It was a pleasure to sit down for a chat with Yves Benchimol, CEO and Co-Founder of WeWard. Yves and I discuss the WeWard app, which was launched in 2019 and encourages people to walk daily by offering financial rewards and gamification features. As the app’s site notes, “by making walking a daily habit, WeWard lines up with a more eco-conscious approach towards achieving the three Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations in Agenda 2030.” Currently, the app has a user base exceeding 20 million users.
WeWard has partnerships with brands such as Nike and Booking.com, using affiliate marketing to increase revenue. The app segments users based on activity levels and locations, offering personalized content. WeWard has raised over $1 million for charity and plans to launch a feature allowing users to raise money for their chosen causes. The app’s penetration appears to vary by city, with walkable cities like New York and Paris showing higher engagement.
Discussion points include:
- WeWard’s origin story.
- Why today’s “culture of convenience” encourages inactivity, due to convenient technologies like food delivery and cab ordering, and the undervalued nature of walking as a physical activity.
- How WeWard partners are offered the ability to communicate with the app’s health and wellness community and access data like views, sales, and conversion rates.
- The different types of users of WeWard, including professional workers, power users, and occasional users.
- How the app’s gamification elements, such as rewards, social competition, and badges, motivate users to walk more.
- The potential for in-real-life congregation of users and the impact of critical mass in certain geographies.
- The app’s potential for use by charitable organizations to raise funds and awareness.
- How the app supports offline affiliate marketing in France, allowing users to redeem points at retailers and restaurants.
