As a Gamification Pioneer, one of the most common responses I get when I tell people about Gamification is some version of, “Interesting. But how can something like video games really create value in real-world important things?” In other words, “I’m going to be polite to you, but I think this is a gimmicky fad that has no impact.”
Instead of trying to convince people with the same arguments over and over again, I’m going to settle this issue here once and for all – Gamification not only has real-life value and impact, it even saves lives and could ensure our future as a race!
Earlier I wrote about Old Spice’s Genius Gamification Marketing Campaign DIKEMBE MUTOMBO’S 4 1/2 WEEKS TO SAVE THE WORLD. While I think it is brilliant and does a lot of things well, I can assure you that it does NOT really save the world, outside of making more men smell like an adventure and bake gourmet cakes with the kitchens they made with their own hands.
But the 10 Examples below will blow your mind away and show you why Good Gamification, or “Human-Focused Design” (as opposed to Function-Focused Design”), undeniably has a role in “adding more lives” to our future.
Many thanks for the help of 周唯中 for making the work below possible.
Gamification Example 1: Puzzle Game FoldIt made breakthrough in AIDS Research that Scientists couldn’t solve
By 2009, AIDS has already killed 30 Million people, or close to the equivalent of the State of California. As of 2010, there are still 34 Million people that have contracted HIV. For 15 years, many of the top PhD Scientists in the world were trying to decipher a crystal structure for one of the AIDS-causing viruses called the Mason-Pfizer monkey virus (M-PMV), but could not solve it.
Luckily, the University of Washington’s Center for Game Science (yes, such center exists) collaborated with the Biochemistry department and created FoldIt, an online puzzle video game about protein folding. Foldit utilizes a game-like puzzle interface that allows people from all over the world to “play” and compete in figuring out various protein structures that fit a researcher’s criteria.
To everyone’s surprised, with over 240,000 “players” registering for the game and competing viciously against each other, a solution to the structure of the M-PMV was found in 10 days, creating a major breakthrough in the AIDS research field. 15 Years vs 10 Days? I would say for this alone Gamification added extremely concrete value to the world and could one day save a loved one.
Gamification Example 2: RPG Diary Game Pain Squad helps Patients Combat Cancer by providing both Purpose and Data
Technology is changing the face of healthcare as we know it. The typical habit of only going to a doctor when you have an issue is slowly fading. The medical field is now moving towards preventative care, and for good reason: according to the Partnership for Prevention, over 100,000 lives could be saved in the U.S. every year if the gaps in just 5 preventative health services were closed. Preventative healthcare improves general well-being and can save lives by catching a disease or condition before it’s too late.
And Gamification is making services more accessible, fun, and impactful through preventative healthcare games.
It’s no surprise that positively changing daily behaviors can help prevent disease and disorders. Eating healthier foods, maintaining an exercise routine, and remembering to complete a prescription medication regiment can ensure you enjoy a long, healthy life. While we intend to remain on top of these things, the reality is that most of us are likely to fall short of staying consistent with these habits. However, with the help of gamified tools and platforms, healthy regular activities can be fun and easier to maintain.
Here are 10 amazing companies that are changing and (even saving) lives through preventative healthcare games.
Shopping has evolved so much from traditional market exchanges. It completely transformed from acquiring of needed goods into a rich experience that integrates deeply into every single culture of civilizations that can afford to power such an activity. People shop for fun, and for many (ahem, me not included), shopping could still be an epic win after spending 3 hours in a mall without buying a single item. (In the rulebook for my game, if I am shopping for over an hour and I bought nothing, I felt that I have failed. No Win-State for me…)
As shopping went online, a lot of the fun, interactive, and social experiences of shopping disappeared. However, it opened up a whole new world of other fun and exciting activities that could make shopping even more addicting than ever – except this time within the comforts of my home, and I can achieve my win-states much more often.
There is where eCommerce Gamification comes in place. Awesomely, many eCommerce gamification examples out there have actively improved sales and conversions by double or even triple digits towards the right direction, and some helped eCommerce sites become $Billion businesses!
Below I present to you 10 stellar eCommerce Gamification examples that will revolutionize shopping.
eCommerce Gamification #1: eBay’s Bidding and Feedback System
When it comes to early good gamification, few can match eBay’s ability to bring out our Core Drives.
If you were to just think of creating an ecommerce store, it’s not necessarily intuitive to have a competitive bidding system, real-time feedback, and stars for leveling up that eBay introduced.
