AUSTIN, TX — (Marketwire) — 03/08/13 —
In the quest to keep kids active, parents have found a powerful new ally in , a fast-growing social enterprise on a mission to help kids and their families make physical activity a fun part of daily life. Zamzee combines the fun of games and the science of motivation to boost kids- physical activity levels — and it-s succeeding with help from , the pioneer and market leader in gamification.
Zamzee is an activity meter and motivational website meant to increase physical activity levels and, in doing so, help fight the sedentary behavior epidemic in the U.S., a key risk factor associated with obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
Zamzee-s gamified website allows kids to view their activity levels, earn Pointz for movement, take challenges and achieve goals.
Worn on a belt or carried in a pocket, the Zamzee activity meter monitors kids- physical activity throughout the day. Users regularly plug their devices into their computers and upload recorded physical activity data into their online personal profile. The profile is a key part of the motivational, game-based website, designed to initiate and sustain behavioral change based on scientific principles.
On , kids can climb the leaderboard and compete with friends, take on challenges through storybook-style adventures, and take actions that earn them double, triple or even quadruple Pointz.
Bunchball-s acclaimed platform and its avatar engine are key parts of the zamzee.com motivational experience, allowing users to personalize their profile in a way that-s safe and compliant with the Children-s Online Privacy Protection Act.
A study of Zamzee sponsored by and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation spotlights the motivational power of gamification. The study enrolled 448 middle school-aged adolescents randomly assigned to two groups: Those that used the Zamzee activity meter and also received access to the motivational website, and those that received a Zamzee meter but had no access to the site.
The study found that the kids with access to the gamified website showed an average 59 percent increase in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity over those who were only given the meter — the equivalent of doing an extra 45 minutes of non-stop push-ups every week. These results persisted throughout the six-month study period, and access to the game-based motivational web experience was the crucial differentiator.
Significant increases in physical activity were seen across a number of groups at risk for sedentary behavior, including an average 27 percent increase among overweight participants and an average 103 percent increase among girls.
Study results also showed the program had a positive effect on key biological factors associated with diseases linked to sedentary behavior. Participants experienced reduced gains in LDL or “bad” cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease, and also showed improved blood sugar control, a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes
The game-like Zamzee experience incorporates the avatar engine from Bunchball-s Nitro platform. The Nitro platform works by using motivational techniques — like goal-setting, real-time feedback, competition, virtual rewards, and leveling up — to keep users participating, progressing and achieving.
Despite its reliance on game mechanics, gamification is anything but child-s play. Bunchball-s comprehensive suite of innovative cloud-based gamification solutions empowers companies of all sizes — from start-ups to some of the world-s largest enterprises — to engage and motivate, leading to improved employee productivity, customer loyalty, audience engagement, and ROI.
Bunchball is demonstrating Nitro March 8-10 at the , part of the 2013 SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Tex. In Booth #247 and 249 at the Palmer Events Center, Bunchball will show how a wide range of organizations, from toy manufacturers and entertainment producers to banks and cellular service carriers, rely on the same fundamental mechanics that cause people to enjoy playing games also can be used to shape behaviors and motivate people to do more, know more, collaborate more and share more.
“In an age when kids spend so much of their day playing sedentary video games on consoles and smartphones, Zamzee shows that the dynamics of game play have the potential to move people in ways that can make their lives better. And across a six-month research study, the real power of gamification emerges in startling detail: we see that kids who regularly visit Zamzee-s Bunchball-powered site engage in an extra 45 minutes of physical activity each week, on average. Bunchball is delighted to help provide the gamification engine for this remarkable and important social enterprise.”
“The Zamzee program and the research behind it is a strong testament to the power of gamification. Kids stay motivated with Zamzee because the program delivers a fun, rewarding experience around physical activity. Bunchball has been a great partner to us in this work.”
Bunchball is the market leader and visionary in gamification. Bunchball enables organizations to improve business performance throughout their ecosystem by creating highly active and loyal customers, employees, and partners. Bunchball-s comprehensive suite of innovative cloud-based solutions empowers companies to engage and motivate, leading to improved employee productivity, customer loyalty, audience engagement, and ROI. Bunchball-s world-class customers include Adobe, HP, Cisco, MTV, Comcast, LiveOps, VMware, and Hasbro. Based in Silicon Valley, Bunchball-s investors include Granite Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Northport Investments, and Correlation Ventures. For more information, visit , our blog at , or follow .
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For Bunchball:
Mina Manchester
Bateman Group
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