When is play appropriate for serious business marketing?

Play is appropriate for serious business marketing when it demonstrates the brand's character or helps people learn something relevant about the offer. Judge an interactive experience by whether participation gives buyers a credible taste of the product, service or working relationship being promised, rather than entertainment alone.

Make the experience evidence of the promise

Judge play by whether taking part gives buyers a credible taste of the offer. For IBM Garage's 2018 direct mail campaign, a coffee table book included a 65-clue crossword and a 360-degree video, experienced through the recipient's phone and the Google Cardboard supplied with the mailing. The interactive format expressed the innovation and experimentation that prospects were being invited to experience through IBM Garage.

Play can also make learning part of participation. IBM's CityOne asked professionals to use data and technology to make decisions about running a sustainable city, offering guidance on the consequences and a score at the end. The activity gave players a reason to engage with the subject rather than simply encounter a message.

Event Marketer reported in 2025 that Morgan Stanley at Work's Thrive 2025 activation used 6 film-themed interactive stations directly mapped to financial-services offerings, with QR links to detailed service information. The practical test is whether the activity expresses the promise or teaches something relevant about the offer.

Sources: Why it pays to play in B2B

How The Frameworks helps

Designing play for business audiences

You need an interactive experience that engages people with your business while retaining the credibility of your offer. The Frameworks works with you to translate your proposition into a story that audiences can participate in, paying particular attention to their role in the experience: what they can explore, what they encounter and how the interaction expresses your brand. Its approach brings experience design, interactive storytelling and digital development together, so the activity and the business story are developed as one rather than as separate layers.

The Frameworks delivers interactive exhibition installations, touchscreen games and exploratory browser-based experiences, with content and design shaped for audiences with different interests and levels of technical knowledge. You get a way for people to engage actively with your proposition at an event or through a campaign, with the story carried by what they do as well as what they read or watch.

Let’s talk about play in your business marketing 

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