‘Game Theory’ Eyed To Snag CU Gen Yers

MADISON, Wis. – New marketing strategies that focus on electronic game-playing could help in attracting millions of young people to credit unions, according to a new study issued this morning by the Filene Research Institute: Get in the Game: How Credit Unions Can Engage Members, Solve Problems, and Improve Skills with Game Thinking.

That’s because games are fun, while personal finances are boring or overwhelming, says the credit union think tank. “Games help people escape reality; personal finances force an outright confrontation with it,” says the new study.

Filene made three key findings:

• Game players expect feedback for nearly every action they take so credit unions must shorten the feedback loop associated with positive (and negative) member financial behaviors;

• Game players are more likely to enjoy and become intrinsically motivated to play a game when it allows them to experience ideal self characteristics so “gamified financial services” may motivate consumers by allowing them to experience, and learn from, their ideal selves;

• Gamers see outcome certainty as boring so a chance to achieve something new, win a valuable prize, or gain a new experience will add excitement to ordinary tasks.

“The possibilities for applying game thinking to financial services are endless, and their implications may be revolutionary,” says the new study, authored by Matt Davis, director of innovation at the Filene Institute.

Credit union members in their prime borrowing years have played video games their entire lives, he concludes. “Even your most ambitious employees have spent countless hours flinging birds at green pigs, harvesting digital crops, roaming the world of Azeroth, crashing down DK Mountain, or collecting 200 Monopoly dollars by passing “Go.”

“Game thinking is everywhere and is being applied to seemingly everything. With the opportunity to engage audiences, solve problems, improve skills, and have fun, credit unions are doing themselves a disservice by ignoring this reality,” he wrote.

The idea of games as a marketing tool or inducement for certain behavior, like savings, has been expanding among credit unions for the past few years. Michigan credit unions have had great success building new savings by offering members cash prizes to make deposits, while dozens of credit unions have held savings contests. And just last week BECU announced it is teaming with a local company to develop financial games for handheld devices to promote financial literacy and promote savings as a way to attract more Gen Yers.

The Filene Study found that games consume nearly half (49%) of all time spent on mobile apps in the U.S. and 64% of mobile app downloads are games, with 93% of consumers willing to pay for those apps.

But , says the study, consumers spend much less time with their finances. Americans in debt spend only 2.6 hours per month on financial planning and budgeting. This is one-fifth of the time the average American spends playing games or using a computer for leisure.

“The promise of gamification goes deeper than financial returns,” says the new study. “Many are leaning on this concept to transform the way employees are motivated, students learn, humanitarian issues are solved, and people are brought together in the name of progress. The challenge is to inspire business, government, community, and thought leaders to think about the world like game designers. A little bit of fun can go a long way.”