The power of eBay is that buying items on eBay isn’t just a “purchase” like most ecommerce sites (Core Drive: Ownership & Possession in Octalysis), but when you buy something on eBay, you felt that you WON! Even though you might have paid 10% more compared to what you initially wanted to pay, you felt that you beat the other bastards who were bidding against you, sealing your victory. This is enormously a good example of Core Drive 2: Development & Accomplishment.
Add that to trying to improve your seller’s %, getting more stars, improving feedback scores, and constantly checking back to see if you have gotten new bids or competition (Core Drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience as well as Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity), finally leading to NOT wanting to lose the deal (Core Drive 8: Loss & Avoidance), no wonder everyone keeps saying, “eBay is so addicting!”
eCommerce Gamification #2: Woot.com Daily Deal System
The online retailer, Woot offers only one initial product per day in
limited quantities at a special sale price. A new product will be
offered only after the supply of the first product has been exhausted,
or by 12:00 AM Central Time. Each day people will wait for the next
product to be introduced, often at the midnight hour.
Since each product is limited and unknown beforehand, there are a
combination of factors which influence the site’s shoppers. They know
that the next item up can be desirable and yet limited in quantities.
They also know that they could be disappointed in the particular
product, and have no desire to acquire it. Thus, Woot’s users are
attracted by the motivation to find out what will be offered and how
“rare” they might perceive it to be.
Often times, when people log onto Woot.com at 4PM, they would see that amazing deal, but unfortunately sold out. After a few days, they feel a stronger desire to finally be able to get the deal. As a result, a bunch of people starts to go on Woot at 11:59PM, constantly refreshing their page, so they can immediately see the new deal, and potentially scoop it up if it’s appealing.
When you get users to change their daily habits before going to bed like Woot.com, you are demonstrating an amazing utilization of Core Drive 7: Unpredictability & Curiosity, as well as Core Drive 6: Scarcity & Impatience.
Can Gamification really turn traditional drudgery into productive engagement within the enterprise?
In a world where creative and innovative tasks are becoming an increasingly greater part of the world economy, it seems the archaic carrot and stick tools of motivation used throughout the Industrial Revolution are un-evolved tactics that fail to truly engage the modern day individual. Perhaps one of the biggest indicators of a lagging workforce culture can be seen in how the U.S. loses nearly $370 BILLION annually due to disengaged employees according to a Gallop Poll.
With such staggering disengagement and worker dissatisfaction, I can’t help but wonder… what if I could harness that zen-like focus I get when I’m fully immersed in a video game for twelve hours straight onto my real-life work instead?
Well, it turns out a hoard of start-ups and large corporations have also caught a whiff of what’s cooking and have started to build gamification applications and programs which have turned into a $100 million industry overnight that is expected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2016. Although there are many successful gamification examples that have cleverly incorporated game mechanics such as leaderboards, badges, and progress bars to provide real-time feedback and increased engagement, you have to wonder how in the world could you possibly make the most mundane tasks intrinsically motivating.
Despite the huge risk that 80% of current gamified processes may fail by 2014 due to employers simply replacing one extrinsic reward (money) for another (badges), there are actually quite a few enterprise gamification successes that have spawned from carefully applying game mechanics to fit the unique needs of each organization. As you’ll soon see, even the most mundane tasks can be successfully gamified to increase engagement. It’s time to take back that $370 billion and make a dent in our national deficit.
Enterprise Gamification Example #1: Salesforce with Nitro/Bunchball
If you have ever worked in any sales related role ranging from door to door soliciting or the dreaded cold call, you know firsthand how demotivating a multitude of rejections can be. Although thick skin and a narrowed focus on the prize can get you through the day, in the end it’s team competitions, leaderboards, and rewards that have typically had the most success in motivating sales forces.
While I’m not particularly excited about these extrinsic rewards and believe that there’s a lot more intrinsic tactics that we have not fully tapped into yet, I do agree that providing real-time feedback and visibility into tasks is a first step. Remember how in the Disney animation Monsters Inc., Sullivan and Randall had a competitive rivalry to be on the top of the leaderboard? It was apparent that the tracking and real-time feedback significantly affected the monsters’ behavior in speed and focus on the job.
