BigDoor raises $5M for gamification platform

BigDoor, a white label gamification platform maker, has raised $5 million in new funding from the Foundry Group. The platform allows non-game online publishers to “gamify” their web sites by adding game mechanics that improve user interaction and engagement.

The tools include loyalty programs, leaderboards, badges, leveling up, virtual currency, and virtual goods. The company is also introducing its Gamified Rewards Program today. That lets publishers reward users for engagement. Web sites that used the new program in private beta saw a three-fold increase in the number of site registrations.

Rivals include Bunchball and Badgeville. Altogether, Seattle-based BigDoor has raised $13 million. BigDoor is offering various options for the level of gamification a company can implement. It has a free version for sites with less than 25,000 monthly visitors.

BigDoor has analytics and client reports as well. On average, the company says it can lift user loyalty 153 percent. It can improve engagement by 672 percent, 355 times better than social sharing, and nine times the average revenue per user for customers such as Dell and Nickelodeon. The company will use the money to expand its business.

“Improving user loyalty and engagement is one of the biggest challenges facing online publishers today,” said Keith Smith, chief executive and co-founder of BigDoor. “BigDoor addresses this pain point and provides a mechanism for growth by creating engaging experiences that keep consumers coming back for more. Gamification is a buzzword that’s received a ton of hype, but we have the data to prove that we’ve cracked the code on making gamification deliver huge lifts in user loyalty and engagement.”