Download - Gamification in market research
Gamification
in market researchBy @eliasveris
R&D consultant – Insites Consulting
Meet my nephew, 18
He’s not motivated to reach anything. Has zero real hobbies.He has bad grades at school and
had to retake a year.He’s every mother’s worst
nightmare.
Absolute Chaos
But he became one of the top 5 players in the Playstation game
“Warhawk” 2 years ago.He battled via the playstation
network for days in a row, to get to the top. That is the one
experience that immerses him completely.
The game is absolute chaos for the unskilled. And so he
practices, and learns from others by watching youtube screencasts of that one roll with the airplane,
that one moving shot,...The one thing that keeps this guy up at night, is gaming.
Everybody plays
Everybody plays. Consoles like the Wii have democratized console gaming by making it easy
for all ages; brining it from the teenage bedroom to the everyday family life.
Average age: 34
26% over 50
Average age of most frequent game purchaser: 40
Source: theesa.com
In the US, theesa does some great work in showing that gaming is for everyone. Although
the average age of the most frequent game purchaser is probably influenced by having kids,
the mere fact that a quarter of all gamers are over 50 is quite astonishing.
Women: 40%Playing
46% of gamers play with other
gamers in person
Source: theesa.com
Do you know Zynga?(A company named after a dead bulldog )
50M+ daily active users
Farmville: 13M+ daily active users
30M+ farms (only 2M real farms in US)
Surpassed by new hit: Cityville (20M+ active daily users)
Zynga makes a lot of money with their games. Some of their designers explicitly state that they
design for the 43 year old woman; that is the average social gamer.
Many things are gamesAnd games have been around since 3500 BC…
STOP!
So the game industry is pretty big. Let us not forget however, that many things are
games. Boardgames have been around since 3500 BC, with the Egyptian game called Senet.
And don’t we all have that one relative that always beats you at chess?
But why do people play games?
AutonomyI do it because I want to do it
MasteryI do it to get better at something
PurposeI do it because I want to serve a
higher purpose
Above all, games are learning experiences
The learning element in games is what keeps the experience going for you, what keeps you
focussed
…Which explains why progress wars isn’t fun
Inhe
rent
cha
lleng
e
Player ability
Flow-zoneAnxiety
Boredom
Learning is a function of Challenge and Ability.If these two are balanced out correctly, you are totally immersed in the experience, something
that Mihály Csíkszentmihályi called ‘Flow’.
Inhe
rent
cha
lleng
e
Player ability
Can I play daddy?
Anxiety
Boredom
Bring ‘em on!
I’m death incarnate
Flow is not equal for everyone. That is why games have the Novice, Skilled and Expert levels of difficulty. Some players need more challenge
than others.(ps: Can you spot the wolfenstein 3d
references?)
Games have stories, but...“theme is a lure to bring gamers into the experience”
Constructs of Rules and Feedback Loops intended to produce enjoyable
Gameplay.
Game Mechanics
So learning is key.The elements in gaming that produce learning (and thus enjoyable gameplay) are called game
mechanics.
I want people to flowThat is what some people in marketing and market research have been worrying about. And then, they came up with the
following concept:
I’ve got something boring I want people to do.
The process of using game thinking and game mechanics to solve problems and engage users
Gamification
The people at Volkswagen have used game mechanics to make boring tasks, such as going to the bottle band, a little bit more fun. They
called it the Fun Theory.(click image for movie)
Win conditions
Leaderboard
BadgesSocial
network + status
Challenge
Point system
The Gamification
loop
Gabe Zichermann has coined the concept of the gamification loop, on a
very tactical level.Give users a challenge, and tell them
what they need to do to win. For everything you do (and especially for
winning) you get points, that are shown on a leaderboard. Badges are a form of extra virtual reward (think foursquare for instance) that can be granted. The
combination of points and badges indicate the users’ status, and is most
powerful when shared over a social network.
Elements of the loop can be used in various contexts. Mint for instance aggregates all your spending from your bank
account and gives you insights in your behaviour.On top of that, you can set challenges for yourself (saving x amount of $ this year), and mint will give you points and
feedback for every step in the right direction.
Multiple long- and short-term aimsA long-term aim is difficult to achieve if there is no short-term gain. Therefore, intermediate goals are important.
