Gamification can drive people, organizations and even societies to achieve goals. Ordinary life already has many examples of how gamification drives people. The game of competing for the highest net worth or visible expressions of wealth drives many to pursue wealth far beyond what’s required for a comfortable life.  In a different space, the game of competing for the best citation score drives some researchers to pursue specific publishing strategies. At a very basic level, most of us use some type of score to track how we’re doing. Think about some of the subtle and not-so-subtle motivations that play a role in life -whether it’s citations, salaries, mile run times, or-for a much smaller group-number of Olympic medals. Creating experiences that embody rewarding “gamification” elements like these can dramatically influence behavior;  and, research suggests the enjoyment and memory of experiences persists much beyond the purchase of a product. The promise of creating gamified experience for brands is not around simply adding points and badges. There’s much thinking that we and others are doing on how to move gamification towards a genuinely rewarding, valuable experience built around core human behaviors-while avoiding as much as possible the temptation to simply add gimmicks. Built well, these experiences can and will provide dramatic benefits to consumers and brands. A good early example of this thinking is embodied in the highly successful area of airline and hotel loyalty programs–and more recently, frequent buyer/shopper programs. There are newer, evolving programs around enterprise gamification from companies like Badgeville, Bunchball and RedCritter that are looking to smart gamification to improve employee productivity. Look for additional approaches to gamification across the spectrum, from employee wellness to customer service, CRM and loyalty.

The 21st March saw the company give their high-heels a night off and head to the new karting track in Maidenhead for what was sure to be a night of energy, competition and, more than likely, a few mishaps. The night started off well, 36 adults arrived full of giddy excitement and after a quick change into some rather fetching boiler suits and gloves, a quick safety brief and a stern warning about the ‘no bumping rule’ we were all ready to blow off some steam round the track.   The teams’ first driver’s got lined up in the pits and after a lot of whoops and hollers from the nervous crowd – they were off! Our Account Manager Kate soon found herself asking why she had volunteered to go first as she appeared to be racing with a track of very eager, very competitive men, including our very own Head of Digital James Richards who managed to get told off for misconduct by the officials merely 3 laps into the race! One by one, the teams sent their other drivers in and it became clear who was there  to win, and who was just there for the pizza, quickly forgetting which member of their team was racing once they got a look at the extra-large boxes. Luckily, everyone made it out unharmed, although our Deputy Creative Director Tim Davies did crash spectacularly into the barriers and had to be ushered off the track to get his visor reattached to his helmet! Our newest recruit, Nancy also managed to get wedged in a pile of tires on the track, so much so it took 3 ushers to drag her vehicle out, but luckily they were more than happy to help out our damsel in distress. As the last few laps came around, things started to get tense as the leader board was pretty tight! Project Analyst Samuel got the only black flag of the race, cutting his dreams of F1 rallying very short, but the most memorable moment of the night has to be when our very own Kirstie Reed overtook our CEO Richard Beasley in the last lap, much to his horror and outrage! After a tense wait, the winners were announced. Congratulations to team 6 which consisted of our Head of Finance Wendy Wade, Primal Director Louise Oakley, Deputy Creative Director Tim Davies, Head of Digital Strategy and Social Business Pieter Rademeyer and Junior Designer Chris Bannister. Overall the night was a success with lots of laughs and team building. It was also refreshing to see that despite his best efforts and eager competitiveness, even our CEO Richard Beasley can’t win at everything with his team coming second from bottom!

We have just come to the end of a  fantastic event to celebrate the launch of IKEA’s Outdoor Living range. The team from BWP and Primal has worked together for weeks to pull off a great piece of activity, including midnight trips to London to oversee the work in progress and a lot of hard work and dedication. Transforming pop garden installations have been set up in the busy commuter stations of Liverpool Street and Waterloo, complete with live in actors depicting scenes all set in the garden, the room of your house you never knew you had! We’re saying no to gnomes and hello to beautiful outdoor furniture as we welcome in the (hopefully) warmer weather. Complete with the aroma of freshly cut grass, we’re helping IKEA welcome summer with open arms. Fully branded IKEA ice creams vans are touring the country for a week to cover key target areas, giving away branded picnic blankets for an impromptu outdoor lunch, or, if the weather doesn’t hold, branded umbrellas, so we can stay happy and dry even when the sun isn’t shining. The May bank holiday weekend also sees a variety of activity taking place! There’ll be something for everyone with balloon modellers, face painters, bouncy castles, ‘mocktails’, summer themed workshops and BBQ style food in the restaurant (don’t worry, the meatballs will still be available!). Videographers and photographers have documented the incredible transformation of the station installations through a time lapse video and will continue to capture the activity as IKEA travels around the country delivering smiles and ice creams to people to celebrate their new outdoor furniture range. And who can say no to a free ice cream!?