From zero to gaming in 120 seconds.
US sports fans watch over 12 billion sporting events per year and nearly 80% of all sports viewership is social. We created the first fantasy game for fans who are watching sports together.
The MVP for barroom play exceeded our expectations, engaging 67% of on-premise users with no prior awareness. For point of comparison: only 20% of sports fans play fantasy sports nationally.
As founder and head of product for Barnburner, I directed UX and visual design and wrote all copy.
Performative branding.
When your objective is to acquire, onboard, and convert distracted barroom customers with no prior knowledge of the product in under two minutes, the branding and value prop have some heavy lifting to do.
From zero to on-boarded in 120 seconds.
Not only were customers more engaged in drinking, socializing, and watching sports than in playing fantasy sports, but there was a raft of legal, geofencing, and conditional handling requirements that needed to feel so breezy and clear that they practically melted away when patrons played the game.
We used on-premise signage with a text-to-play on-boarding mechanic that worked like a charm.
Among other crucial conversion triggers, the interface had to immediately communicate:
Quick, intuitive gameplay (low time investment)
Hyperlocal competition (immediate, real-world social gratification)
Easily achievable rewards (added incentives, instant plus-up to barroom experience)
Ability to play even if you missed kickoff (most spectators arrive 15-45 minutes into the game)
Key insight: We found that intrinsic rewards such as social currency (e.g. Instagram posts) and in-game accolades significantly out-performed extrinsic rewards (e.g. cash prizes) with regard to both viral quotient and repeat engagement.
