Gamification and its impact on real-world issues

In 2019, GPay launched a #StampsWaliDiwali campaign where 67 million users tried to collect all 5 Diwali stamps and win ₹251 cash reward.

Last year, eCommerce startup Pinduoduo reached 868 million+ active buyers to overtake Alibaba as the #1 eCommerce platform in China.

Starbucks has a gamified loyalty program in its App that generates 50% of the company’s revenue (roughly $8 billion).

There are many such examples of companies using Gamification for customer engagement and growth.

However, one question that a lot of people keep asking me -

Can Gamification be used to solve real-world problems?

Here are 4 examples for all of them to understand how Gamification has contributed towards a better future.

Gamification to help children fight cancer

4 lacs children suffer from cancer every year.

To diagnose them better, doctors ask them to maintain a journal and measure their pain levels.

The problem is - Cancer is a very lonely affair for a child. They are often extremely exhausted after chemotherapy and the last thing they want to do is update a journal.

Dr. Jennifer Stinson from SickKids Hospital in Canada found the perfect solution. She developed an App called Pain Squad.

Pain Squad is a murder mystery game that turns cancer patients into detectives.

As the name suggests, the biggest villain in the game is ‘Pain’. Cancer patients aged 8-18 fill out a pain report that helps the squad solve a murder mystery. The more reports kids submit, the more they are rewarded with higher ranks as a detective.