Goal?Evaluate the effectiveness of gamification and explore potential applications in business & market research

How?• Literature review• Expert interviews• Experiment• Case studies from

market leaders

Background

Note:This deck only covers gamification in business. It does not touch on serious games, entertainment, education, politics, etc.

Interviewees

Jesse SchellChief Executive Officer and Creative Director of Schell Games

Sebastian DeterdingGamification guru and PhD researcher

Michael WuPrincipal Scientist of Analytics at Lithium Technologies

Danny DayCEO of QCF Design (IGF award-winning developers of Desktop Dungeons)

Kevin Spier and Dan Maier of Bunchball gamification service

Bo NielsenAssociate Director, TNS

Jon PulestonSenior Director of GMI Interactive

Francesco D’OrazioResearch Director and Head of Social Media of Face Group

Phil GromanHead of Innovations for Afroes

Rolfe SwintonDirector of Lumi Mobile

What it’s not

What it is

Examples

How Does It Work?

Where CanIt Go Wrong?

How Effective Is It?

Conclusions

LEVEL 1What it’s not

LEVEL 1: What it’s not

Video games

“Badgification” /“Pointsification”

LEVEL 2What it is

LEVEL 2: What is it?Definition

The integration of the mechanics that make games fun and absorbing into non-game

platforms and experiences in order to improve

engagement and participation

~ The Authors

“

”

LEVEL 3Examples

LEVEL 3: ExamplesFarmville

LEVEL 3: ExamplesFoursquare

LEVEL 3: ExamplesKlout

LEVEL 4: How Does It Work?

LEVEL 4: How Does It Work?Hijacking the brain

Experience systems

Short- and long-term goals

Rapid, frequent feedback

Other people

Rewards for effort

Uncertainty

LEVEL 4: How Does It Work?Example mechanics

Appointment dynamic

Achievement

Community collaboration

LEVEL 4: How Does It Work?Can anything be gamified?

Do people not do something because they are not able to? - then increase ease of use.

Do people not do it because they have no free time? - then work on that.

Only if motivation is the issue can gamification be a [legitimate] way [of influencing behaviour]

~ Sebastian Deterding, researcher

”

“

BOSS BATTLE!Where Can It Go Wrong?

In my experience game mechanics have massive potential in the research industry but low-grade gamification is only

going to distort social interaction and skew research outputs.

~ Francesco "D’Orazio, Research Director for Face Group

“

”

If your idea is to create a bribery system to get [users] to try

something, it can backfire. When the bribes go away, people are less inclined naturally to do the

thing you want, even if it's fun

~ Jesse Schell, CEO Schell Games

“”“

Rewards are not equivalent to achievement

Limited participation bandwidth

Unintended consequences / Gaming the system

Undermining intrinsic values and…

…interfering with social norms

Congratulations!You defeated the Pitfall Boss

BONUS LEVEL: How Effective Is It?

Marketing amplification

Community curation

Market research

Community curation

BONUS LEVEL: How Effective Is It?

Evly experimentBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

n=30

1.5

2.3

Non-gamified Gamified

Ave. no. user posts

Non-gamified (control)

83%

17%

Contributors Observers

68%

32%

Contributors Observers

n=25

n=30

User participation

Gamified (experiment)

37%

63%

Comments Answers

3%

97%Comments Answers

n=37

n=68

Community interaction

Non-gamified (control)

Gamified (experiment)

Source: Findlay & Alberts, 2011

Awards Nominations

Questions (2010)

10,000

Answers (2010)

100,000Average response time

3mins (24/7)

Number of employees

16

95% answered in…

60mins (24/7)

Source: Lithium Technologies

The effect of gamification is

pretty astounding and has even surprised us in what it’s able to do

in the case of giffgaff”

~ Michael Wu (Principle Scientist of Analytics at Lithium Technologies)

“

”giffgaffBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

9

16

Pre-gamification Post-gamification

Page views (in millions)

2

5Ave. no. monthly visits

Pre-gamification Post-gamification

14

22Ave. time spent on site (mins)

Pre-gamification Post-gamification

Merchandise sales

Pre sales Post sales

+47%

Source: Bunchball

Club PsychBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

4

12

Pre-gamification Post-gamification

Actions before logging out

7

15

Pre-gamification Post-gamification

% posting to blog

Source: TechCrunch

Purchases per active user

DevHubBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

BONUS LEVEL: How Effective Is It?

