OTHER UNIVERSE - Gamification

Agency: Redberry Creative Director: Nina Modebadze; Tokareshka; Achi Oragvelidze Head of Design: Mari Gvakharia Art Director: Mari Gvakharia, Katie Silagadze, Nika Minashvili Senior Copywriter: Anuca Jorjikashvili; Beka Matiashvili Client Services Director: Giorgi Azaladze Senior Account Manager: Keti Kartvelishvili; Gvanca Koghuashvili Strategy Team: Giorgi Paikridze; Anuca Jorjikashvili Motion Graphics: Rezo Bokeria

Background * In Georgia, financial literacy is a significant challenge, even among adults. Basic skills like money management, budgeting, and scam avoidance are often lacking. The country faces a shortage of effective tools and initiatives to address this issue at its core. Recognising this gap, Bank of Georgia set out to tackle the problem by focusing on the next generation. The objective was clear: raise a financially savvy generation by educating children early on, using methods that resonate with them. Strategy * Detailed Explanation of the Strategy: As one of Georgia’s leading financial institutions, Bank of Georgia embraced the responsibility to foster financial literacy among children. The strategic process began with identifying the root of the problem—traditional financial education methods were failing to engage both children and adults alike. We arrived at the insight that children are naturally drawn to interactive, playful, and story-driven experiences. Psychologists recommend teaching children through games, as this method enhances learning by making complex concepts more accessible and engaging. With this understanding, we chose to gamify the educational process, making learning about finance not only accessible but also enjoyable. The strategy was to integrate financial literacy into a mobile banking app tailored for children, turning what could be a mundane task into an engaging adventure. By focusing on storytelling, puzzles, and missions, we aimed to embed financial lessons seamlessly into the gameplay. This approach would not only boost app downloads and user engagement but also instill essential financial skills in a way that children could understand and enjoy. Creative Idea * Clearly Explain the Creative Idea: The creative idea cenetered around transforming financial education into a cosmic adventure. We developed "Other Universe," a long-term adventure game within the sCoolApp, Bank of Georgia's mobile banking app for children. The game’s narrative is rich with characters, missions, and challenges that parallel real-world financial tasks, making learning both fun and practical. Children create their own avatars and embark on a journey to help a lost baby asteroid find its family, encountering various financial and logical challenges along the way. Each mission is designed to teach a specific financial concept, such as saving, budgeting, or understanding value. The creative strategy ensured that the educational content was deeply woven into the gameplay, making the learning process almost invisible—kids learn by doing, not by being told. The Art Direction and illustrations of "Other Universe" was meticulously crafted to resonate with children's imagination and everyday experiences, while incorporating psychologists' recommendations for effective learning. By understanding that children are naturally drawn to interactive and story-driven experiences, we infused a quirky, unexpected twist into familiar study room objects, transforming them into whimsical characters and elements that both entertained and educated. For example, we introduced a ninja lamp that speaks exclusively in haikus, a cactus wrapped like a mummy, and an old PC that embodies the wisdom of a Yogi. Following these psychological insights, we also developed a series of animations to accompany the game, bringing the characters and the unique world of "Other Universe" to life. These animations deepened the narrative and reinforced key educational concepts, making the learning process engaging across multiple touchpoints. The playful and unique measurement system—where banana peels served as centimeters, glitters became currency, and a Gigantic Chicken acted as a compass—was designed to capture children's attention and imagination while subtly introducing them to financial concepts. Our approach ensured that the learning experience was seamlessly integrated into a visually stimulating and narratively rich environment, resulting in an adventurous and enjoyable financial education journey tailored to the needs and interests of children. Outcome / Results * Business Impact, Change in Behavior or Consumer Awareness, Achievement against the Original Challenge / Client Satisfaction, The Impact on the Industry / Culture: The "Other Universe" campaign was a resounding success, exceeding all expectations. App engagements surged, with monthly active users increasing by 48%. The number of active piggy banks grew by 79%, showing a significant shift in how children manage their savings. Moreover, the number of transactionally active users reached 150k students, indicating that kids were not just learning about finances but actively applying their knowledge. The campaign also generated widespread attention, with over 2 million in reach, more than 8 million views on TikTok, and the creation of a Facebook group with 16,000+ members. The "Other Universe" characters even made appearances in real-world events, further embedding the campaign in both culture and community. This initiative did more than just boost app metrics; it laid the foundation for a financially literate future generation. The success of the campaign has not only satisfied the client but also set a new standard for financial education in the industry, demonstrating that learning about money can be both effective and enjoyable when approached with creativity and innovation.