Google Inc., Recyclebank and the consumer insights agency ROI Research released a joint report on the social effects of online contests, rewards and interactive content. According to the study, online activities and games can engage people around social and environmental issues, and influence offline behavior change.
Photo: www.sustainablelifemedia.com

Recyclebank is the company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions. The report, conducted in April during Recyclebank’s nationwide Green Your Home Challenge, reveals gaming techniques, often referred to as gamification, can influence individuals along the spectrum of sustainability in real life.

It is highlighted in the study that gamification refers to the practice of using games in non-game environments as a way to encourage people to adopt desired behaviors. Games can drive people to take positive social and environmental actions and impact actual green actions. 54% of existing members and 58% of new members said they are very or extremely likely to take green actions as a result of participating in the Challenge.

Games are an effective and appealing educational tool, claimed in the study. 86% agreed online games and contests can be a good way for companies and brands to inform and educate them personally, and 73% thought games/contests are a good way for companies to interact with consumers in general.

In total, nearly 49,000 individuals participated in the Challenge. 97% of the Challenge participants surveyed said the game increased their knowledge about how to help the environment.

“Gaming for good is an incredibly exciting area of study, and through this report we’ve gleaned some valuable insights into how it can be leveraged to inspire people to action,” said Scott Haiges, president of ROI Research. “Not all games are created equal, however; through our research and Google’s powerful analytics, we learned that to truly engage around a cause or issue, games should be educational and interactive; make an online and offline connection; and have social elements that enable the participant to get their friends involved.”

ROI Research and Google also are teaming up with Recyclebank to measure the effectiveness of the company’s future challenges. The first of it the Green Your Vacation Contest launched last week and is showing participants how they can make their vacations greener.

Google has recently presented the new social network Google+.