Entelect Software CTO Martin Naude has been crowned overall winner of the global online competition Loyalty and Gamification World Championship, LoyaltyGames 2014.
The global online competition was created for students and professionals with the intention of putting their loyalty and gamification skills to the test while fostering innovation and positive knowledge sharing.
Naude says winning an international competition of this quality is an amazing experience. "Being recognised as an expert in the field of loyalty by practitioners around the world is an incredibly gratifying experience, and I am honoured to have received the award," he notes.
Among the 12 finalists were contestants from India, Poland, Russia, Portugal, SA, Canada and the US. The group of finalists included professionals and several postgraduate as well as undergraduate students.
The early rounds of this year's LoyaltyGames were held simultaneously across the globe, with a variety of time limitations and detailed deliverables required. Contestants took part in two rounds where they were challenged with a series of multiple-choice questions and case-study analyses, designed to test their understanding of loyalty marketing, enterprise strategy and innovation in the fields of customer analytics and gamification techniques.
For the third and final hurdle, the top 12 tackled a challenge inspired by leading humanitarian relief and advocacy agency, World Vision. The case study pushed the finalists to individually develop a full submission - their Game Plan - in only four hours, to address engagement across the organisation and in its communities.
Naude, who comes from a background specialising in loyalty rewards and computer science, was selected from over 1 500 candidates across the globe to create his final submission as one of the world top 12 finalists. Naude's "Pin" concept presentation was ultimately the winning game plan.
Naude says taking part in the challenge has solidified his belief in the importance of innovation in ever-evolving industries such as gamification, loyalty marketing and consumer engagement.
He notes that the value of the experience for building on expertise cannot be underestimated.
"My years of experience in the loyalty industry were my primary preparation for the competition. I did freshen up on loyalty and gamification theory in the week leading up to the events," says Naude.
The finalists were interviewed about their game plans by members of the judging panel. The finalists' work as well as their performance in their interview, determined who would be crowned the LoyaltyGames world champion.
"I'd encourage others to take part in the LoyaltyGames to challenge their own skills and push themselves to create exciting new ideas."
Other winners include Krzysztof Przybylski from Poland, second, and Daria Demina of Russia, third.
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