Recyclebank, ROI Research and Google Partner to Measure Impact of Gamification on Green Behaviors

(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) NEW YORK, NY—WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2011—Recyclebank®, the company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from more than 3,000 local and national businesses, today announced it has partnered with consumer insights agency ROI Research and Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) to measure how gaming techniques can impact individuals’ behaviors when applied to environmental causes.    

The partnership will focus on Recyclebank’s Earth Month “Green Your Home Challenge”, a nationwide consumer contest that runs from April 1 through April 30 and uses several gamification techniques to motivate green behaviors. ROI Research will track the effectiveness of the initiative’s marketing strategies, seeking to better understand the impact the game has on consumer engagement with the brand. Google will leverage a beta version of Google Analytics to measure member participation levels both on the Recyclebank website as well as through the various digital components of the Challenge including the ROI of paid media, the viral nature of the Challenge and conversion metrics within the Challenge. This includes quizzes, polls and a series of Recyclebank’s Learn & Earn opportunities, which reward individuals for engaging with sustainability-related digital education content.   The Green Your Home Challenge aims to bridge the divide between online and offline green actions, rewarding consumers for completing a range of easy to more difficult sustainability-related challenges to drive them through the engagement funnel toward true behavior change. A central element of the initiative is the use of gamification, which refers to the process of using game mechanics in otherwise non-game environments. More details on the Challenge and its innovative gamification components are available on the contest website at http://greenyourhome.recyclebank.com or through the official contest announcement at http://www.recyclebank.com/corporateinfo/index/pressreleasearticle/id/128.     "Google is excited to be partnering with Recyclebank and ROI Research on this green initiative. It’s a great opportunity for us to showcase the power of Google Analytics, while continuing to have a positive impact on the world,” said Sophie Chesters, product marketing manager at Google. “For this project, we’ve leveraged a variety of product features such as event tracking, tracking for Adobe Flash, and tracking events as goals—a feature new to our most recently released version of Google Analytics—to help track how many daily challenges site visitors are participating in. We will continue to work with both teams throughout Earth Month to help analyze the impact that gamification has on driving people to interact with and share the challenge as they take positive steps toward improving the environment.”   “Recyclebank is devoted to making a measurable and trackable positive impact on the planet,” said Javier Flaim, senior vice president of global marketing at Recyclebank. “To date, we have seen enormous success with our home recycling rewards program using foundational gaming techniques. As we expand our efforts to the digital realm, it’s just as important to understand and best maximize the impact we’re having on consumer behavior. The insights we gain from our partnership with ROI Research and Google Analytics will help us better understand what truly motivates individuals to take positive environmental actions, and ensure future Recyclebank initiatives are designed to make the largest difference on the environment.”   “The decision to bring the analytic muscle of Google and ROI together with Recyclebank’s approach to educating through foundational gaming techniques unfolded naturally,” said Scott Haiges, president of ROI Research. “We work regularly with both of these innovators, and the combined analytic approach will help ensure a methodologically sound and effective program as Recyclebank expands its gamification efforts online.”   ABOUT RECYCLEBANK Recyclebank helps create a more sustainable future by rewarding people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals from more than 3,000 local and national businesses. Through its online platform and partnerships with municipalities, haulers, small businesses and corporate brands, Recyclebank is empowering individuals to make a collective impact on the environment by increasing household recycling, reducing household energy usage and taking other environmentally-preferred actions. Recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme and for Outstanding Excellence in Public/Private Partnerships from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Recyclebank is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.Recyclebank.com.   ABOUT ROI RESEARCH ROI Research Inc. is a leader in consumer insights and multi-channel consumer behaviors. Since 2002, ROI has provided its clients with data-driven marketing strategies that optimize marketers’ ability to communicate with consumers for acquisition targeting, viral propagation, and to drive consumers deeper into the engagement funnel. ROI leverages a number of proprietary tools and technologies to gain an in-depth understanding of consumer attitudes and behaviors, then works closely with its clients to develop, implement, and measure the effect of strategic marketing initiatives. Top businesses that rely on ROI Research for marketing insights include: Microsoft, Google, Epsilon and Genentech. For more information, please visit www.roiresearch.com.   ABOUT GOOGLE Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.   # # #