resource that creates strong pressure.

Sometimes, some of our resources may be very constrained. For example, if our budget is only 10,000 yuan, then you basically can't think about large-scale promotions, or have any stimulating and attractive gifts, because it will be difficult. But if you have 1 million, then you might want to think about how to come up with new ideas for promotion, so these are the issues we need to evaluate in terms of time and resources.

After the evaluation, if there are strong constraints on resources such as incentives and promotions, or if there are resources that have a strong pull on users, then the design of some activity methods and strategies can be improved based on the resources.

Just like our promotions and incentives, for example, if we have 100 iPhone 11s or something like that, this thing may be extremely attractive to users. We can design our activities around how to maximize the attractiveness of these rewards, or how to maximize the pull of these rewards on users.

For example, it must be something that everyone wants to grab, or someone must be qualified to compete. In such an activity, the same gift can attract more people to participate. On the contrary, the constraints of our activities may be very strong, such as 10,000 yuan or 5,000 yuan, so we can only work backwards based on these constraints to figure out how to better design the gameplay.

If the constraints on relevant resources are weak and relatively open, then allocate resources according to the strategy.

One possibility is that our resources are relatively limited, or our resources are very strong, then we can reverse-engineer the design of gameplay and strategy based on the resources. The other is that our resources are very open. I have enough money and time to get you whatever you want. We may think about how to design the strategy first, and then match our resources according to the strategy. These are probably the two ideas. So this is roughly how the two constraints of time and resources affect our gameplay design.

After finishing this part, we will move on to event theme planning. In a sense, any activity needs a legitimate reason. Just like the entire site is going to have a big promotion, this promotion is either for gratitude or something has happened, we have to design a STORY, this STORY should be given to users, and users should be able to recognize it and be willing to pay for it.

But if you haven't thought through the STORY, for example, if you have no reason for the STORY at all, and you just have to give a discount today without any reason, it may sound very strange to users, and it may even hurt some old users, because some of the old users have been with you in the past, and you may have only given discounts on your anniversary or the birthday of the founder or boss, and now you suddenly give discounts for no reason, then these old users may feel that they have been hurt and cheated by you. I bought your products at that time and supported you for so long, and now you suddenly give a discount for no reason. It feels that my loyalty and support are not that valuable to you, which is not good at this time.

Therefore, the essence of event theme planning is to make an event justified and give old users an outlet to vent their emotions.

Several common themes for large-scale events

After understanding this part, we can look at what are the common types of activities if we want to do large-scale activities. It is actually very simple:

1. Anniversary Celebration

Because my company's product has reached an anniversary and I want to celebrate it, so I have to organize an event. This is the first common theme and reason.

2. ** Section

We create a certain festival, Double Eleven Festival, Double Twelve Festival, Goddess Festival, etc., all kinds of festivals, which is also a good reason. We focus on a certain time and give meaning to this time. This is also a common logic.

3. ** Contest

The Jianshu Magic Turnaround Competition and Douban's Essay Competition that we mentioned earlier all belong to this category of topics.

4. Accomplish something meaningful together

For example, some e-commerce websites have called on everyone to join us in creating a record, such as a Guinness World Record for single-day online sales of beauty products or toy products. If we want to do such a thing, then this will be a good reason for users. If there are really many users who are very loyal and hope that you will get better and better, and if they see your reason, many people will be willing to participate.

Basically, I think the common themes for large-scale events are probably these four directions. When you are doing some complex activities, you can also use these four themes to see which theme is more suitable for you.

How to design common activity gameplay based on existing strategies

Then, when the theme of our event has been decided, we need to solve the next problem, which is to complete the design of some activity gameplay within the scope of the existing theme and based on some activity-oriented strategies we already have. So how do we accomplish this step? Here we also give you some basic references, or small tools. Let’s look at them one by one.

In fact, there are some common strategic directions. Just like what we said, activity strategies are either about what I should do for different users, or what I should do for different products, or what I should do for different channels. These are roughly the following categories. I think these common strategies are matched with some common ways of playing, and I think they can all be used as references.

1. For old users: special discounts and exclusive privileges

For example, if you want to have a special incentive for old users, as we said, the basic structure of the activity is to use some kind of incentive to target a group of people and then stimulate them to take certain actions. At this time, I think that if you are targeting old users, you should give them a specific discount or some exclusive privileges. It may be better to use this kind of thing to motivate them. This is the first direction.

