Brand engagement with mobile gamification apps from a developer perspective

Brand engagement with mobile gamification apps from a developer perspective

Manuel Martin SalvadorR&D Engineer @ BaseAI researcher @ Bournemouth University

05/12/2016CMC Masterclass SeriesBournemouth University

Outline

1. Introduction2. Gamification3. Apps encouraging a positive change4. Lessons from a developer5. Opportunities

Let’s play a game!

6 questions

Every right answer = 1 point

Prize = a box of Heroes (raffle between top winners)

Self-assessment: please write down your answers

Introduction

Question #1: What is this logo?Introduction

SourceThe Logo Company

Branding

● Logo● Colour scheme● Font● Language (formal, informal)● Culture (e.g. open, cool, modern, formal)● Physical shop: window and decoration● Online shop: layout and images

“Inconsistency is a brand killer” → Design brand guidelines

Introduction

Question #2: What company has this tagline?

“every little helps”

Introduction

Loyalty

Do people often think in your company when need to buy a product or hire a service?

E.g. soft drink, detergent, barber shop, mobile phone

Introduction

Engagement

How often do customers interact with your brand?

● This will vary depending on the life span of the product (e.g. milk vs car)

How do customers react when you offer something new?

● E.g. you may want to try a new Oreo’s flavour

Introduction

Main challenges

Brand recognition: can people identify my logo/tagline?

Customer loyalty: how can I keep a customer and avoid him/her to go to a competitor?

Customer engagement: how can I make customers like my brand and react positively to my offer?

Introduction

Gamification

Definition

“Gamification is the use of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts.”

Deterding et al. From game design elements to gamefulness: defining "gamification". MindTrek 2011

Gamification

Main applications

Marketing: loyalty (e.g. Tesco Clubcard), customer engagement.

Workplace: motivate employees to complete tasks.

Education: encourage students to learn.

Health: encourage people to exercise more (e.g. Fitbit).

Crowdsourcing: collect hard-to-get information from many users (e.g. Foursquare).

Gamification

Point system

Users get points based on their actions

You can choose a word that fits well within your strategy (e.g. coins, health points, experience points)

Source

Gamification

Incentives / Rewards

Give value to the points (e.g. 1000 points = £10 voucher)

Known rewards (rules)

● E.g. get a free coffee with 300 points

Unexpected rewards (because reasons)

● E.g. happy birthday! Have a free cookie on us!

Gamification

Source

Leaderboards

Being part of a community

Competitive: beat your friends

Refresh it periodically (e.g. every week) to avoid frustration

Gamification

Source

Badges

People like collecting things

Don’t confuse badges with value

Gamification

Unlock achievements

Set stages to complete (e.g. level 1 in Spanish)

Feeling of progressing

Gamification

Risks

If used badly, gamification has the potential to be counterproductive

Moral drift / cheating

Addictive behaviour

Illusion of fun: Just pretending something is fun does not make it fun.

Anxiety vs Boredom

More

Gamification

Flow

Mihály CsíkszentmihályiFlow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, 1990

Source

(too easy)

(too hard)

Gamification

Apps encouraging a positive change

Change of behaviour

Most humans try to avoid boring or difficult tasks

Learning a new skill or create a new habit take time

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Question #3

How much time does it take to create a new habit?

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Change of behaviour

Most humans try to avoid boring or difficult tasks

Learning a new skill or create a new habit take time:

● 21 days to build a new habit (Maxwell Maltz. Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life, 1960)

● 66 days to build a new habit (Lally et al. How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world, 2009)

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Wellness / Fitness

Nike+ Fitocracy

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Environment

Oroeco Recyclebank

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Public Transport Apps encouraging a

positive change

My Open Road SASAbus

Productivity

Habitica SupperBetter

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Finances

SmartyPig

Mint

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Question #4: What’s the name of this app? Apps

encouraging a positive change

Education

Duolingo Brilliant Khan Academy

Apps encouraging a

positive change

Lessons from a developer

I want to gamify my business

What’s your goal?

What’s your budget?

Do you have an app?

A. My app is my businessB. My app is a complement to my businessC. I don’t have an app

Lessons from a developer

“The perfect plan”

Source

Lessons from a developer

Be Agile

Source

Lessons from a developer

Be AgileLessons from

a developer

Notifications

Don’t abuse

Smart notifications: notify at the right moment (e.g. Subway does at lunch time)

Lessons from a developer

UX / Design

Make your gamification strategy consistent with your brand

Lessons from a developer

User feedback

Listen to your users (and answer them)

Accept critics → Improve

Help to prioritise roadmap

Lessons from a developer

Question #5: What’s the Android market share in UK?

Source

Question #5: What’s the Android market share in UK?

Source

Track everything*

Analyse events and flows

Source

Fabric

Lessons from a developer

* Everything you need

Privacy

Respect people's privacy. Not everybody wants to share his/her progress.

Check the Data Protection Act (in the UK) and international legislation if you operate abroad.

Be specially careful when you audience are kids

Lessons from a developer

Source

Backwards compatibility

People don’t update apps as often as developers would like

SourceOct 2016

Lessons from a developer

Question #6: In what year was Windows 7 launched?

Backwards compatibility

People don’t update apps as often as developers would like

SourceOct 2016

2009!

2011!

Lessons from a developer

Opportunities

Is gamification dead?Opportunities

2015 2016

?

Steady rise in the market growth2012: $242 million2015: $1700 million2016: $2800 millionSource

It’s effective!● Domino’s Pizza: created the gaming app Pizza Hero and increased sales revenue by 30% by

letting customers create their own pizza with an app.● Popchips: uses games to personalize mobile advertising and has seen its sales rise 40%

leading to $100 million in sales.● Bell Media: increased customer retention by 33% by incorporating “social loyalty” rewards on its

website.

Source

Gamification is here to stay

Source

Opportunities

Interest over time

Multidisciplinary

Psychology

Software developers

Marketing (e.g. increase brand awareness, re-engage with users)

HR (e.g. increase productivity, engage employees with some activities)

Opportunities

Think out of the box

Tram in Amsterdam (Daniel Disselkoen)Piano stairs in Brussels (Dole)

Opportunities

66% more people used the stairs!

Thanks!

Emailmanuel@wearebase.com

msalvador@bournemouth.ac.uk

Twitter: @draxus

Who’s the winner?