The Situation
In 2016, komoot was one of many outdoor apps. The platform thrives on user generated content – tour recommendations, photos, reviews. But how do you ensure the quality of this content without restricting the community's freedom? And how do you motivate users to become active in areas where hardly anyone has been yet?
The Idea
The Pioneers Programme. Through gamification, we created incentives to continuously improve and safeguard the quality of user generated content on the platform – through smart community engagement, self-regulation and rewards.
Good recommendations, photo contributions and their ratings by other users were rewarded with points. Users who had contributed a certain number of posts in a region and sport earned the "Expert" badge. Whoever had accumulated the most points in an area became a "Pioneer" – with the incentive to keep posting to stay on top.
This motivated users to map highlights even in areas with fewer active users – for example while on holiday in other countries. This ultimately enabled the shift from a local to a global community.
In Retrospect
Today, komoot is one of the most popular outdoor apps worldwide. The Pioneers Programme has been running almost unchanged since 2016.
My Contribution
Conception and implementation of the Pioneers Programme: gamification mechanics, community strategy, copy and visual communication.