2. Special benefits and limited-time discounts for new users

The second direction, if it is aimed at brand new users, is often suitable for brand new special benefits, such as free gifts for new users when they place an order, or limited-time discounts specifically for new users. This is also a common idea. This is the second direction.

3. Hope that old customers can bring new customers - bargain, group buy, share and get gifts

The third direction is if you want to have old customers bring in new ones, some common activities include bargaining, group buying, sharing gifts, etc. These common and reliable activities.

4. Targeting specific categories/products - flash sales, special offers, special challenge rewards

Fourthly, if we are dealing with specific categories and commodities, and want to do some work, hoping that the sales of specific categories or commodities, or their usage will become more, then perhaps some common gameplays we can use may include flash sales, special offers, and special challenge rewards. For example, if you go to this category and complete certain tasks, I will give you rewards, etc. These are some common ideas.

5. Special benefits and privileges for specific users

The fifth type is, if it is aimed at specific users, such as male users or female users, then I think the available incentive method is special benefits and privileges.

6. To increase traffic - Login to draw prizes, limited daily prizes

If our strategy is to increase traffic, common gameplay designs may include a chance to win a prize by logging in, or getting a certain reward by logging in and signing in every day. Anyway, the format is similar. Or it can be a limited daily redemption, which is also a better form. For example, during the big promotion period, JD.com and Taobao will have a daily limited number of discount coupons for redemption. The stimulus behind this gameplay is the increase in daily traffic visits, so this is the sixth type.

7. To increase conversion rate and ARPU value - discounts for payment over a certain amount, free shipping for payment over a certain amount

The seventh type is a strategy that can often be used to increase payment conversion rate or ARPU value, that is, the average order value. These include discounts for payments over a certain amount, free shipping for purchases over a certain amount, etc. These are also some of the more commonly used methods and gameplay.

8. Other specific behaviors - special rewards & honors & extra points & welfare discounts

Finally, if you want to target some other specific behaviors, such as stimulating users to use a certain function specifically, or stimulating users to produce some content in a certain place. If we are targeting such behavior, we often have to use some special rewards or honors or extra points or welfare discounts, etc., to stimulate users and make them behave in the way you want them to.

At this point, we have summarized the strategic directions that often appear in 8 types of activity operations , and also matched N common activity gameplays that can match these 8 directions. In other words, when you are designing the gameplay of some activities, you can see where your strategy will roughly point to. The methods we list here can be used to match the focus of your strategy. It is probably a small tool like this.

The activity strategy and optimal focus of a certain two-dimensional e-commerce website - Conclusion

Okay, now let's implement this part of the method into specific cases. Let's go back to the case of our two-dimensional e-commerce website. We have already said in the previous step that the basic strategy and optimal focus of our activity are probably in these five directions. Let's combine the tools mentioned above to design some gameplay for these five points.

Activity gameplay design for a certain 2D e-commerce website matching backend strategy

First of all, we give the whole event a big theme, which may be a certain two-dimensional festival, with huge discounts throughout the event. It may be to increase its sales, so we probably give it such a label first.

Next, let’s look at the ways to play in this festival one by one:

The first one is to stimulate old users to buy. Maybe we can design a game like this: old users can get vouchers of different amounts depending on their past consumption. The more accumulated consumption, the greater the face value of the voucher. This is an exclusive benefit. As mentioned earlier, exclusive benefits can often be used to stimulate old users.

The second is to stimulate new users to buy. For this part, we can make a simple strategy and do a simple gameplay matching. When a new user places his first order, we can just give him a small gift.

The third is to focus on registered non-paying users. I think this part of users is more suitable for being stimulated by a limited-time discount or some limited-time privileges. So we send a limited-time exclusive discount coupon to users who have registered for more than one month but have never placed an order, and some products can enjoy additional discounts. Why are coupons only available for certain products? Because if all products are available, it means that the discounts this group of people get in the entire site may be higher than those of loyal old users, and the old users may be harmed, so we have to set a little bit of boundaries and only make some products available.

The fourth one is to focus on the two categories A and B. What we can do is perhaps to say that during the event, all products purchased in the two categories A and B can enjoy additional gifts. Or our two categories A and B. We can hold special sessions for each of them, and there may be extra discounts in the special sessions.

