What does “Moorhuhn” have to do with a Scottish whiskey brand? Companies have been using playful elements for their own purposes for a long time. In the meantime, gamification has found its way into everyday life.
He gives high fives, you can scratch him, tickle his feet and put them on: for example, sunglasses or a Bollenhut from the Black Forest.
The Karlsruhe company kr3m is developing the nameless tawny owl as a “climate buddy” on behalf of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The animated bird is intended to help users in an app for smartphones to live more climate-consciously.
There is a whole range of applications, for example with tips on how to save CO2. They often have around 10,000 to 50,000 downloads. For comparison: the mobile game “Candy Crush” is billions. Kr3m Managing Director Jan Reichert suspects that the comparatively low interest in climate apps is mainly due to the fact that they punish: “They tell you that you should eat differently, drive less and fly less.” With the tawny owl, the Karlsruhe team is trying a different approach, a playful one.
Gamification is finding its way into everyday life
In doing so, they follow the trend towards gamification. The term can be defined in different ways. Basically, playful elements are meant that should be more fun to use. Not a new idea, but a lot has happened on the market in recent years. Gamification has found its way into everyday life.
According to Steffen Walz, professor and curator of the Bizplay congress, it is no longer in its infancy and has established itself as an important economic factor: “Gamification has come a long way in economization without us noticing.”
Companies use playful elements, for example when training new colleagues, for training or for employee participation. The topic is also highly relevant for marketing and sales, for example in the context of new developments in the field of virtual and augmented reality, which enable real life and digital space to flow together. “This metaverse, which is currently often quoted, is not just rhetoric and narrative – it will be permeated by gamification mechanics that adapt to users in a data-driven manner.”
Health apps on the rise
Such elements are already playing a role in the health sector, says Walz: Athletes can compare running times. “Health apps” motivate users to record data on nutrition, sleep and fitness – and reward them for certain behavior. Because health insurance companies even reimburse costs for so-called digital health applications for smartphones after prescription, Germany is a leader here with start-ups. He cites cryptocurrency-based “tokenomics” as further examples: huge Internet communities in which business models thrive where you earn income by playing. This is by no means a niche market.
Walz is convinced: “For the digital natives, gamification is part of everyday life, that’s expected.” Generation Z, who is now around 20 years old, grew up with technology and video games and has very different needs than their parents. ‘But they don’t want to be kidded. They have an incredibly good radar for it.”
Nowadays, rewards have to come faster and faster, says Reichert from kr3m. With “Candy Crush” this happens every second. In order to compete in the market, companies would have to adapt. “Of course you can say that you don’t want to,” Reichert admits. But then the number of customers would remain manageable.
Perfect integration
In Asia, the integration of internet and game elements played a major role, according to Walz: “The Chinese have perfected the integration of gamification directly into online shopping, for example through live shopping via app with interactive quizzes and high entertainment value. » What the Far East and the western world have in common is the increasing economization through game and entertainment elements. The main difference: In China, the state also explicitly uses behavioral regulations.
Kr3m advises companies and authorities on how to establish game elements on their websites. Customers include Bosch, Bayer and Bauhaus. For Daimler, they developed an application that shows truck drivers, for example, whether they have braked with foresight and how they drove compared to their colleagues, says Reichert. The company builds websites with classic games such as Sudoku and solitaire for publishers.
In some companies, what used to be called gamification is now standard in user-friendly applications, says Reichert. There are badges on job portals, or you level up like in games. From Reichert’s point of view, however, nobody needs to fear that employees will be forced to do things they don’t want to do.
“narrow degree”
Oliver Suchy, who is responsible for digital working environments at the German Federation of Trade Unions, sees things differently. “It’s a fine line.” The technologies could support older employees, for example. But what is the actual goal behind it, how transparent is this, if employees are involved, what happens to the collected data? “Outwardly, this is always presented positively,” says Suchy. In reality, it’s all about optimization. There is often additional pressure among colleagues. “Gamification is a euphemism because it’s about increasing performance.”
According to Reichert, good gamification is not an easy undertaking: “Simply putting games over something doesn’t work. Then it will be a little nicer at most.” Developments also mean that only a few of the many attempts are really successful.
The right mix of information and play is required, says Reichert. In didactic applications, the game aspect is sometimes neglected. With the “Moorhuhn”, on the other hand, it worked very well. “But who remembers that was actually marketing for Johnnie Walker?”
The “Climate Buddy” also uses a mix: in order to be able to dress the oaf, you have to complete missions in which you protect the climate. Info texts explain the CO2 footprint and vegan nutrition. The app will be released later this year, Reichert says. “I don’t know if she’ll do well. We’ll see.”