Gamification in Asset Management – A Game-Changer for the Industry

Published on July 16, 2025 by Azeem Rashard

Introduction

Gamification – the use of game mechanics such as points, challenges, rewards and progress tracking – is a proven winning formula in education, fitness and even coffee- shop loyalty programmes. More recently, however, gamification in financial services has been gaining traction, especially in terms of how asset managers connect with their audiences.

The asset management sector is not particularly renowned for its thrilling advertising methods. It is generally weighed down by jargon, strict regulations and long-term outcomes that do not particularly lend itself to bright shiny advertising. All the more for this reason, gamification can be quite useful here. If used correctly, it can help businesses stand out, make difficult ideas easy to understand and turn engagement into an enjoyable experience.

In this blog, we look at how gamification is changing marketing campaigns in asset management, making them more interactive, educational and enjoyable.

Why gamification works in financial marketing

In general, people love rewards, respond to challenges and are motivated to keep progressing. Gamification at its core provides what humans love. Professionals in the asset management sector often face the challenge of consuming rapid-fire information due to their demanding schedules. This demographic finds it difficult to form trust and prefers compelling, digestible content to connect with brands. Gamification in financial services emerges as a powerful strategy to bridge this gap, enabling asset managers to facilitate education, foster client engagement and cultivate enduring brand loyalty in an innovative and captivating manner, moving beyond traditional brochures and jargon-heavy advertisements.

Marketing applications – where gamification truly shines

1. Investor education campaigns

Gamification can turn boring static educational content into engaging campaigns. The following are some of the ways this has been done in the recent past.

• Reward-based modules: This is where investors are rewarded for completing challenges and levels (a classic example of this is Franklin Templeton’s Level Up programme – a goal-tracking points system).

• Quizzes and competitions: This is where investors can test and improve their knowledge based on quizzes and challenges. Companies can incorporate fun elements such as leaderboards with monthly challenges for staff to win branded merchandise on a monthly basis.

These gamification in financial services campaigns go beyond simply raising awareness; they yield invaluable insights on investor preferences and gaps in knowledge – essential data that can inform tailored follow-up strategies to cultivate further interest and education around financial investments.

2. Campaign challenges and quests

Using gamification techniques in campaigns within the asset management sector is not something new. They have been used in the past, one of the best examples being one initiated by VanEck in 2022 – the VanEck Virtual World Launch Party campaign in 2022 used a virtual scavenger hunt to encourage users to visit the site and play arcade games to win rewards. It got users more engaged, kept them online longer and introduced them to all types of its offerings under the guise of entertainment.

Examples of ideas:

• "Build Your Portfolio" simulations attached to marketing emails where customers are invited to build hypothetical mock portfolios based on imaginary objectives.

• "Beat the Market" mini-games as holiday-product promotions.

All such campaigns are not just play – they lead users to examine products more deeply and often in a way that static ads or brochures cannot offer.

3. Personalised engagement

Gamification also helps individualise marketing to different segments. For instance,

• Millennials will appreciate mobile-first experiences and streaks (e.g., app use for a number of consecutive days).

• Institutional clients will appreciate data-driven quizzes or certification challenges with rewards for advanced financial knowledge.

With the appropriate tools, firms can target by behaviour, not demographics.

4. Community and referral mechanics

• Gamified referral programmes, where users receive points or access to special webinars for making referrals can turn investors into evangelists.

• Adding community features such as team challenges ("Participate in our ESG Investing Week and complete three activities with your team") may drive stickiness and brand love.

What types of game elements work?

The following categories of game mechanics are already performing well in marketing for asset managers:

• Points and rewards: To incentivise users for completing tasks such as reading a blog post, listening to a webinar or passing a quiz.

• Leaderboards: Used tastefully (most of all, in finance), they can promote good- natured competition.

• Badges and milestones: Encouraging users to complete content journeys.

• Levels and unlockables: Well-suited to multi-step programmes.

• Real-time feedback: Insights and notifications following user progress.

• Quests/scavenger hunts: Analogous to VanEck's programmes – good for product launches or website activity.

What about the risks?

Gamification has to be treated with caution, especially in finance. Avoid the following traps:

• Compliance concerns: Marketing has to stay within compliance guidelines. No aspect should confuse users about risk or mislead in offering incentives.

• Over-gamification: Too much fluff can kill credibility. Stay balanced. Each mechanism must be for a strategic reason.

• Privacy and data: Tracking user activity requires transparency and data- protection features.

• Long-term value: Glitzy campaigns will draw traffic, but long-term relationships require substance. Tie gamified experiences to actual educational content or useful product insight.

A note on internal use

While not the focus here, it is worth noting that some companies also use gamification internally to foster innovation or train advisors. Such internal activity can drive smarter, targeted marketing campaigns.

How Acuity Knowledge Partners can help

We help asset managers design marketing campaigns that educate but also motivate action.

We use gamification in marketing as follows:

• Strategy first: We start with your campaign goals, be it brand awareness, education or lead generation, and craft gamification mechanics to achieve them.

• Marketing integration: We ensure seamless integration of game elements into your digital assets, be it your website, mobile app or campaign landing pages.

• Compliance confidence: Our deep industry expertise means that all marketing is on the right side of the law.

• Analytics and optimisation: We do not set it and forget it. We keep an eye on how people engage, and optimise campaigns as a result.

Conclusion: A new era of engagement

Gamification is not about turning finance into a video game. It is about using time-tested psychological levers to make marketing more human, more interactive and more powerful.

In an environment built on trust and long-term planning, the firms that find creative, compliant and strategic ways to engage will be the ones that thrive.

Sources:

• https://builtin.com/articles/gamification

• https://www.vaneck.com/globalassets/home/us/insights/media-coverage/press- releases/vaneck-announces-launch-of-community-nft.pdf

• https://www.vaneck.com/us/en/nftcommunity/events/

• https://www.cfainstitute.org/about/press-room/2022/investment-gamification-and- implications-for-capital-markets

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/sushmadaggubati/2025/01/21/gamification-shaping- financial-engagement-in-the-digital-era/

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