Incentives, Augmented Reality, and Pokémon GO
How gaming communities can teach us about virtual events and member engagement
Incentivization is a topic that is always in the back of my mind. As community builders, part of our job is to figure out how to incentivize our members to perform actions that we want or need them to do. It’s easy to think that we can either mandate that our community will be or act a certain way simply by changing the rules or that we can use systems like points and leaderboards to gamify the behavior. But, what if we just…made it easier and more fun for them to do the thing?
Putting on my change management hat, there are a few questions that we must think about when we consider how to incentivize member behavior:
What do we want them to do?
Do they know how?
How difficult is it for them to do?
Why should they do it?
What are the consequences if they don’t do it?
For inspiration, let’s look at a gaming community that has recently become a part of my day-to-day life: Pokémon GO.
I’ve recently started playing Pokémon GO with my kids and, honestly y’all, I’m a bit obsessed. Many of the critters are super cute, but, as a fully remote worker, it mostly just gives me a reason to leave the house (lest I run out of pokéballs).
For the uninitiated, Pokémon GO is a mobile game by developer studio, Niantic, that takes advantage of virtual (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology to immerse the player in a world just like ours that is filled with pokémon. Players must move about in the real world to find and catch pokémon, spin pokéstops for supplies, fight other players for control of virtual gyms, and work together to defeat extra-tough pokémon in group raids.
Build local communities and remove friction.
Like any good multi-player online game, Pokémon GO naturally cultivates virtual communities. Even before Niantic launched its social app, Campfire, players gathered informally in subreddits, Discord servers, and other player-friendly spaces online to share tactics, strategies, and analysis of the game’s mechanics. Because of its reliance on physical locality, however, Pokémon GO also has the bonus effect of bringing together local players in a way that makes it as easy as possible for players to participate.
In my small town in Oregon, there are only a few central gathering places: the park in the middle of town where bands sometimes play on warm nights in the summer, the local library where high school students, avid readers, and small children all assemble, and the town swimming pool in the large central park, home to summer swimming lessons, tag, and sunburns. The sound of children’s playful shrieks and giggles fills the air in each of these places, but what you are less likely to notice is the pre-teens walking around with mobile devices, swirling their fingers on the screen, and celebrating their latest successful catch (or bemoaning a failed attempt to defeat a legendary or capture a shiny).
Pokéstops are landmarks only visible to players in the app, giving them an almost exclusive feeling that anyone not playing the game would be oblivious to. It’s like a secret handshake or clubhouse that only players know about. For example, I know there are about six different pokéstops in the immediate vicinity of the town library, which means that if I want to join a raid, capture a gym, or refill my stock of pokéballs, I can head to the library and consistently be able to engage with other players if I choose to. I don’t have to queue or join a group. There’s no required organization or schedule. I can simply show up when it’s convenient for me. This allows me to engage on my own terms, which makes it far more likely that I will participate.
Drive collaboration and competition with shared identities.
When you first set up your Pokémon GO account, you’ll be prompted to choose to join one of three teams: Valor (Red), Mystic (Blue), and Instinct (Yellow). Each team leader (pictured below) will explain the different philosophies that dictate the team’s actions and priorities. Choose carefully because you can only change teams once a year, at great cost in in-game currency.
The most important role of your team identity is to connect you with other players on the same team. Together, you can challenge, takeover, and defend in-game gyms, which are strategic pokéstops that attract large, unique pokémon, and offer bonus rewards to the team that is currently holding the gym.
In my town, there is an abundance of yellow team players, who often hold many of the gyms. Being on the blue team means that my kids and I have to either group together to challenge those gyms or serendipitously join other blue team players in their challenge. Despite having no idea who the other players are, this gives us the opportunity to feel a sense of connection and shared experiences to the local community of players.
Bring people together for shared objectives.
Okay, so let’s get to the challenge that actually prompted this analysis. A few weeks ago, a challenge to make 1 BILLION “nice throws” appeared in my quest log. This astronomical challenge was not specific to me as an individual player, nor was it a challenge to a particular team. This was a GLOBAL challenge, requiring every player to contribute to the group effort in order to succeed.
Let’s break down what makes this challenge so effective:
What’s in it for me? The incentives are presented right up front, including unique and exclusive experiences only accessible by completing the challenge. Everyone, regardless of how much or whether they participate or not, benefits from achieving this shared objective. And, everyone loses those benefits if the group doesn’t achieve its goal.
What do I have to do? A “nice throw” is a mechanism of trying to catch new pokémon, so it’s already part of the game and not a new behavior the game is trying to convince its players to adopt. This makes the barrier to participation very low. It’s also a lower tier of achievement in the game than, say, a “great throw” or the top tier “excellent throw.” This removes the requirement to be an exceptional player in order to participate.
Is this even possible to achieve? The challenge page is visible from inside the game, making this page and the updates it provides on progress, a central part of the player’s experience. You can see how much progress has been made, how much time is left, and how much you’ve personally contributed to the effort. This information gives players a sense of real-time progress, making the goal seem much more likely to be achievable.
What happens if we fail? Nothing. Literally nothing happens. You don’t get the added bonuses, but otherwise, the game experience remains the same and there is no punishment. Therefore, there should be no negativity associated with failure. This has the positive effect of limiting feelings of potential risk (of failing) that might make some players hesitate to participate. i.e. What do you have to lose by trying? Nothing.
Why do I love this challenge as a community manager?
I love this challenge because it brings together the entire global community working towards a tangible and impactful goal. Is it going to save the environment or solve for poverty and world hunger? No. But it makes everyone who plays feel like they are connected in this mission to achieve something special together.
This type of challenge overcomes any potential barriers that we sometimes encounter when running collaborative challenges, like timezone and language. It allows people to participate if, when, and how much they want to without friction. It is easy to engage with and participate in. It doesn’t require the community manager to pester members to participate because if they play the game, they are already contributing. And, there’s no negative impact if the goal isn’t achieved. It’s all carrot and no stick.
Selfishly, as a community leader, I also see the benefits of running a campaign like this to generate a few valuable things, namely metrics.
Overall active community membership
Active community engagement by region
Effectiveness at re-engaging with inactive players
Top players/contributors (note: these are potential advocates!)
What else do you see that we could quantify from this challenge?
When you attend a concert, conference, or other one-time event, you might end up taking home a t-shirt or other SWAG that is specific to that event. A virtual event is no different. People who attended or participated can spot others who have also participated by their unique SWAG. The “nice throws” global challenge gave players the sense of nostalgia and exclusivity associated with exclusive items and experiences that are only available to those who were playing during the event. The benefits of completing this challenge directly tied into the players’ purpose for being in this community. i.e. What do players expect to get by participating in a gaming community? I’d wager that “in-game benefits” is in the top three entries on that wishlist. As an added bonus, virtual SWAG tends to have a much smaller footprint in both your budget and the environment than physical SWAG like branded t-shirts.
This challenge inspired me to continue to look for excellent examples of community building in non-traditional formats. As the community role in the organization continues to evolve, we too, must evolve in our understanding of how to build robust and active communities in the future.
Did you learn something from this example that got you thinking about your next engagement campaign?
Until next time,
Jamie
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