Salesforce Motivation uses these same proven techniques to replace manual processes with a user-friendly sales application that displays a team leaderboard, a progress bar, and a featured challenge that can be customized. Team standings display which teams are leading in points and progress bar while the rewards tab offers either real life or virtual goods selected by employees. Moreover, Salesforce Chatter allows for teams to easily exchange info and keep each other updated in a collaborative manner. While many sales jobs have not typically screamed of intrinsic motivation, let’s face it, we all have to sell every day in some shape or form. Now with this tool, sales teams can get a steady diet of real-time feedback to keep them gunning on achieving their short and long-term sales goals.
Enterprise Gamification Example #2: Badgeville with Yammer
What do you get when you combine one of the largest gamification companies with one of the leading social media plug-ins? Yammerville… I made that up but in all seriousness, Badgeville has become a dominant force in enterprise gamification with over 150 major deployments with major companies such as Deloitte, Samsung, Dell, and my own company Accenture. Similar to Salesforce Motivation, Badgeville provides an out of the box SaaS service that has many customizable options for companies to configure any type of goal ranging from task related goals such as completing expense reports to learning goals such as leveling up a key industry skill. With the integration of Yammer, companies are able to leverage gamification and social reputation so that when badges are achieved from a goal, these achievements can be published through social media to provide visibility throughout the entire company.
While I personally have never cared too much for posting an accomplishment through social media, I have found myself twiddling on my own Accenture profile and seeing how I can complete certification trainings or volunteer events in order to get the added bonus of a virtual badge. Although badges run the risk of sapping intrinsic motivation and creating gaming/manipulation of the system behavior, I have found that these badges can actually enhance intrinsic motivation, serve as a pseudo resume, and expose me to other skills/interests that I already have a liking towards.
When extrinsic rewards such as badges are paired carefully with a goal that you already have intrinsic motivation for, the effect can be positive. If extrinsic rewards such as prizes or money are large enough that they supersede intrinsic motivation, then all the unintended behaviors I mentioned are likely to occur and the benefits of gamification are lost. Because of this fine line and need for customization, Badgeville has created a gamification framework that can apply to a myriad of companies. Whether this is just a scheme to boost revenues or an effective methodology to improve productivity in enterprise remains to be seen.
Enterprise Gamification Example #3 SAP Community Network
Marketing Gamification is not just in your face. It’s in your head.
As a gamification consultant, I work with many different types of clients and projects in product, workplace, and marketing gamification. As time goes by, an interesting pattern arises based on the help they need from me:
Smaller startup clients usually want help with product gamification. This process has to do with creating a winning product that provides a rather addictive experience, where players naturally want to keep playing.
Mid-sized companies enlist my help for marketing gamification. The objectives here are to: attract potential new customers within a target market segment and get them actively engaged with their brand and products. This is also more focused on the discovery phase in my Octalysis Framework.
Fortune 500s and large companies usually shift their focus on workplace gamification. Their motive is often to train employees (in a way that feels effortless) and to cultivate a greater sense of solidarity within the internal team.
In previous posts, I have spoken at length about product and workplace gamification. But I haven’t spent much time on marketing gamification. So I thought I’d show some interesting marketing gamification examples.
Many people immediately think of marketing gamification as some type of loyalty program. But simply having this in place is not the silver bullet that will automatically solve all your challenges and concerns.
Even with loyalty programs (something that Gabe Zichermann sometimes even refer to as part of the definition of gamification), there are a few ways to do it right, and thousands of ways to do it badly.
In reality, there are vast creative possibilities involved in marketing gamification. To illustrate this, I will present ten real life case examples.
Marketing Gamification Example #1: Nike+ Fuelband and Accessories
Nike launched this application in January 2012. And since then it has developed into a popular gamified sport. The company extended themselves beyond their comfort zone as a well known product brand one that actively fosters lifestyle changes by helping their customer keep themselves fit.
The most popular accessory so far is the Nike+ Fuelband, which is bracelet with a special technology that can monitor user movements. Participants must download the Nike+ App. From this point, they can track their workouts. Statistics (like the number of calories burned) are displayed to provide feedback.
Nike+ As Seen Through Octalysis
The strongest Core Drive that the Nike Fuelband utilizes is Development & Accomplishment (Core Drive #2), where they show users daily feedback on how close users are to their daily goals. Also, whenever they hit a goal or have a streak, an animated cartoon character jumps out and starts to celebrate in a hyper manner.
Also, the immediate feedback meets their need to feel Empowerment (#3), another core drive within Octalysis.
