Gamification stuff we love: a glass of water to change behaviour

Gamification stuff we love: A glass of water to change behaviour

Last week I was reminded of a very simple behaviour change technique, namely using a glass of water to change driving behaviour. The aim of the campaign was to encourage more eco-friendly driving and it was estimated if all drivers in Sweden drove with a glass of water on their dashboard up to 2 million tones of carbon emissions could be saved. The aim of driving with a glass of water is obviously to arrive at your destination without spilling a drop.

Toyota’s campaign reckoned a glass of water is all it takes to improve fuel efficiency of driving your car by 10%. As the campaign launched they handed out glasses of water for people to put on their dashboard and drive with, without spilling. They had also done tests perviously on the impact of driving with a glass of water on the dashboard and aiming to drive without spilling a drop.

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Obviously driving with water on the dashboard isn’t necessarily everyone’s idea of driving smarter, hence they also designed an app to mimic the glass of water whilst driving. They measured your distance, where exactly you spilled and also you could see how you compared with others on a leaderboard. If you are up to take the test, you can still participate on the glass of water website.

So whilst some well known gamification techniques such as leaderboards and progress tracking are used, challenging your friends was an additional fun element and the whole concept because of it’s ability to use an every day item as the key element to change behaviour were innovative and creative.

Have you taken the challenge? Or will you?