Grant Wells

“ Playing with Money There are several examples of successful products and services that use or have used gaming principles to achieve market success. One example is Mint.com, a financial management tool that leverages gaming principles to successfully capture and expand its market. Following its launch in 2007, Mint.com fundamentally changed the experience of financial management, by making the tracking of personal finances fun. In so doing, Mint.com created a new market, targeting people who viewed financial management as a formidable task without ever achieving tangible results. The service rewards users for activities that keep their “financial fitness” in check, similar to how gamers earn achievements in video games. By saving money, avoiding bank fees, or coming in under budget, the user collects Mint points that contribute to a total financial score. Users identify financially responsible behaviors (the right behavior) and avoid financially irresponsible behaviors (the wrong behaviors) to maximize points received while competing with others with similar goals. Visual feedback informs users on how to improve their financial performance, and ultimately achieve their financial goals. While other companies tried to compete with more sophisticated features and the latest financial add-ons, Mint.com beat the competition by creating a product based on understanding human behavior and changing that behavior. Intuit, the makers of Quicken, recognized that they were losing their competitive advantage to a start-up targeting a new and growing demographic and acquired Mint.com for $170 million in 2009. ”