There's no stopping a good idea. As millions of avid fans enjoy online games such as Farmville, businesses are responding with similar games on corporate websites, but their purpose isn't to amass virtual goods or defeat alien armies. Rather, these games are designed to build customer relationships, reward loyalty, and, not incidentally, gather marketing research data.

Samsung Nation rewards users who post comments on the company's website, answer other users' questions, and link to Samsung from their Twitter accounts. Although a television set was offered as the top prize, players reaching higher levels in Samsung Nation enjoy only virtual rewards such as colored badges and titles like "Connoisseur."

They also spend more time on the company's site, share more product information, and let Samsung track their online behavior. The CEO of Badgeville, a start­up that designs corporate games like Samsung's, says his client companies "use gamification to measure and influence user behavior to meet their business goals."

Increased site activity impresses potential customers; positive user comments can increase sales with lower marketing costs; and peer reviews are seen as highly trustworthy. For marketers, who also get to swell their customer databases, gamification is a win-win strategy. Corporate games attract some unexpected demographic groups, like women in their late 30s who don't fit the typical gamer profile. That boosts companies' confidence that the data they're gathering accurately reflects their target segments.

Sears, Groupon, the USA Network, Warner Brothers, and Verizon Wireless have adopted gaming techniques to draw more users to their websites and extend the time they spend there. Badgeville's CEO says some companies track hundreds of actions by millions of people.

Gamification is even growing within firms. Global consulting giant Deloitte runs a game app called "Who, What, Where" on its internal social network Yammer. Employees are rewarded with status and virtual badges for sharing information with colleagues, nurturing client relationships, and completing training. Says one 25­year­old employee who values the program's visibility with upper management, success in the game "could be the difference between being known as an up­and­comer or not.

Questions:

1. Critics say marketing games manipulate customers into giving away an increasing amount of personal information without the real thrill of game playing. Do you agree? Why or why not?

2. Banks say they are cautious about adopting gamification techniques because of concerns about keeping the collected data secure. Are they right? Why or why not?