Gamification Certification Level 2 Project for the Engagement Alliance The key motivation for blood donors is intrinsic – people want to help others. Qualifying potential donors who are not intrinsically motivated, can be, to a degree, motivated extrinsically. Gamification can help with that by targeting potential donors with the use of appropriate game mechanics.

1. Gamifying the National Blood
Service of Latvia
by Natalija Knaidele
A presentation for Level 2 of
Gamification Certification for the Engagement Alliance.
All opinions in the presentation are those of the author.

2. Presentation requirements
• Choose a non-profit organization, cause-based group or startup for
social good.
• Figure out how gamification can help them, using at least 3 GAME
MECHANICS and 2 PLAYER TYPES. What we want here is a
creative idea.
• Create a presentation that lays out your idea for how to help. You
can illustrate it, or simply describe your ideas. We want to see the
essential creative idea.
• Remember to clearly state the problem you're trying to help them
solve and how you're proposing gamification can solve it.
• Submit this presentation with an application to the Engagement
Alliance.

3. Personal disclaimer
• I am not a blood donor
• I am squeamish when I go in for blood tests (runs in the
family somewhat)
• But I would definitely donate if my family and friends
needed help!
• This made me think that, with the correct external
motivation, I could be persuaded to participate in an
intelligently designed blood drive program
• Blood donations are vitally necessary to many people

4. NBSL – status quo
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NBSL is a state-owned, well-known, established organization with a number
of long-term, repeated donors, and a database of potential donors where
anyone can submit an application to be added to the database and called
upon if supplies of their blood type run low
NBSL has several long-term media partners, like national television, printed
and online media, and large companies, that help promote the
organization’s regular and seasonal blood drive campaigns
The government rewards blood donors with:
– a free holiday
– $6 lunch money
NBSL has several nationwide offices and a blood drive bus that travels
across the country to visit certain cities, companies or events all year round
NBSL has a website donori.lv, a local social network page and a Twitter
account that inform of blood drive bus routes, campaigns, rewards and
other NBSL news

5. Gamifying NBSL
• What is the donors’ motivation? What are the types of
donors according to their motivation?
• What does NBSL currently do to motivate donors?
• Is the main problem in ensuring repeated donations or in
attracting new donors?
• What can NBSL do depending on the donor type?
• Gamification borrows from games, loyalty programs and
behavioral economics. What 3 game mechanics can be
used to motivate donors? What player types should the
engagement program focus on?

6. Key aspect: the potential donor
• The key motivation for blood donors is intrinsic – they want to help:
– people in general (no external trigger)
– someone they don’t know but who has just been in an accident and has
a compatible blood type (external trigger via information from NBSL or a
media plea)
– their friends or relatives in danger (powerful external trigger)
• Not everyone can donate blood for different reasons
– weight, health condition, infections and ilnesses
– psychological reasons (e.g. aversion to blood) etc.
• Qualifying potential donors who are not intrinsically motivated, can
be, to a degree, motivated extrinsically – some already are, by the
government-guaranteed holiday and the message in the media that
it is ‘the right thing to do’

7. Current NBSL extrinsic motivation policies
• Campaigns in TV, printed and online media, within organizations
• Loyalty card for those donating blood or blood components more
than 3 times a year, which can be presented to obtain discounts with
participating service providers
• NBSL website has a live 360-degree tour of its offices and the blood
drive bus (with a map)
• NBSL has an annual concert called the Love Festival, which
happens around Valentine’s Day and features many Latvian
musicians, with nationwide blood drives organized before the
festival. Donors get free access to the concert
• Blood supply indicator on NBSL website by
blood type

8. Engaging potential donors
• NBSL has a motivation program for existing donors
• The government supports donor on-boarding
• NBSL is very capable of setting up blood drives via its offices and
the blood drive bus
• Yet what happens after the first donation is crucial. Unless the
person is intrinsically motivated to help (‘hooked’), she might
feel exploited for her precious blood, or use the holiday, go to
the festival and that’s it
• Gamification can help by updating the existing motivation
system with long-term extrinsically motivating elements of
status, rewards and engaging activities, including those in the
donor’s social circles

9. Appropriate Bartle’s player types and types of
activities
• Achievers. Donors who will try to maximize the number
of donations (since that would be the most valuable
activity) and other possible ways of earning points
• Socializers (and Explorers). Might want to maximize
donations, but are likely to donate less than the
maximum number or times and actively participate in
other activities and socialization throughout the country
• According to Jon Radoff’s system: many players and a
quantitative result implies a COMPETITION-type
game, but we can also make on-boarding fun via
COOPERATION to spread the word about blood drives.

10. Appropriate game mechanics
• Point system for all actions
– donation – the most valuable
– organizing and participating in social events for donors
– spreading the word about blood donation, attracting new donors
• Rewards
– Point-based competition with prizes from NBSL partners
culminating with an awards ceremony at the Love Festival
• Badges and achievements
– Work with universities and organizations to encourage installing
internal leaderboards
– Work with draugiem.lv (popular Latvian Facebook analog) to
implement shareable social badges

11. By Natalija Knaidele
natalija.knaidele@gmail.com
@Knaidele
THANK YOU
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