Reward every effortEvery small action people do must be rewarded, so that they keep in mind that they are progressing. Points are a great
tool for this.
Rapid & frequent feedbackThe best kind of feedback is immediate feedback. I don’t want to wait 2 years to see how you liked my performance, give
it to me straight!
A tiny bit of uncertaintyRemember the variable ratio schedule? Behaviour will be more persistent if the reward strategy is not linear.
Some more tactical issues to keep in mind...
Badges? Seriously?To these guys, they matter.
To get back to ‘badges’:Do they really matter?
They are just a couple of pixels on a screen, right?
Badges? Seriously?To these guys, they matter.
Goal-setting deviceWhere to go
InstructionsWhat is possible
ReputationWho you are
Status & AffirmationWhat you did
Group identificationWho is like you
Antin & churchill
Badges have various functions, from giving indications to users what it really is you want them to do (in a fun way)
to enhancing reputation via shared symbolism.
Who would you rather be?
And after all, a lot of people care about a simple 500+ “badge” on linkedin too...
Let’s call it “shared business symbolism”?
Name available upon request. Or good googling.
Name available upon request. Or good googling.
Keep in mind…
Not all people are equal
There are gender differences (the stereotypical risk-
averse, social woman versus the risking, competitive
man) and player differences, like Bartle’s typology
describes. Anyhow, not every person enjoys the same rewards. Gamed design must take
that into account.
Playing the same game over and over again is boring. Even for good games.
Statistics solve this. They call this Metagames.
I played ‘worms’ a lot during college.
Not because I enjoyed the game that much, but
especially because I played it with my best friend at the time, and we kept a huge scoreboard on our door of who won how many times.
The game was ok, the meta-game of beating my friend
was THE main driver.
Incentivize well, and people will cheat.
hmmm…
Keep in mind that people will try to
cheat. Either you give them ways to cheat that fit within your goals, or you keep a
very good eye on what’s happening. A
very good eye.
…Or be too focussed, like in the BMW Eco Challenge
BMW challenged people to drive as fuel efficient as
possible, in a gamified system.First tests were extremely good, with 0,4l/100 km less fuel used
on average.The one thing however that has a huge impact on fuel efficiency
is starting and stopping. For traffic lights for instance.
When people noticed that, some tried to avoid this at all costs,
with traffic violations and collisions as a result.
Always keep in mind the possible unintended
consequences of your system. Always.
Didn’t you ever try to beat the system?
I know highly respectable people that try to beat their GPS every time, getting at
their destination faster than it indicates.
I also know some that take an alternative route, AND try to get there sooner. Just for
the fun of it.
Rewards are not achievements!Learning is an achievement. Getting better is. Being rewarded for that is just
nice.
Getting somewhere faster than a deadline can be an achievement. If your GPS would then give you a badge for that, that’s a reward. Not really what
GPS systems are intended for, but you get the picture.
Keep trying. Iterate. Measure. Improve.
Key in setting up a system with game elements is
iterating and measuring. It helps you stay ahead of
dramatic unintended consequences, and tailor challenges and reward systems to your users.
I work in market researchCan I use this gamification stuff?
Response rates have been
dropping for years.(It’s not fun)
Response quality follows. Speeding.
Straightlining.(they don’t learn)
Good people drop out because they
never get rewarded for their
effort.(no feedback)
What are drivers of research participation in general?
Intrinsic:•To provide an opinion•Out of curiosity•Find research fun
Extrinsic:•Chance of winning prizes•Charity
Source: InSites Consulting panel study (2005)This is our storyline.
Research
What community researchers dream of:
A high number of on-topic posts
Communities:drivers of on-topic posts
Information Benefit
Social Benefit
Informational Engagement
Social Engagement
Community & Brand Identification
Time Cost
More identification with either community or brand means more engagement & more on-topic posts.
When people like the social side of the community (getting in touch with people), this has an enrichment effect on the on-topic participation.
The more time costs involved, the less people will participate.
People spending more time deep-diving into information on the community will be more likely to post on topic.
When people get interesting information out of the community, they are more likely to contribute to it.
People spending more time deep-diving into the social side of the community are less likely to contribute interesting information.
InSites Consulting internal research
Starting from these intrinsic drivers, we can reinforce them even more by using
them in a gamified community.
Most valuable contributor wins!Golden nugget badge for best insightTopic x-expert for high topic contribution...