Integrating Social Drives
The smart game designers of this product also included a social dimension to this game which has undoubtedly helped to expand awareness and demand for the Nikes Fuelband.
Participants have the opportunity to challenge friends. Here we can see the aspect of Social Influence & Relatedness (#5) within the Octalysis model. And this provides a great incentive to use this application. In turn, it perpetuates greater level of momentum in user engagement.
As the points are accumulated based on the distance traveled, the community is aware of who is ranked at the top of the leaderboard. These will be the individuals who trained more, and earned a highly developed physique.
This is a very clever way to forge an association between a fit, slender body to Nike’s brand.
Results of the Nike+ Fuelband
In 2011 the number of players using Fuelband was 5 million. This is estimated to reach 11 million by the end of 2013.
Marketing Gamification Example #2: My Starbucks Reward
Starbuck‘s philosophy has always been focused on personal service in favor of consumers. Much of their business model is based on ambiance. The inside of each store is characterized by an inviting environment that is hip and upbeat. Customers are enticed to stay longer so that they can sit and enjoy their coffee or espresso.
How My Starbucks Reward Works
The brand used gamification tactics to enhance the Starbuck’s experience and to boost sales as well. Players register for My Reward through an application. Everytime they purchase a Starbucks product, they accumulate stars (which actually look like cups that are graphically filled in).
But the game does not stop here. There are three “levels” depending on the degree of user loyalty. More frequent visits to a Starbucks store is awarded through an upgraded level. Examples of benefits include: an extra cup of coffee, a birthday gift or even offers designed specially for the customer.
Core Octalysis Drives
Within the Octalysis model, the Core drive of Development & Accomplishment (#2) is a major source of motivation. Another element is Ownership & Possession (the possibility of receiving virtual goods, which is common to any loyalty program).
Results
In 2012, the users of My Reward totaled about 4.5 million. The cards alone accounted for $3 billion in sales per year.
Marketing Gamification Example #3: McDonald’s Monopoly Game
McDonald’s succeeded in increasing their product sales by using gamification concepts derived from the classic game of Monopoly.
This promotion dates back to 1987. And it takes place entirely offline. When you buy certain products from McDonald’s, you will receive tickets. Each ticket represents a space on the monopoly game board. The goal is to collect all the pieces of the same color to be eligible for a prize.
How Compelling Is the McDonalds Monopoly Game?
One loyal customer made a You Tube video about this game and explains:
“Every October I go through the McDonald’s drive through just because of this silly game. They got me!”
The alliance between brands seems to work well: In 2010, McDonald’s increased its sales by 5.6% in USA through this program, with many people engaged in impulse buying just to get tickets.
This article was written by Erik van Mechelen, based on the Octalysis framework designed by Yu-kai Chou
Human-focused Fitness
The main takeaway from Yu-kai Chou’s Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards is that design experiences, particularly those involving gamification, need to be designed for humans. That’s why Yu-kai refers to them as human-focused.
Fitness should be human-focused too. It’s not only about getting you outside and moving (like Pokemon Go), but about improving health and fitness and getting tangible results over time. I would add, for the long term. It’s pretty easy to build a product that works for 1 or 2 or 6 months, but there are precious few that people will use for beyond 6 months.
Here are the top 10 fitness apps to watch (or use!) in 2017.
As always, I’ll refer to the 8 Core Drives of Octalysis. As a bonus, I will mention a few Game Techniques along the way, too!
Edit: There are a LOT of fitness apps. Tell me which ones I missed in the comments or on Octalysis Explorers on Facebook!
This article was written by Erik van Mechelen, based on the Octalysis framework designed by Yu-kai Chou
Human-focused Finance
The main takeaway from Yu-kai Chou’s Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards is that design experiences, particularly those involving gamification, need to be designed for humans. That’s why Yu-kai refers to them as human-focused.
Finance should be human-focused too. It’s not only about numbers and making them better. It is about improving our relationship to money, making it easy for families to track expenses and investments, and helping businesses manage their contractors and make deals.
Here are the top 10 finance apps to watch (or use!) in 2017.
As always, I’ll refer to the 8 Core Drives of Octalysis. As a bonus, I will mention a few Game Techniques along the way, too!
Edit: I also just learned about SaveUp.com (earn credits for financial behaviors), SmartyPig.com (automate transfers to digital piggy banks earmarked for savings goals), and Trade Samurai (learning Forex trading). These are very solid as well!