Marketing amplification

…of users played more than once

85%

…returned the following month

50%

…increase in revenue via game from one month to next

60%

Source: Bunchball

PlayboyBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

Source: Afroes

Champ ChaseBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

1.83

2.41

Pre-game Post-game

Ave. awareness score(composite measure)

85%

Identified types of abuse

20%

Identified types of abuse

3%

Identified types of abuse

Pre-game

Post-game

n=20

Pre-game

95%Mentioned Childline Did not

15%

Mentioned Childline Did not

n=20Mentioned Childline

Post-game

BONUS LEVEL: How Effective Is It?

Market research

UK (non-gamified)

99%Completed

30%

Completed

Completion rate

USA (gamified)

3.5

8.0

UK(non-gamified)

USA(gamified)

Ave. happiness (out of 10)

Source: Lumi Mobile

Consumption diaryBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

+50%

Enjoyment of Oscars

Non-players Players

Source: Lumi Mobile

Disney & OscarsBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

Length watching Oscars

+42%

Non-players Players

Benefits:• Increased engagement• Improved data quality

Unintended consequences:• Drinking game• Returning & asking for more questions, and…• … to continue chatting

Source: TNS

It was like being a part of a community“ ”

Really liked the chat, where people discussed the show“ ”

Noticed more details in the show than normally

”“

Found it funny to rate the TV-show and see the results

”“Fun to be a part of this new kind of test“ ”

EurovisionBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

Survey questionSteak au pouivrePesto Pastafish and chipsgarlic chicken

‘Last meal’ game“Scotch broth soup as a starter served with garlic bread. Medium grilled gammon steak with a lightly fried egg on top with chips and side salad. A glass of red wine. A sticky toffee pudding, followed by cheese and biscuits.”

Framing

Source: GMI Interactive

Question designBONUS LEVEL: How effective is it?

Which of these do you have in your room?TV

FishMP3 player

BooksRadio

MagazinesConsoleCamera

SkateboardStereo

DVDsCDs

HampsterClothes

Piggy bankRocket

Which of these do you have in your room?

Visualising

Rapid and frequent feedback

FINAL BOSS BATTLE

FINAL BOSS BATTLE:Market Research Considerations

Market research industry has

been slow in making surveys

more engaging

To make surveys more

engaging:

visual design

reframing language of

questions

rapid & clear feedback

build in novelty/uncertainty

build in status (MROCs)

incorporate social elements

FINAL BOSS BATTLE:Market Research Considerations

Gamification can benefit our industry…

“A double shift in focus and framing:

(1) from usability(reducing friction) to motivation (increasing drive),

(2) from extrinsic motivation (incentives) to intrinsic motivation (competence,

autonomy, relatedness needs).

At best, it is a set of lenses and design patterns to improve intrinsic motivation.”

~ Sebastian Deterding , researcher

“ …if we can step outside our comfort zones

“In order to truly turn something into a game, it

often needs to change so much in order to facilitate player agency that few people are

willing to begin the process”

~ Danny Day, QCF Design (developers of Desktop Dungeons)

“

” ”

FINAL BOSS BATTLE:Conclusions

FINAL BOSS BATTLE:Is it a fad?

“In some ways it is a fad - adding points and badges in tacky ways, looking at

‘gamification’ as an easy way to make boring things seem interesting - that is a fad.

However, the idea of designing business processes so that those who engage in them find them more

intrinsically rewarding - that is a long term trend”.

~ Jesse Schell , CEO Schell Games

“In three years, we will talk about what is at the core of it - design for motivation - not about

the one strategy to get there: getting inspiration from games.”

~ Sebastian Deterding, researcher

“

”

“”

FINAL BOSS BATTLE:Conclusions

Gamification seems to work…

Gamification can benefit research……but it’s no

“magic elixir”…in subtle and fundamental ways……if we keep an

open mindset

CONGRATS!!! You defeated the Final Boss