Socialization: what areon- topic-posts?
Badges & win conditions:
Post quality content
Points
Point treshol
d reache
d
Unlock info
Information benefit on- topic-posts
We know getting information drives participation.
If information is rewarding, we can make the availability of information dependent on on-topic posts pretty easily.
Informational engagement on- topic-posts
Challenge: “Can you come up with the best summary of the answers on this topic? Rate the best summary up!”
Via the same mechanic, we can stimulate people to
assimilate and engage with the available information, and reward that behaviour. It’s also a renewed focus on learning. And games are all
about learning.
Social Benefiton- topic-posts
Challenge: “Battle the other team in sharing as much quality content as possible”Personal leaderboard
The social benefit of an in-group augments the social benefit of a larger group.
Therefore, having respondents battle each other on the community yields great results, and
increasingly so if it’s coupled with status via a
leaderboard.
Designthe
journey
Win conditions – feedback – rewardsLearn, Learn, Learn.
Surveys
Surveys Suck
People abandon surveys
because:
No time anymore (19%)
Too long (12%)
Don’t feel like it anymore (10%)
Too boring (10%)
InSites Consulting data, 2011
What influences
survey satisfaction?
Length of interview
Lay-out
Subject
Questioning
What influences
survey satisfaction?
Length of interview ( = .10)
Lay-out ( = .18)
Subject ( = .37)
Questioning ( = .43)
Survey Satisfaction(R²=93%)
Questioning is key
“We challenge you”
Research by @jonpuleston - GMI Interactive
“You have 2 minutes”
“Imagine”
Feedback * 3
Feedback * 10
300% more ideas
Since changing the subject is not easy, why don’t we look at questioning and making that more fun and game-
like?Previous research has shown
that great things can be done by using projective
techniques and challenges in surveys, increasing feedback
by large amounts.
This is a survey. It measures brand identification. Do you like this?
This is a survey. Or do you like this one better?
Few things in life are linear.
Should surveys be?
Games are not linear anymore. There are mini-
games, sidetracks, alternative storylines,...
Why not in surveys? We can ask the questions that need routings first, and then the respondent can decide what
he wants to answer next.It’s easy. And it
communicates autonomy.
Zero feedback.Challenges need win conditions and rewards
Right now, surveys are a black box.
Gamification is all about feedback. Why not share results to some questions
immediately? Based on the previous 30 respondents f.i. Feedback is most effective if immediate, so let’s give it to
them immediately.
All this makes no sense.
It makes no sense if it isn’t integrated in the whole research process. Remember metagames?
Respondents don’t care about our
research silos.
Quanti = Quali = Communities = focus groups = surveys = ethnography = …
If I participate, I get rewarded.
If I’m a loyal participant, I get rewarded
more.
We must gamify the process of research for participants
If well implemented, the fun factor can
extend engagement in research for a lifetime.
Let’s make it funLet’s think loyalty
Let’s reward loyal fun-makers.
Earning points per surveyBurning points with gifts
(And gifts can be charity)
Branded badgesMeta-badges (cofee-expert)
Visible on the platformResponse quality scoresA leaderboard with your
friendsAnd much, much more.
…A gamified platform.
Keep trying. Iterate. Measure. Improve.
Costs. Benefits.
Implementation time & cost of
that
Knowledge building & cost of
that
Increased focus on measurement
& cost of that
Renewed respondent engagement
Competitive advantage versus
DIY research
Technology TriggerDisillusionment
Enlightenment
Productivity
Inflated Expectations
Remember Gartner. We’re not exactly where we want
to be yet…
Gamification is at a non-desirable place in the hype
cycle according to me. Some of us expect too much, others are disillusioned
already.
Maybe we should even ban the word gamification.
Anyway, let’s not be blinded by the hype, and use this as
a return to focussing on respondent engagement.
With some workable tactics.
Gamification is dead
If it’s just an overlay of points
If it doesn’t change the product or service beneath it
Gamification in Market Research is alive!
Because it can completely change the user experience
To the people who make gamification move forward by evangelizing and sharing,
@gzicherm@jesseshell
@dingstweets@avantgame@amyjokim
@margaretwallace@getmentalnotes@sethpriebatsch
@playbe@jonpuleston
+ everyone I forgot
+ the whole online creative community for the awesome
visuals