From developing engaging content and continuously meeting evolving participant needs, to developing an effective marketing pipeline, EdTech companies need a robust suite of tools to stay relevant and competitive. And this suite of EdTech tools should include an easy way to incentivize and maintain engagement.
Specifically, courseware providers need a simple option to integrate awards into their educational app. With the right software integrations, they can then offer real-time rewards like digital gift cards and prepaid cards—without their students ever having to leave their platform.
One company doing just that is also making big waves in the financial literacy world.
Zogo is a financial education platform with a popular standalone mobile app that users love.
And there’s a reason why Zogo enjoys a 4.8 rating with over 48k reviews in the Apple App Store: they’ve paired their innovative educational products with a fun reward system for their learners.
We sat down with Zogo’s Head of Operations Jenna Adrian to learn more about how the right reward structure helps them drive engagement and keep retention high.
“It's very intuitive,” she says of partnering with Giftbit. “It's complex enough that it fits all of our needs, but it's also simplified enough that we get very few questions about it.”
Keep reading to learn how Zogo’s team is able to spend less time spinning those plates, and more time sustaining a dynamic, interactive educational journey. We’ll also include step-by-step instructions so you can implement the same tools that Zogo has, as well as more ideas and strategies for EdTech companies.
Zogo’s flagship product is a standalone mobile app with over 800+ lessons on financial topics. And—critically—they offer embedded rewards as one of their key selling points.
Namely, Zogo users earn virtual ‘Pineapples’ when they engage with the app and complete courses. The platform will even host fun ‘Pineapple Parties’ where users can earn more rewards to boost their balance.
These Pineapples can then be exchanged for gift cards, prepaid cards (like prepaid Visa® and MastercardⓇ®), and charity donations—all of which are powered by Giftbit.
Between top-notch educational content and top-notch digital rewards, it’s clear to see why with Zogo, ‘never before has education been so rewarding.’
Of course, Zogo isn’t the first online academy to turn to gamification. But they’re at the forefront of pairing the right rewards with the right content to power their mission and serve their community better.
Interactive content is great, but Zogo’s main mission is to democratize financial literacy—not to make a fun app. The fun app is simply a byproduct of using modern tools to drive engagement.
“Zogo's mission overall is improving people's lives through financial education,” says Jenna. “And Giftbit allows us to entice users and keep them on the app to do that.”
The way Jenna sees it, even when students are primarily motivated by Pineapples, “the knowledge that they are receiving and the lessons they have to learn in order to get there are invaluable.”
Educational services of all kinds are turning to rewards and incentives for many reasons, not the least of which is to boost their enrollment numbers.
“When we look at financial literacy, there is a component of being rewarded with the knowledge that you're receiving,” says Jenna. Having gift cards made available through Giftbit allows them to “to take that first leap.”
In other words, knowing there’s actual rewards attached to an app is certainly a great reason to sign up.
That said, where Zogo really sees the most benefits of their Pineapples is when it comes to engagement. Having rewards that their users actually want is one of their key selling features.
“Once you get into the platform and the product of Zogo itself, you see more of that ROI,” says Jenna. “It keeps it fresh.”
So it’s no surprise that Zogo users like Tara regularly provide feedback like, “I love this app. I get to learn and get paid while doing it. Couldn’t ask for more!”