Dougyster
Recap and Reflection
Wunna
Seeing that Flutter failed to get traction, Wunna was our first attempt at a pivot. We believed that dating was a field that did not demand further innovation (rather it was quite the opposite), but the portion where users could get discounts seemed to have some promise. Our pivot focused on eliminating the dating portion, and developing the discount portion into one that could be facilitated with friends. It wasn’t a confident pivot – rather it was more of an attempt at salvaging what was left of Flutter.
Scheduling in just a few clicks
Wunna’s design takes on a much more gamey design, with bright colours to appeal to younger populations. Users can choose from a wide range of locations – restaurants, retail stores, and other activities, invite their friends, and then set up a hangout which will appear as an in-app calendar item. It’s like a Gcal invite for social activities. Now, you might be wondering at this point why students need this – after all, iMessage groups can also be created in a few clicks, and a Gcal invite can also be sent out in a few clicks. They don’t.
Gamified discounts
Wunna’s gamified discount system was the only unique value we brought to students, and a weak one at that. Users would be able to access quests and earn coins, which could be used to buy exclusive discounts and perks like double coins in the app. Users can also increase friendship levels by setting up more hangouts with each other and earning more coins by doing that. Oh, and the more friends you bring along, the better your discount is.
Don’t create a solution that creates a problem.
Does the solution compliment something the target audience already does?
A product, in my humble opinion, solves a problem either in the real world or from an existing product – and Wunna does neither. Wunna’s biggest issue was that Wunna was bringing a benefit but, at the same time, a new pain point. People already have convenient ways to schedule hangouts. Would people be willing to switch over to a new way just to save a couple pennies? With all the different apps and services to save money, probably not, and that’s already being optimistic. Wunna had no unique value proposition and relied on a naive discount gamification to attract consumers, which was – at best – a gimmick.