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What a sporty summer! Beyond the classics like the Tour de France, Roland Garros, and the wild mosh pits at Paléo, summer 2024 spoiled us with major events such as the Copa América (not to be confused with the delicious coppa), UEFA Euro, and most importantly, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Among this impressive list, what excites me the most is, of course, the coppa (with two p’s), but let’s focus on the Olympic Games for this article. Don't worry, this won't be a sports article.
In the past, we had the chance to attend the Games in Rio 2016, PyeongChang 2018, Lausanne 2020, Tokyo 2020, and Beijing 2022 through various projects. These experiences gave us a unique, emotional, and educational immersion in the heart of the Olympic village, surrounded by athletes who dedicate their lives to their discipline.
We weren’t physically in Paris this year, but our digital project, which we have been developing since PyeongChang, was there! So, we closely followed the activities within the Olympic village. Maybe you missed this Huffington Post article, but it highlights a well-known frenzy: athletes passionately collect pins from different delegations!
The Olympic Games celebrate diversity, bringing together people of all ages and cultures (shout out to Zheng Haohao, 11, Skateboarding, and Mary Hanna, 69, Equestrian!). Traditional communication methods, based on socio-demographic factors, prove ineffective here. However, the passion for collecting pins, as mentioned in the Post article and witnessed firsthand, shows that gamification can be a powerful tool to engage athletes and their entourages. By using specific behavioural triggers, we create a captivating and enriching experience.
At the Olympics, the motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together” embodies much more than just a mantra. It represents a mindset, a collective pursuit of excellence, where every athlete, regardless of their country or discipline, shares a common goal: to excel by pushing each other to new heights. This spirit is what we aimed to capture and amplify through the mobile game we've been developing since PyeongChang 2018.
From the beginning, our ambition was to create an experience that transcends mere competition, integrating educational and cultural elements at the heart of the gameplay. How do we capture the attention of these champions, and immerse them in a world where they feel as stimulated as in their training, while also delivering essential messages? The answer lies in a carefully crafted formula of gamification, which not only rewards raw performance but also values curiosity, interaction, and learning.
The game we designed immerses athletes in a quest where each step is an opportunity to discover historical facts, cultural anecdotes, or key information about the represented countries. The quizzes and interactive challenges are not random: they are carefully calibrated to fuel their competitiveness while subtly introducing educational content. Every success in the game leads to the collection of exclusive pins, and every failure motivates them to try again – and in doing so, learn more and more.
What makes our approach so effective is the synergy between athletes' intrinsic motivation to excel and our ability to seamlessly inject educational content in an engaging way. The ultimate reward – a unique collection of pins, created for each edition of the Games – is not just a symbol of personal achievement but also a tangible proof of shared knowledge and values. This collection, a result of their efforts in the game, becomes a metaphor for the Olympic experience itself: a journey full of challenges, discoveries, and self-improvement, "together."
This is where the true success of our project lies: turning a simple game into an immersive educational platform where every player, whether an athlete or part of their entourage, leaves not only with a material reward but with a rewarding and memorable experience where knowledge and competitiveness harmoniously coexist.
When applied wisely, gamification has transformed the way we engage and communicate with athletes in the Olympic village. By tapping into their desire for achievement, their competitiveness, and their attraction to rewards, we can create an authentic and memorable connection. The exceptional results of the game during this edition reflect the perfect balance we've found between audience expectations and project objectives. As we continue to innovate and develop gamification strategies, we must always keep these behavioural triggers in mind to maximize the impact of our initiatives.
🖊️ Shared with 💛 by Quentin.
