Absa RBB Roadshow - Customer Quest Game
For their annual RBB Roadshow, running across the 9 South African provinces, Absa required a 'sales tool' element that would empower the 3000 middle management attendees with a practical skill they could use in their roles as branch managers, region and division heads.
Based on this ask and addressing the dire need for inter-divisional collaboration within the Absa banking structures, the concept of the Customer Quest game was created. In line with the 2017 Roadshow theme of 'Believe it! We will win together', the game presented in itself a Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG, with a strong emphasis on collaborative problem solving and multiplayer elements.
Attendees are broken up into teams of 8, with 7 players and a Game Master who directs the game from a custom-built app on a tablet. Each player assumes a character role, reflecting real-life positions found within Absa's Private, Retail, Business and International Banking divisions, and together they have to solve 10 challenges, often having to rely on the expertise of colleagues from divisions they would never normally interact with. The challenges were created through close work with Absa Head Office staff and present current real-life issues faced by regional middle management. Each player character also came with his/her own set of Abilities and Hidden Strengths (the Strengths were decided by the players themselves during the RSVP process to the Roadshow, selected from 8 possible Strength options), represented by cards, which could influence particular challenges or be used in the second layer of the Game - Customer acquisition and loss. Each team starts with 5 Customers and through Abilities and Hidden Strengths can acquire new Customers, steal Customers from other teams or simply deny other teams new Customers. This inter-team multiplayer element became the subject of heated competition and offered the teams an interactive 'break' from problem solving.
Scoring for the game was conducted via a live leaderboard, projected onto the venue's main screens. Teams scored points based on the correctness of each of their challenge answers, with different answers carrying varied point values. The teams' Customer numbers were also translated into point values, added to the challenge scores and giving the final team score. The leaderboard was updated after each challenge and served as further tool for the encouragement of both inter-team competitiveness and increased collaborative efforts within the teams.
Game Master Tablet UI
Player Character, Ability and Hidden Strength Card Designs
Printed Cards
Customer Quest In Action
Video
Please note - official video footage is not available due to Absa policy. The below video was shot while supervising the game on an iPhone and serves to show the game in action more than anything else. Turn up the audio to hear the speech at the start, apologies for the audio quality.
Feedback
Customer Quest was received with astounding success, both by the RBB EXCO and Head Office Management, and by the attendees that played it. The game addressed the need for collaboration in a perfect way and exceeded the brand objectives. The below video, once again recorded on an iPhone is direct, at-event feedback from the attendees just after they have finished the game. Turn audio up, apologies.
Credits:
Concept/Mechanics/Copy/Project Management - Max Barashenkov
Design - Sean Devey
App Build - Vulcan Labs