5 Practical Tips to Gamification for Product Builders with Jorge Mazal

Welcome to the latest issue of the Product Management Learning Series - a series of live streaming events and newsletter articles to help you level up your product career! ??

In our 36th installment, our speaker was Jorge Mazal , an advisor focused on product leadership, strategy, growth, gamification, edtech and fitness tech. Until recently, he was the Chief Product Officer at Duolingo, where he helped lead the company to over 60M MAU, $415M in ARR, and a successful IPO. Prior to that he held various product roles at Zynga, MyFitnessPal, and Lucidchart.??

If you missed the event, you can watch the full event recording here.

Below are the main takeaways from the conversation I had with Jorge:

Gamification can be a valuable strategy for driving behavior change.

Jorge highlighted the concept of gamification as a means to drive specific behaviors. He explained that gamification leverages the irrational aspects of human psychology to influence individuals to engage in desired actions. While it is commonly associated with negative applications like gambling or addiction, Jorge emphasized the potential upside for gamification to be utilized for positive purposes.

Jorge suggested that gamification is particularly effective when it is used to counteract tendencies like laziness or align with the pursuit of virtues. Individuals are more likely to participate in activities that are beneficial when game-like elements are included that make the desired behavior more enjoyable.

There are 3 frameworks to unlock effective gamification: The Core Loop, Core Game vs. Metagame, and Player Profiles.

Jorge introduced three frameworks for implementing gamification effectively. The first framework is the Core Loop, commonly found in games where players progress through levels, face challenges, and receive rewards. Jorge explained that by incorporating a repetitive cycle of increasing effort and reward, products can feel more like games.

The second framework is the core game vs. metagame. Jorge drew parallels to popular games like Super Mario Bros and Candy Crush to explain this concept. The core game refers to the individual gameplay experience, such as completing individual levels in Super Marios Bros. The metagame, on the other hand, encompasses the larger narrative or map within which the core game lives. In Super Mario Bros this is saving Princess Peach from Bowser.? For Candy Crush, you have a core game of matching but there’s a meta game of a path you have to progress.? In Duolingo, the core game is completing lessons with the metagame encompassing features like leaderboards, streaks, and the path on the home screen.

The third framework involves considering different player profiles and their motivations. Jorge identified four types: mastery-driven individuals, competitive players, collaborators, and social connectors. These profiles tap into providing a sense of skill improvement, competition, collaboration, and social interaction respectively.? Successful games like soccer or basketball tap into all those profiles simultaneously. When designing products, experiment how you can mix and match these elements to enhance user engagement and satisfaction.

Identify the specific behavior you want to change and utilize metrics and other game mechanics to drive the desired change.

Jorge shared the key to successfully implementing gamification lies in the identification of the key behavior you wish to drive and continuously testing various ideas to achieve that objective. For instance, in a B2B SaaS scenario, Jorge gave an example of how HubSpot could encourage its business users to send effective email campaigns by providing open rate benchmarks specific to their industry and highlighting rank to foster a sense of competition.?

Jorge added that by utilizing metrics, comparative benchmarks, rewards, and progress tracking, businesses can effectively shape user behavior and drive meaningful outcomes. The success hinges on aligning specific behaviors with engaging game mechanics and consistently evaluating and refining the approach to achieve desired results.

Personalize rewards based on user profiles and harness the power of intrinsic motivation for long-term engagement.?

Jorge stated that different individuals are motivated by different factors. Not everyone will respond to the same rewards, and tailoring approaches based on user profiles is essential. Rewards can be categorized into extrinsic and intrinsic types. While extrinsic rewards are easier to implement, intrinsic rewards tap into personal meaning and values, making them more powerful and scalable long term. For instance, in Duolingo, winning the diamond league or achieving a 100-day streak provides a sense of accomplishment, commitment, and self-mastery, an intrinsic reward one can brag about.?

Align rewards with the core product purpose to leverage gamification to guide users toward the desired behaviors.

Jorge cautioned not to overdo gamification or misalign it with the primary purpose of the product. When gamification elements overshadow the product’s core value proposition, users may lose sight of the main objective. For instance, in Duolingo, the use of experience points initially led to unintended consequences, with users pursuing activities that didn't align with learning. To course-correct, the point system was realigned to reward learning and discourage activities that didn't contribute to this goal.

While negative outcomes in implementation can occur, they often indicate a need for adjustments rather than rendering gamification ineffective. Striking the right balance between rewards, aligning them with core objectives, and continuously evaluating and refining the approach are crucial to ensuring gamification enhances the user experience and supports the desired behaviors.

Learn more about the story behind Duolingo's 350% growth acceleration, leaderboards, streaks, notifications, and innovative growth model from Jorge’s guest post for Lenny’s Newsletter here.?

Additional gems from Jorge:

?? Tonal, a subscription-based fitness equipment, is Jorge’s favorite product.

?? Ken Norton is one of Jorge’s product role models.

?? Jorge recommends playing games and think of its translation into your own product.

?? Special kudos to Niarcas Jeffrey for writing this article.

Next up, don’t miss out on an important live conversation with Jiaona Zhang (JZ) , SVP of Product at Webflow , on navigating the Product career & embracing the Product way of thinking! ??

?? RSVP here (Replay available upon registration)

Next up,

• May 19: Navigating the Product Career & Embracing Product Way of Thinking with Jiaona Zhang
• June 2: Building Empowered Product Teams & Inspiring Products with Marty Cagan
• June 16: Navigating the ‘Beautiful Mess’ of Product Development with John Cutler
• August 11: From Founding Product School to Helping Others Landing Product Jobs

More sessions coming… subscribe to stay tuned!?

Learn more about the Product Management Learning Series and view past recordings here.