stephen burke & dawn wolfe - converting free users to paid: gamification at autodesk
DESCRIPTION
For software company Autodesk, the 30-day software trial period offered to customers is critical. Trials are a key part of the customer's purchase decision and account for a significant percentage of the company's website traffic. So when the 2013 version of the Autodesk(r) 3ds Max(r) software released, the company turned to digital marketing agency Resource to create a fresh and innovative way to increase trial conversion. Known for consumer research and innovation, Resource developed an online game called "Undiscovered Territory" that took customers on an entertaining and educational journey. The result was a significant increase in trial downloads and usage and the campaign earned a Forrester B2B Groundswell Award. In this session Dan Shust, VP of ResourceLAB at Resource and Dawn Wolfe, Sr. Manager of Integrated Marketing Programs at Autodesk will share insights on what made "Undiscovered Territory" such a hit and why gamification is a marketing approach they will continue to use in the future.TRANSCRIPT
© 2013 Autodesk
Converting Free Users to Paid: Gamification at Autodesk
Dawn Wolfe: Director, Digital Marketing, AutodeskStephen Burke: VP of Mobile and Managing Director, Resource
In-Trial Marketing Objective/Hypothesis Convert Trial users to purchasers
Hypothesis: the more engaged the trial user, the higher the likelihood to buy
Challenge: In 3DS Max analysis, trial users who use trial
3+ times are 2X more likely to buy However, 80% of trial users only open trial
once
Not necessarily a “game” but leverages game mechanics and psychology to engage trial user.
• Contextualize learning tasks and reward players along the path
• Create engagement• Incentivizes, taps into competitive nature• Makes learning our software engaging, supported and
fun
Gamification 101
1st Gamification Pilot
Highlights from data analysis: 54% increase in trial usage15% increase in buy clicks29% increase in channel revenue per trial start
Introduced “gamification” into in-trial marketing with the launch of Undiscovered Territory for 3ds Max Product
Target Audience: special effects graphic designers, game developers
Gamification Pilot: Huge SuccessHighlights from data analysis: 54% increase in trial usage15% increase in buy clicks29% increase in channel revenue per trial start
Won Gartner and Forrester awards…
Gamification: AutoCAD Design SuiteBuilding off the success of the 3ds Max game, we launched “Apocalypse Trigger” with our core market...Goal: entice core market to explore Suite vs. only Hero Product
http://viewstream-media.com/autodesk/apocalypse-switch/final_v3.html
The Missions…
The Learning Experience
Data set
ADS Gamification Results
Nowhere near the results we saw with our other pilot….
Saw a decrease in product usage
What can we learn from this?
So does this mean gamification only works with certain audiences? NO.• Focus on behavior you are trying to
influence• Understand target audience
psychographic• Do the front end-work homework• Might be a game, might be leveraging
how games motivate• Awards? Badges? Prizes? Not ?• How can we entice trialers into
engagement? • What is really making this work? The
contextual guided learning? The “game of it”? Prizes?
Not necessarily a “game” but leverages game mechanics and psychology to engage trial user.
• Do the homework to REALLY understand psychographic, not just demographic
• Behavior Analysis• Contextualize learning tasks and reward players along
the path
Go Back to Gamification 101
Current Test: Starting Small
Progress bar
Current Test showing 8% lift
Next Steps: Link to training module progress
Q&A