The fifth is to spread the word through old users bringing in new users. For this part, we may be able to use the simplest bargaining method. Old users can invite others to bargain and get random discounts. In this way, we can spread the knowledge from old to new.

After playing the game like this, we have a rough idea of ​​the basic theme of this event and the five key aspects, and we have basically figured out the gameplay. But up to this step, we may still find a small problem, that is, although we have an activity theme and so many ways to play, we still find that the relationship between these five ways of playing seems a bit messy, so we still have to do a step of work, we have to encapsulate the gameplay of the entire activity into an activity structure to make its entire structure clear.

What does this mean? If you still remember, we mentioned it when we first talked about activities. The core logic of a complex multi-threaded activity is often composed of a major theme of the activity, plus multiple activity modules. Each module has multiple different ways of playing. In this way, the user's cognition will be clearer. He will know that the theme of your activity is this. There are three modules in total. What are the key activity ways of playing under the three modules, and what form can be used to get lower discounts and better benefits will become clearer.

The basic activity framework of the 2D XX Festival

So I think we also need to turn an activity like this into such a structure. If we sort out this activity as a whole, we may get a picture like this:

Overall, it is a two-dimensional festival promotion. Under this promotion, we divide it into three modules: full-site gameplay and two category special sessions.

There are four types of gameplay under the site-wide gameplay, three of which are exclusive to specific users, and one gameplay is open to all site users. There are three exclusive ways to play for special users: first-order gifts for new users, Thanksgiving coupons for old users, and limited-time first-order experience discounts for old registered users. These three ways of playing are exclusive to users who meet certain conditions. All users of the site can participate in the random discounts through bargaining, as long as the event is in progress, so this is a site-wide gameplay aspect.

Then we will divide the special session into two categories, Category A special session and Category B special session. During this limited time period, both Category A and B products can enjoy discounts on top of discounts. In this way, the framework of the entire event is basically completed. Such a framework will make your communication clearer whether you are communicating internally or to users.

And when our work progresses to this step, if the structure of the entire activity and the specific ways of playing the activity have been presented, you will actually find that a new method we talked about earlier in how to learn from other people's activities is how to make micro-innovations in each specific way of playing the activity. In fact, we can also apply this part in the design of several complex activities.

In other words, in the entire activity structure, for the specific gameplay at the bottom, such as the bargaining function for old users and the first-order discount for new users, etc., we can think about them through the seven micro-innovation questions to see if we can make the gameplay of each of our activities more attractive to users through the direction and means of micro-innovation.

For example, we mentioned in the current activity of a certain festival on a two-dimensional e-commerce website that we actually hope to create a gameplay where users can bargain for prices, and users can share with others to help them bargain for prices. We have also talked about a case in how to learn from others' activities before, how to learn from the H5 of Ziroom's wool-picking sports meeting. In fact, these two methods are completely reusable and can be copied to the context of a certain festival activity on a two-dimensional e-commerce website.

At this point you can feel the complexity of the subject of event operation. Only now have we slowly linked together what we have talked about before, so I think event operation is also a very interesting, complex and technically demanding subject.

Tips

Finally, we would like to give you a small tip. When many people are designing activity gameplay, they will strive to make a single gameplay very attractive to users.

Just like what we said just now, whether it is bargaining, distributing gifts to new users, or any exclusive flash sales, it has the opportunity to become a significant hot spot, but everyone must restrain their desires. For a large and complex event, we must not let all the gameplay become hot spots. This is impossible.

Often in large-scale events, we may have a total of 7-8 gameplays, and among them we may have 1-2 hot spots that are very successful and very good. In fact, for an activity, I think there is a small way to play. For example, Taobao has held so many Double 11s, and JD has held 618s for so many years. Every year, as long as there are 1-2 small ways of playing in the entire Double 11 and 618 of the year that leave a particularly deep impression on everyone, and everyone will play them repeatedly or spread them, it will be very successful.

It is impossible for me to make everything perfect, so everyone should remember this when running an event. If we want an event, we just need to focus on creating 1-2 hot spots. As for other aspects, we will be reasonable as long as they don't conflict with the theme.

Author: Be a product manager who understands operations

Source: Be a Product Manager Who Understands Operations