Life’s a game

Computer gaming is huge and smart utilities are using its popularity and reach to their own ends. Andrew Williams reports

Gamification is the use of “game thinking” and game mechanics to engage customers and employees, taking the best ideas from games, loyalty programmes and behavioural economics to drive behaviour change. Several utilities have tried it, so what has been their experience? Here are two examples.

In the bag for Wessex Water

Wessex Water’s digital media manager, Clive Tugwell, says that around three-quarters of pipe blockages involve disposable items that should not have been thrown down the toilet, costing British householders millions of pounds annually in plumbing bills. To tackle the issue, his company created Bag It and Bin It, an interactive iPad and iPhone app, which challenges players to choose the best way to dispose of random objects that are often flushed down the toilet.

“It is a simple, fun challenge and delivers the important environmental message that by disposing of unsightly products responsibly, beaches, rivers and canals can be protected, harm to marine environment and wildlife avoided and sewerage system blockages prevented,” says Tugwell.

There are different versions of the app depending on the age of the user, and Tugwell says that players, who can download the app free from app stores, “must bin toothbrushes, plasters and false teeth while they can flush toilet paper, rainwater and poo down the loo”.

In the 15 months since its launch, the app has been downloaded more than 50,000 times and has a user rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. Tugwell says the number of downloads far outweighed expectations

“We had expected [to deal with] large numbers of additional blockages each year as a result of private sewer transfer and after the first six months post transfer have seen around a quarter of expectations,” he says. “While this cannot be solely attributable to the app – lack of customer awareness, initially benign weather and private contractors carrying out work on our assets must also be taken into account – we believe the app may have played its part as well.”

The latest update to Bag it and Bin it, which introduces fat, oil and grease (Fog), was launched in December – a hotspot for Fog problems given all the Christmas roasts. A new level of play was added to the game to raise awareness of the problems caused to drains and kitchen pipework by throwing fats down the sink.

Tugwell’s advice to other water utilities interested in using gamification techniques would be to ensure they have “a clear message to convey and a clear objective to achieve”. He adds: “Target the game accordingly and use simple and clear techniques to deliver messages. Above all keep it simple.”

Scottish Water’s treasure island

Scottish Water has developed a range of interactive activities aimed specifically at primary school children, including three games: Robopoop, Interactive Island and The Island Game.

Lorna Hamilton, senior marketing project manager at Scottish Water, says the key objectives of the games are that children find them a ‘”fun and engaging way to learn about water, the water cycle and water and wastewater treatment”. They have proved popular not just with children, but also with teachers who are looking for “useful and relevant resources to help them teach water-related topics”.

Hamilton’s view is that games make learning seem more fun and allow companies to engage with future customers from an early age, meaning that they “can grow up with your messages” and, by the time they become a customer, “know who you are and understand the value of the services you are delivering”.

She adds: “Companies need to ensure that their channels of communication move with the times and technology, while recognising the benefits that interactive activities such as gamification can provide to engage customers and make learning messages seem more fun.”

Andrew Williams is a freelance journalist

This article first appeared in Utility Week’s print edition of 25th January 2013.

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