Asian banks embracing gamification in social media and Internet banking
Financial institutions have been toying with gamification techniques for the last ten years. Is Asia ready to take the leap? February 26, 2013 | Levina LimBefore 2010, the term “gamification” was one hardly discussed beyond the boundaries of video games, social networking sites and online education. Given the conservative perception of banking, it wasn’t a word one would expect associated with a bank – there is no room for games in the serious business of banking, and bankers generally aren’t into games. However, even before gamification gained the buzz it had of late, financial institutions had in fact been experimenting with online interactive games since the turn of the century. Driven primarily by the need to drive greater customer engagement, banks have been visibly more actively incorporating gamification by applying game mechanics to increase customer ‘stickiness’ to their products and services. Taking a page from game developers, who have successfully enticed many youths into hours upon hours of game immersion; in some cases bordering upon addiction, banks are toying with gamification through websites and social media, as well as the internet and mobile banking space. Online games provide a means for banks to market their brand to potential customers in a competitive environment. Several banks have found it worthwhile to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into gamification. Deserving mention is Barclays’ 56 Sage Street. Launched in mid-2010, its objective was to engage younger consumers in a life simulation at a virtual city where players can manage money and work up the financial ladder. At the core of gamification is the application of game mechanics to deepen engagement with the ‘player’ via various enticements to evoke desirable behaviours. 56 Sage Street uses a variety of carefully placed awards upon every milestone achieved to encourage desirable actions and keep the game challenging for its players, comparable to badges accumulated by popular location-based social networking website, Foursquare which awards badges to users for checking in at locations. An... Please login to read the complete article. If you already have an account, you can login now or subscribe/register.
Categories: Channels, Customer Centricity, Mobile Banking, Retail Banking, Technology & OperationsChannels,Customer Centricity,Mobile banking,retail,technology, Channels,Customer Centricity,Mobile Banking,Retail Banking,Technology & Operations, Keywords:Gamification, Barclays, CBA, BBVA, ICICI Bank, CIMB Bank Gamification, Barclays, CBA, BBVA, ICICI Bank, CIMB Bank
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