FUNMERSIVE – Co-Creation Project
Applying Fun in Service Design to Create Attractive and Engaging Customer Experiences
Description: The FUNMERSIVE co-creation project explored how fun and playfulness can be utilized in service design to create attractive, meaningful, and long-term engaging customer experiences. The project was motivated by the observation that today’s culture of digital immediacy favors fast and superficial attention-grabbing mechanisms, while many sectors require services that support sustained engagement, learning, well-being, and sustainable consumption. The project aimed to conceptualize the role of fun beyond surface-level appeal, highlighting its potential to enhance personal meaningfulness, a sense of community, and deeper attachment to services.
During the project, a multidisciplinary and cross-industry collaboration network was established, and groundwork was laid for a broader co-innovation consortium. As a result, a collaboration initiative involving six companies and one ecosystem partner was formed, along with five key research themes. These themes focus on, among others, conceptualizing fun, understanding engagement across different stages of the customer journey, measuring fun, leveraging playfulness and AI, and supporting business development and international growth. The project demonstrated that fun is perceived as a highly relevant and timely topic for research and development, particularly in the fields of education, well-being, service development, and gaming.
Duration: August 1, 2024 – January 31, 2025
Funding: Business Finland, Co-Creation Funding
