game companies & non-profits. creating new business models

Game Companies & Non-Profits Creating New Business Models

Lincoln BrownFounder/CEO

Game Developers ConferenceMarch 6, 2012

Background: Three Converging Developments

Social Games• New Industry

• $8.6 Billion Revenue – 2014

• 400 Million Monthly Game Players

• Core player: 43-year-old Mom

Social Good• Web 3.0

• Personal and tangible forms of giving

• Core donors and Cause Marketing advocates: Moms 35-55 years oldSocial Business

• Emergence of for-profit business models that provide sustainable solutions

• Corporate Social Responsibility

• TOMS Shoes 3

• For-profit business model as a means of creating a sustainable revenue stream for our 18 non-profit partners

•Not reinventing the wheel for how work is done in the field – we leave that to our partners

• Instead, we’re finding new ways to raise funds by providing a fun way for people to give as part of their everyday lives

A New Business Model

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Lack of Transparency

Lack of Transparency VS.

Lack of True EngagementLack of True Engagement

Giving While Living

Giving While Living

VS.

VS.5

TelethonTelethon

Giving: Problems and Opportunities

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• Players directly support projects through game play, while having fun with friends.

• Players choose which projects to support and are able to see the real world impact.

• Virtual goods have real world value. Instead of virtual goods, we offer social gifts.

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Why play just any social game, when you can play a game that actually improves the real world?

Sojo creates fun and exciting games that provide tangible and sustainable benefits to local communities

Sojo: Social Gaming

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WeTopia: Sojo’s First Game

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• A community building game where players build a better world for children – both online and in the real world

• By nurturing and expanding their WeTopias, players earn Joy, which they later give to the non-profit projects of their choice

• Core appeal: “By playing WeTopia, the small

acts of many add up to big impact.”

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The Media Feedback Loop: Making Giving Tangible

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The User Experience

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Players Earn and Give Joy to Projects

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Players Receive Media Feedback

Reel World Theater

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Real World Impact Tab

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Players Purchase Social Gifts

Connecting the virtual world to the real world

One to one giving opportunity

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Changing the Way We Give! 18