Duolingo tried tossing out MVP badges for simply “signing up,” but spoiler alert—it flopped. 💀 After a year of meh results, they had a big brain moment and realized: maybe their MVP badge wasn’t all that. So, they leveled up their badge game—and boom, purchases jumped by 13%. 🎉
Here’s what they switched up:
- Badges became actual flex-worthy accomplishments. They made users work for them, instead of handing them out just for signing up. Suddenly, those badges had meaning. 🏅
- Badges became collectibles. They realized people love racking up badges—it gives them a reason to grind harder and feel like total bosses. 💪
- Friends = competition. Users love seeing who’s got the most badges, so Duolingo added a friend feature. Now, it’s all about showing off. 🏆👀
Results? A massive +13% in sales, +4% more lessons completed, and +116% more friend adds. Not too shabby for some shiny virtual bling, huh? 😉
Source: firstround.com