Introducing ZibunQuest, a Corporate O2O Service for Smartphone Users:
Fast, Low-cost Sales Support through Gamification

Hakuhodo DY Media Partners Incorporated (HDYMP) has begun offering ZibunQuest, a corporate O2O* service for smartphone users that delivers fast, low-cost sales support through gamification. HDYMP is based out of Minato-ku, Tokyo and is headed by president and CEO Hisao Omori.

Gamification is the use of gaming strategies to engage people’s interest and get them to have fun outside of a gaming context, and it has several powerful business applications. More companies have been looking to gamification in recent years as a way to attract customers and promote sales, but most of them have had to start from scratch—developing their own special programs that use gamification to encourage customer purchases. Now, however ZibunQuest uses a shared basic program to provide this service to multiple companies, allowing businesses to introduce gamification in a way that is both quicker and more cost effective.

ZibunQuest allows smartphone users to visit a special website where they can play games called “quests”. There are several types of quests, including sightseeing adventures, shop visits, stamp collection rallies, competitions to watch the highest number of sporting events, and more. Participants register through their existing social media accounts prior to playing the games, allowing them to share their quest progress and results with their online friends.

Client companies pose a variety of challenges to the online quest participants, allowing businesses to promote sales, attract customers, and provide information on their products and services. The GPS-powered check-in function on customers’ smartphones is used to record their position, and the software then sends them videos or quizzes based on where they are. Companies can also control what information is sent out at what time. Finally, the program collects statistics like page views, unique users, participant information (e.g. gender, age, home location), the time of day, and so on, which can then be analyzed so that companies can quickly recognize any problems with the quest and promptly resolve them. The program is perfect for business clients in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, sales, travel, event planning, and more.

The development planning for this service was done by Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, while website design was handled by Tsunagaru Kagaku Corporation (Tsunaken). Program development itself was carried out by Hampstead.

Hakuhodo DY Media Partners will continue to seek out new possibilities in gamification and other cutting-edge marketing technologies—taking development and application to new heights in the exciting world of digital devices.